We read again this Sunday the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids (Mt. 25.1-13). Granted, the bridal custom is a little foreign to us now, but I'll try to update it (and change the participant gender just to shake up any latent misogyny some readers may still harbour):
The kingdom of heaven is like this. Ten groomsmen gather for a short party at a local bar near the reception hall while the bride and groom are going through the tedium of even MORE wedding photographs. Five thought ahead and five didn't, so the first bunch kept themselves put together and the others got wasted. Suddenly one gets a call on his cell from the bride saying she and the groom are leaving the church, and all ten are in a flurry. The five wasted groomsmen ask the others, "Help us sober up and fix our ties and, oh DUDE, LOOK at this tux!" The five sober ones stated, "You got yourself into this mess...here's some mouthwash; go to the bar, swill coffee until your buzz is gone, then meet us there." So the five sober ones get to the hall and are let in when the bride and groom get there while the others try to pull themselves together in the bar restroom. When they got to the hall they asked security to let them in, and when security as the groom, he said, "Nope, don't know these idiots, don't let them in.
The central theme in this retelling and the original story is foresight and preparation. The Kingdom of God does not run on a neatly detailed schedule, or at least on what we think of as neatly detailed, so really no one can tell when God is going to call, "That's a wrap!" on this great production called the Cosmos and bring it all back to Himself (despite what the televangelist du jour may tell us). The idea is to be ready at all times, not to relax our efforts in bringing the Kingdom of God near, because we just don't know when instead of just being NEAR the Kingdom of God is suddenly HERE. Have we loved God with every fibre of our being? Have we loved the people around us as much or more than ourselves? Have we fed the hungry, clothed the inadequately attired, given water to the thirsty, brought healthcare and healing to the sick who had no recourse, and thus made ourselves over into the image of God and fit for the Kingdom? Have we at least tried and have kept on trying? When it comes down to it, will we be able to hack life where that is the culture, no exceptions?
That is what Our Lord is getting at here, do we have the foresight to get or keep ourselves in shape, because we don't know when that day will be here.