The Parable of the Ten Somethings

Does anyone else remember a time when bridesmaids were supposed to be unmarried and were presumed to be virgins? Well, that was the way it was back in Jesus' day. In this Sunday's Gospel reading, the "Parable of the Ten Virgins" found in Matthew 25:1-13 becomes the "Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids" in many of the translations commonly read in Episcopalian parishes.

‘Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, “Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.” Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.” 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.” 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. Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, “Lord, lord, open to us.” But he replied, “Truly I tell you, I do not know you.” Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

I am not sure when the virgin bridesmaid went out of style, but in my experience, it was sometime after the introduction of "the pill" when virgins got harder and harder to find. This also resulted in a shortage of virgins to sacrifice to the volcano gods.

The modern translations do keep priests from putting the thought of "foolish virgins" into the minds of their somnulent Sunday morning pewsitters which might keep those pewsitters from getting the point of the parable which is to be prepared at all times for the coming of the Lord, and that, for most of us, will probably translate into being prepared at all times to "meet our maker".

The consequences of not being prepared are to be shut out, and I am willing to bet that most Episcopal priests would rather not and probably will not speak very much about that part of the parable this Sunday.