Midweek Faith Lift
May 24, 2023
The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids
Rev. Deb Hill-Davis
Daily Reflection
April 11, 2023
As a university professor, I would take a break from my work in the evenings to play an online game, “World of Warcraft.” One night, our team was led by a veteran who was fearless. He made us all feel so powerful as we crushed our opponents. But then, he abruptly left the game, saying his mom said it was an hour past his bedtime.
“What would happen if we converted the energy of fear to faith, the energy of doubt to a feeling of belonging to the Universe and being safe in It? Would not the Original Artist go forth with us into new creation?” – Ernest Holmes, The Essential Ernest Holmes
Affirmative prayer: In prayer, meditation, and being about my day, I deepen my awareness of Infinite Intelligence in all things. I transform fear to faith. Doubts about my place in this life and my capacity to love and be loved are released. Wholeness is my divine birthright. Thank you, God, forever, Amen.
How hilarious the all the adults, including the University professor are following a young boy who was fearless! Our parable today is about perception and taking action from the energy of faith. There are so many times in our lives when we do take action without knowing how it will turn out! Last week’s celebration of motherhood was for sure that kind of action.
What does the parable of the 10 Bridesmaids say? Well it is found in Matthew and it reads like this:
Matthew 25:1-13
The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids
25 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten young women took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those young women got up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet, and the door was shut. 11 Later the other young women came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ 13 Keep awake, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. (NRSV-UE)
What an interesting story! Whenever Jesus begins with “the Kingdom of Heaven is like” we know that we are going to learn something about consciousness and what is required or needed for that awakened or expanded Christ consciousness to manifest in us and as us. We have 10 bridesmaids but the story breaks them into groups of 5 each, which is also significant. And then we have the oil, the lamps, the bridegroom and the timing, which are all critical parts of this story.
Let’s unpack these one at a time to understand the deeper meaning of this story. The number 10 signifies wholeness and oneness with the Divine, so this story illustrates how we come into the fullness of our true Divine nature. So what is the process and what is the dilemma? We have 5 wise bridesmaids and 5 foolish bridesmaids, and the number 5 represents our sense consciousness or our human consciousness—our 5 senses to be precise. We are all the characters in the story, so we are both the wise bridesmaids whose sense consciousness prepares for and is ready for that moment of Aha, or awakening.
We are also the 5 foolish bridesmaids who do not prepare for whatever reason, for the moment the bridegroom shows up. It doesn’t say why, but it tells us that the foolish bridesmaids took no oil with them. Metaphysically, oil represents love. And when love is poured into that which can hold it, the lamp, then there is light and the presence of the bridegroom, which holds the possibility of an illumined consciousness. When you have male and female energy together in the story, you have the feeling and thinking natures coming together, which is when the light shines and the energy of the Christ is able to manifest most clearly.
When you have no love, then there is no possibility of this, as Jesus says at the end of the story: “truly I do not know you.” The essence of this story is that when there is love present, real love, then the head or masculine energy and the heart, or feminine energy comes together. Your head and your heart are in alignment and your good is able to flow freely, like the light from the lamps that illumines the Christ consciousness of you.
As the story clearly tells us, you cannot “borrow” oil or love from your unaware or foolish self at the last minute and expect to receive it. It doesn’t work that way. It takes time and practice and spiritual understanding and awakening to realize that what our senses tell us may not be true. Cultivating compassion is a process and a practice that is ongoing. As Jesus says, we need to practice staying awake or mindful so that we are present for that moment of deeper understanding. We do not know the day or the hour when that might happen for us. We truly do not know, but the message is that when we proceed with love, and we remain open hearted and open-minded, it is more likely to happen for us.
I love this quotation by Kierkegaard an existentialist philosopher, which I came across in an online publication called the Daily Good. He says,
"…ingratitude and blameworthiness lie in this – that the person of limitations breaks off and says: 'There is no possibility,' instead of saying 'I see no possibility."'
~Søren Kierkegaard
What a powerful insight! So often our fear, our assumptions, our limited perception of how love might be at work keep us from seeing the possibility that is there, in any situation, for healing, for growth, for transformation. I have heard myself say, “there is no possibility” with regard to a specific family relationship rather than “I see no possibility.” What is true is that with enough love, and enough time, there is possibility that I might begin to see.
That brings us to the time issue in this parable. The bridesmaids have been waiting so long for the bridegroom that they have fallen asleep. He has been delayed and there is no explanation for why, just that he arrives at the midnight hour. Well, midnight is 12:00 AM and 12 is the number of spiritual completion. That tells us that the head and the heart coming together and the illumination this brings us happens in the event of spiritual completion. It happens in the fullness of time, when we have done the spiritual/emotional work to bring our heart and head together in a consciousness of love. Then a shift happens and the lamp of love is lit by the energy of love, of forgiveness, of faith and we move in the direction of our highest good.
The 5 foolish bridesmaids have failed to prepare and want to borrow some oil but that is not possible. It is very powerful that the 5 wise bridesmaids say, “No, go and find your own wisdom, you cannot just have ours.” That is so true, whether it is overcoming fear, walking through self-doubt, resentment, shame or vulnerability, this is something we each do on our own, we cannot “get there” without doing the work or taking the healing journey. It sounds harsh, but Jesus is right when he says, “I do not know you.” When we cut off the energy of love, of the true Christ-self, then it does not resonate and it is not recognizable to love. We are advised to stay awake for the moment when that love energy in us finally comes to the fore and we see it and act on it!
Like our opening story, we can be brave when someone else is leading us, even though it is a young boy! However, real courage requires us to walk through all that is challenging, all that is difficult, confusing and very trying with patience, courage and most of all love. We “see” with our highest energy what is ours to do regardless of what our human self might be saying. We might hear ourselves say, “It’s not fair, I wasn’t in this line, I didn’t want this, I expected a better outcome” all of which are ways to say “there is no possibility.”
What the Christ-light of us says instead, “I see no possibility,” which leaves us open to a new kind of seeing, an expanded seeing, the kind of seeing which brings about miracles. As Dr. Michael notes, “Perception is not an absolute, but rather malleable, something that can be changed and shifted with practice.” p. 280 The Hidden Parables. Our practice is to see what is before us from the highest point of view, the God point of view, the love point of view. It is not easy, but that is what we do as “Christed-beings.”
I close the a quotation from Amelia Earhart, an intrepid woman aviator:
"The most difficult thing is the decision to act; the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process, is its own reward."
~Amelia Earhart
Blessings on the Path,
Rev. Deb