“Be Prepared!” – the Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A

My Sisters and Brothers:

Isn’t it true that most of us, even from our earliest days, have hoped to “be prepared” for whatever our futures would bring?  And so to these ends, we’ve taken part in activities, studies, retreats, and programs that have reinforced and made us ready to accomplish all of our hopes and dreams.  This certainly has been true for me!  For example, I remember long ago September 1969, when I was a tender seven years old and just after I started the second grade, I informed my parents I wanted to become a Cub Scout.  I told them I wanted to follow in the footsteps of my older brother who was already a Boy Scout.  “Scouting” had been a valued part of my family’s traditions, and even my four younger sisters would eventually become enthusiastic members of the Girl Scouts.  I joined the Cub Scouts, and later was a Webelos Scout, and then like my brother eventually became a Boy Scout myself.

Common to all “Scouting” programs is the motto “Be Prepared.”  Scouts know such “preparedness” is an all-important way of living one’s life!  And so now, long after I’ve worn any of the uniforms of the Boy Scouts of America, I believe the idea of “being prepared” continues to influence my thoughts and decisions as I look to the future.  And as a parallel, isn’t it true Christians probably have one of the most poignant understandings of this need to “be prepared” as they live their lives?  Surely, by what we say and do, most of us desire to give witness to our hope of future glory!

Today’s Gospel makes me think of those two simple words of the Boy Scout Motto: “Be Prepared!”  The “Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids” has a lot to say about this idea (see Matthew 25:1-13).  It tells us the five “foolish bridesmaids” ran out of oil for their lamps because they didn’t bring enough to last through a long night of waiting for the bridegroom; in contrast, the other five who were “wise,” had brought extra “flasks of oil” and were fully prepared, and able to light their lamps, when he finally arrived.  And so while the foolish ones were forced to scurry about at the last minute in an unsuccessful attempt to make up for their “unpreparedness,” those who were wise had lighted lamps, and thus entered the wedding feast with the bridegroom when he arrived.  Jesus said those faithfully awaiting the coming of the Kingdom were something akin to those “wise bridesmaids.”  Even though they didn’t know exactly the day or the hour of its arrival, they were ready and set to enter the feast when the moment finally came!  Jesus tells us we must likewise “be prepared” for entrance into the Kingdom!

Therefore we must “be prepared” completely for the coming of Jesus, the church’s “bridegroom,” when he comes again.  That unknown day and hour might come to pass at the final moment of our own personal lives, or perhaps it will happen at the “end of time.”  Hence, with all of this in mind, today I’ve remembered the wisdom contained within the Boy Scout Motto as I’ve contemplated the message of the Gospel!   My friends, let’s be “wise!”  May all of our activities, studies, retreats, and programs, truly help us to “be prepared” for the coming of the Kingdom!  Amen!

Praise God!  Friar Timothy

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