Customers coming to a barber shop were pleasantly surprised to see a prominent note in the shop window that read: “Tomorrow we will cut and shave for free.” As there was a chance to save some money, many turned around and decided to come the next day. When those customers returned to the barber shop the following day, they were greeted with the same note: “Tomorrow we will cut and shave for free.” Their surprise was much less pleasant than the first time. Some of them kept coming to the barber shop every day, hoping for free services, but each time, they saw the same words: “Tomorrow we will cut and shave for free.”
Those of you unfortunate enough to listen to my sermon two Sundays ago might remember a particular twist at the end of it. I was talking about the two greatest commandments, the all-consuming love of God and the equally important love of your neighbour, as the foundation and framework of the Christian life. Those commandments call for the highest standards, which we often fail to meet or even come close to. At the end of my sermon, I said: “We must not think of them as the description of our current stance because none of us loves like that – yet. The two commandments are the gold standard to which we must aspire and try to rise.” Those two commandments point out where we are going and what we are to achieve spiritually. In other words, we have time to learn and develop. This is the point where today’s parable fits in nicely.
We don’t really have to understand the intricacies of wedding customs in ancient Israel to get the meaning of the story told by Jesus. It’s pretty evident that the difference between the success and failure of the bridesmaids was their respective preparedness or lack of it. Those who had failed to be ready simply ran out of time and missed their chances. But there’s more to it than that. Let’s have a closer look at the parable.
Jesus gave the key phrase for its interpretation after he had told the story: “Stay awake because you do not know either the day or the hour.” However, all the bridesmaids, foolish and sensible, fell asleep in the parable. Similarly, all of them were woken up at the same time, and only then did five bridesmaids realise they were in trouble. Or, more precisely, they faced the unpleasant consequence of their lack of forward thinking.
Procrastination is one of our main enemies, particularly when we have to undertake unappealing activities, from house chores at one end of the spectrum to lifestyle changes at the other and everything in between. One way of dealing with such tedious, tiresome or difficult challenges is stopgap, patching up in order to do things properly “tomorrow”. The main problem with postponing something to tomorrow is that “tomorrow” is always… tomorrow.
The other reason we procrastinate is the terror of urgency, a trap we tend to fall into regularly. Things that must be done now take precedence over the important ones. Only after dealing with those urgent matters do we realise their futility while the important ones have been neglected. Such a realisation can leave us frustrated, exasperated or angry, but it’s too late to do anything about it. Tomorrow, I will do better…
Admittedly, it’s not always easy to discern what’s important and what’s urgent. Here comes help from the wisdom praised in today’s first reading. It’s a skill acquired and developed over time: learning from those more experienced and knowledgeable, but most importantly, learning from your mistakes. It’s a type of wisdom that cannot be learned theoretically; it develops as a result of making mistakes (inevitable in life), reflecting on them and making amendments. The more you practise it, the better you become at discerning what’s important and giving it precedence at the expense of urgency.
Admittedly, it’s not always easy to compel yourself to do something unpleasant, unattractive, dull or challenging. But it becomes easier when you know it’s important. We actually do that in life without realising it, for example, when you drag yourself out of bed and go to work – because it’s important to earn a living. But that comes from outside pressure. Learning to self-motivate yourself to do the right thing is important, especially when it’s no fun. Don’t postpone doing important things till tomorrow. Do it today, so tomorrow you will have time off.
