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Thirty Second Sunday of the Year Mt. 25/1-13 |
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| Background: As has been observed before in these notes parables have only one point. Attempts to interpret the details of a parable so that it becomes an allegory tend to distract from that point (though allegories have been with us almost as along as there have been parables). This story is not about wedding customs or about charity or even about staying awake at night. Rather it is about being ready when Jesus comes, either in some one who needs our help, or at the time of death, or at the end of time. It is one of the parables of urgency, a parable which urges us not to waste the opportunities that are offered us, a parable which in the terms of the beer ad reminds us that we only go around once and that we ought not to pass up our chances. |
read the padre |
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Story: Once upon a time there were two girls who had been friends for as long as they could remember. They went to the same grammar school and the same high school. One of the girls, Janie, was always at the top of her class. The other, Beth, usually made it to just above or just below the middle in ranking. During grammar school, Janie announced that she was going to be a research doctor and find a cure for cancer. She was valedictorian and went to one of the high ranking universities. Unfortunately, when she discovered she was now a little fish in a big pound, Janie got cold feet. She spent so much time trying to be part of the "in"crowd that she decided pre-med was too hard and switched her major to history. Although she did well in her major, she had no desire to continue a graduate program and eventually worked as a sales person for a pharmaceutical company. Beth went to a less prestigious university where she majored in biology because it had been her favorite class in high school. She impressed her professors with her hard work and at the end of her freshman year, she was picked to receive a donor-sponsored scholarship for the next three years. She went on to graduate school, earned a Ph.D. and does cancer research at the prestigious university Janie attended. She often expresses surprise at how she got there. Often those who are the most prepared surprise even themselves! |
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