Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Friday of the 21st week in ordinary time, August 28, 2026, Memorial of Saint Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Delivered by Ria from the Parish of Good Shepherd in the Diocese of Surabaya, Indonesia. 1 Corinthians 1: 17-25; Rs psalm 33: 1-2.4-5.10ab.11; Matthew 25: 1-13.HE IS THE BRIDEGROOM Our meditation today has the theme: He is theBridegroom. The image of God in the Scriptures is described as a bridegroom,which is one of the big points of reference in the teaching on the Kingdom ofGod. God Himself takes a position being paired or coupled with the bride, whichin our common understanding to be a woman. A woman who follows her vocation toget married, she surely needs a groom because she can't marry with an emptyspace. Likewise a bride indeed needs a man to be her bridegroom, because shecannot marry herself. God had made Himself a bridegroom so that therelationship between Himself and us human beings becomes a community of Hisbelievers. This relationship fits in comparation with a husband and his wifewho are joined together through the sacrament of matrimony. The blessing giventhrough this sacrament is the grace that unites and binds them for the rest oftheir lives. This is what we understand about the unity of Christian marriage.Thus, God desires to marry us His believers. To prove this, He Himself entersourselves and our lives with His own Word that had become flesh in the personJesus Christ in order to make us bear fruits. There was a religious sister or a nun who has justmade her perpetual or final vows, who lived out her daily life in the light ofher communion with Jesus Christ as her Bridegroom. She shared her experience,that every morning she woke up, she tried to make her day more than just aroutine life. As she was preparing to go to the chapel for the morning service,her mind was already focused on the belief that, her Bridegroom, Jesus, hadbeen waited for her inside. When she was already in the chapel for communityprayers then followed with the Holy Mass, she made herself the true bride whomet and enjoyed the unity with her Bridegroom. She always desired to have God present in her mind,aspirations, and plans. She was sure that her awareness and understanding ofGod remain alive and not lost either by unfocused attention or by temptation toget bored or sleepy. This real story is really for us a description of how thebride and bridegroom unite in harmony, or to be precise, there should be thereality for every human person who is always connected with his or her God. Anybride and her bridegroom who do not have intention to unite and live as oneharmony, or to complement each other, and create a communion, they must not usethe name bride and bridegroom. They are only a man and a woman. God as a bridegroom for us is more meaningful thansimply a husband-wife relationship, because our relationship with God is forperfection that surpasses all types of unity in this world. Saint Augustinedescribes this relationship in his belief that human hearts are restless ofseeking God until they feel peaceful when they arrive in where they live withHim forever. Let'spray. In the name of the Father ... O Lord, may we worship You as our God andto no one else we offer our thanks and praise except you alone are our Lord andGod forever. Our Father who art in heaven ... In the name of the Father ...