Symbol of oil▪ The lamp does not burn without oil. So, it is a symbol of death. When does death occur? Even doctors distinguish between so-called clinical death and the natural end of life. There are sure signs that life in the body is ending. Is it over? But with death, we don’t even know the beginning. According to a Spanish song, one begins to die at birth. But this is about natural bodily life. We Christians believe in eternal life but also the eternal death of sinners. When do they start? Life here is equated with grace, symbolized by the lamp’s oil. So when does a person die? He loses energy in the truest sense the moment he loses sanctifying dignity. That is why grave sins are also called “mortal sins.” Although the sinner continues to live on earth, it is only like the flickering of the last remaining oil. Bodily death will reveal what was inside. So there is a big difference between people. Wolves are all wolves; sheep are sheep, writes Pseudo-Makarius. They look the same and are the same. However, people only look the same on the outside. There are sheep or wolves inside; they carry life or death.
Arrival in the middle of the night▪ The oil is stored in the lamp but lit when it gets dark. That is why all lamps look the same during the day, whether they have oil or not. When does it get dark? In the complete sense, only at physical death. But already in this life, there are many moments in which it seems to us that it is getting late, that we are in a fog, that we have lost our way. In these moments, one already recognizes that someone has or does not have the light of grace. It is a light that does not burn brightly but still enough so we do not lose the right direction. Even great saints sometimes experience periods of anxiety. It seemed to them that heaven was closed to them. Theresa of Lisieux also had such an impression before her death. But she had one certainty, and all believers have it: the certainty of faith, of trust. We cannot see ahead, but we still feel that our path is the right one and that we cannot leave it. Pseudo-Macarius, who we just quoted, explains these states by using the example of someone walking with a lamp against the wind. The fire blazes in all directions, but it does not go out. That’s why we value it all the more and are sure it will flare up thoroughly when the wind dies down and there is calm.
I expect a groom. ▪ Faith is like a leap into the dark. At least, that’s how it seems to the great converts when they finally decide to accept the faith. But why does he finally leap? One of them explained it nicely. We don’t understand anything at that point. The darkness is complete. But we feel that it is not empty. Someone is standing there, and we know that they will catch us, that we will not fall or hit each other. Oil is a symbol of eternal light. But what would be the use of lighting the house if it was empty and no one was waiting for us there? The comparison to the virgins and the bridegroom is appropriate in the biblical tradition. Scripture is the message of the living God. His life is not in time, not in place. However, there is an eternal meeting of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, three persons in unity, in an inaccessible light. Nevertheless, we have been given access to this. Therefore, we await the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in blessed hope.
