With the familiar parable which forms the text for this day, we draw very near to the close of the church year. Since the Middle Ages, Christians have used the closing days of the old church year to focus on "last things": the end of the world, the end of life, the promise of things to come, the thought of the return of Christ (one of the themes celebrated during Advent, the next season on the church’s calendar).

The parable of the wise and foolish virgins fits well into the pattern. The bridegroom is expected by sentries with their lamps, but nobody knows precisely when he will arrive. He will usher in a time of celebration, but only those on hand and ready to go in with him will share in it. These themes would have made good sense to a Jewish Christian in Jesus’ time, when weddings were…