Dear Parishioner,

In the Palestine of New Testament times, it was customary for a wedding banquet to take place at night.  Jesus presses this scenario into service as a parable for His Kingdom.  The ten Virgins, or bridesmaids, represent all Christians as they wait for Christ to return at the end of time in glory.  But according to the parable, when He comes, He finds that half of them is unprepared.  They are not evil; just lazy, shallow, thoughtless.  They have been hoping to free wheel into the feast; maybe relying on the good works of others to get them there.  But according to the conclusion to our Gospel this weekend, instead they hear the spine-chilling sentence: Amen, I say to you: I do not know you. 

Jesus is speaking in Jerusalem, according to St. Matthew’s Gospel, in the last days before His passion and death.  He is looking ahead to the time of the Church, urging His disciples, in no uncertain terms, to spiritual vigilance.  Entrance to heaven, He teaches, is not simply assured for all.  We cannot expect to drift gently and without effort into eternal salvation.  Until the end of time, we must realise the necessity and urgency of preaching and living the Gospel; striving for true holiness of life; remaining always morally and spiritually awake.  Nowadays, that is not the message that is easy for people to hear.

In the centre of the parable this weekend there is a thrilling cry.  Behold the Bridegroom! Go out to meet Him.  He is coming from heaven to earth; from His Father’s glory to you and to me, here and now, in order to give Himself to us, in love, and without reserve.

God Bless

Canon Francis Brown

Dear Parishioner,

In Calcutta, India, there is a children’s home named Shishu Bhavan; founded by Mother Teresa, the home continues to be operated by her community, the Missionaries of Charity.  On the wall hangs a sign which reads:

People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centred.  LOVE THEM ANYWAY.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.  DO GOOD ANYWAY.

If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies.  SUCCEED ANYWAY.

The good you do will be forgotten tomorrow.  DO GOOD ANYWAY.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.  BE HONEST AND FRANK ANYWAY.

What you spent years building may be destroyed overnight.  BUILD ANYWAY.

People really need help but may attack if you help them.  HELP PEOPLE ANYWAY.

Give the world the best you have, and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.  GIVE THE WORLD THE BEST YOU’VE GOT ANYWAY.

Mother Teresa counselled her young charges that the challenges offered by this sign can be met only if human beings are motivated by a love and a respect for one another which looks beyond faults, differences ulterior motives, success, and failure.  Love such as this originates in God who has taken the initiative of loving all people; once that love is known and experienced, it becomes contagious and must necessarily spill over and inform all other relationships.

God Bless

Canon Francis Brown