Actions and Consequences
Jesus told his disciples this parable: “The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps.” Mt 25:1-13
32nd Sunday Ordinary Time Cycle A
There was once a married man who came to a priest for counseling. He had entered into an illicit relation with a single mother while working abroad. Now they have a baby and he is confused what he must do. The priest asked him if he knew beforehand what would happen if ever, he would enter an extra-marital affair. He said he knew. But when the priest asked him for what reason he did so, he had no answer. In Cebu to people embroiled in complex situations like these they would only sigh “ngano mang ni-enter?”
People often forget that for every action they take there will always be consequences. It is like when one picks up a stick by one end, naturally the opposite end follows. One end is the action and the other end is the consequence. Action never goes alone. Consequence always follows. And yet often people see only actions but not consequences.
I believe this is the reason why the five virgins in Jesus’ parable today were foolish. Not that they did anything wrong or even sinful, but they did something foolish if not stupid. They did not foresee the resulting consequence if they did not take extra oil with them. They never saw the possibility that they would be locked out from the wedding if they brought insufficient oil.
In the world Jesus teaches us the value of foresight. Apparently, it is not learnt by half of the world’s population. From the book of Wisdom, we are advised to be prudent in taking the right steps towards the goal we anticipate. As some would already do, we must think in advance what would happen and so be prepared when things do happen. Wis 6:12-16
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