Thirty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time
November 10 , 2002


What would you do if you won the lottery?

Most of us have given some thought to what we would do if we won the lottery, how we would spend the money. Some would cautiously invest most of it, and spend a little, others would quit work, and begin a life long vacation. And just about every option in between. What would you do?

Since the chances of winning the lottery are about 1 in 120 million, let me ask you to imagine instead that you are the main beneficiary of a distant relative's will. It seems this relative was quite eccentric as well as quite wealthy. A great deal of money is left for you to spend, but there are certain rules. Everyday for a year, your bank account would be credited with $86,400. If you wanted to spend any of this money, you had to produce bills showing why money was being withdrawn from your account. You could not save the money in another account. At the end of the banking day, whatever you did not spend would be removed from your account. The next day you would start with a fresh $86,400. I am sure that you and I would find some really creative things to do with the money.

Now, let's return to reality. For isn’t it true that every day we are given 86,400 seconds to make the best use of. Every night, God writes off as lost whatever portion of this time we have not used well or have wasted. In the bank of time, there are no balances and no overdrafts. Each day a new account is opened for us. Each night, what remains is written off, lost, gone forever. Every day's 86,400 seconds is ours to invest or to squander. ‘What will you spend it on?’ is the question that begins every morning. “How well did you spend it?” occupies our night time prayers. Were we wise or foolish?

In today’s gospel, I have always wondered about the 5 wise virgins who had the extra oil. Why could they not share it? Since this is a story told by the master, wouldn’t it be a great way to exemplify the need we all have to share the limited resources that are ours? But Jesus does not go there. Apparently the oil is ‘not shareable material’. Or, as one scripture scholar put it, "oil in the lamps" is a metaphor for good works. Someone else’s good works cannot substitute for my lack of charity and compassion. It is necessary that the lamp of everyday love, of patient hope, of the steadfast ripening of faith, burn in the depth of our hearts as well.

When the bride groom arrives, he will not ask whether our friends have done good things, whether they are good people of prayer, whether they are ready, but am I? Have I done what I need to do to be prepared. What have I done with the 86,400 seconds of my day? Have I banked it well? Should the bridegroom come to me this evening, will he find me ready? Will he find something of value in my own life? Because this parable is not an ‘end of the world parable’ or even a ‘death bed parable’ – but one which is all about how we have spent those 86,400 seconds that God has put in the bank of today…

And this week, I had one of those experiences where I understood the foolish virgins. I had a big list of all the things that I was going to accomplish. And then, Tuesday morning, the flu bug decided to visit my stomach. The next thing I know, it is Friday, and all those seconds are gone. All those moments to have conversations with students down the hall, to study, to pray, to enjoy the beauty of the fall, to relax and know God’s love - gone. Sometimes that happens. And the question is, do I have enough ‘oil in the lamp’ from the healthy times? Because the arrival of the bridegroom will not be known…

But the good news is that we have all won the lottery, we all have a wealthy relative who has left us a precious gift. 86,400 seconds in which to build up a lasting treasure, in which to welcome the bridegroom as he comes among us. Will we be wise or foolish in how we spend them?