Last
Sunday – November 25th and 26th, 2017 –
Matthew 25:1-13
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +
Who
doesn’t like a wedding? At least a wedding of people you like and
where there's going to be a great reception. A good wedding is
really a good party, a good chance to rejoice and enjoy God's
blessings. In the Scriptures, weddings are always a good thing, they
are the biblical image of joy and celebration and love and hope. And
what do we see in today Gospel lesson? We see the return of Christ
Jesus, we see the Last Day compared to a wedding.
With
this comparison, our Lord reminds us of something simple. His
return, His 2nd
Coming is a good thing, it is something that we should with all
eagerness look forward to – it something we should view like high
school girls getting ready to go to prom, or kids on Christmas
morning. And yet, so often the thoughts of Christ’s Return, of the
“end of the world” treat it like a day of dread. For you who are
here, right now, for you who come to this place to hear the Word of
God proclaimed, to have your sins forgiven, to partake of our Lord’s
Body and Blood in His Supper – the end will not be a day of dread,
but rather a day of joy and wonderment. That is what our Lord
teaches you with this parable today.
“Then
the Kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps
and went to meet the bridegroom.” So,
our Lord describes for us an old fashioned, 1st
Century Fancy Jewish wedding. And the people, besides the bride and
groom, who would be most eager for the wedding would be the virgins –
the young women who were now considered old enough to go to an adult
function, who were now grown up, and perhaps ready for a wedding of
their own, and would be in a place where they might draw the eye of a
nice single man. And what would happen is as the wedding began, the
young women would flank the groom, because the groom is the one who
did the processing back in the day, and they would carry the lamps,
the lights, and all eyes would turn to the groom, and the single guys
would see the young gals all decked out and pretty. Do you see why
this would be something to look forward to?
“Five
of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish ones
took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took
flasks of oil with their lamps.”
However, our ten virgins do not all
prepare for the wedding and festivity properly. While they all know
that they are going to carry lamps, that they are going to be
providing light, alas, only 5 are wise and prepared. The other 5 are
“foolish”. I laugh every time I read this in Greek, because the
Greek word for foolish here is “moron”. And wherever you see
“foolish” or “foolish ones” – it reads, “the morons.”
Sometimes I think we should have used that word. What they do is
utterly foolish, is utterly moronic. It would be like planning to go
on a road trip, but not having any gas. It would be like hosting a
dinner but not buying any food. If your job, your reason to come to
the wedding is to bring light, you need fuel for your lamp. It’s
almost like asking someone to borrow a flashlight and they bring you
one without any batteries – what are you thinking! But, that’s
the point, they aren’t really. And it’s going to come back to
bite them.
“As
the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept.”
Now, we aren’t making a comparison here between the foolish and
the perfect – they all fall asleep. Wise and foolish alike –
they are brimming with teen-aged nervous energy, bouncing all over
the place – and then, things slow down a bit, and they all fall
asleep. Completely understandable. But then we hear this: “But
at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to
meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.”
And then it is go time – the groom is coming, he’s on his way,
we are going to get this show on the road – and so the gals all
wake up and get their lamps ready. But – “the
foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps
are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will
not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy
for yourselves.’” So, are the wise
virgins just being mean here? No – they are being wise. This is a
party that will last through the night, and I have to have enough oil
to last through the night. If I give you oil, we’ll both cut out
early, and that will be highly embarrassing for both of us. Go get
your oil like you were supposed to in the first place. So the
moronic virgins run off in a huff, and then – “And
while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were
ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut.
Afterward the other virgins came also saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to
us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’
Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
And while the moronic virgins are off running to buy, the groom
shows up, the party starts, and they are locked out. They miss the
boat. And they don’t get in.
So,
what does this mean? In this parable, there is really only one point
of separation between the wise and the foolish. They both have lamps
– they both know that there is a bridegroom coming. They both fall
asleep, wise and foolish alike. They both know how lamps work –
the foolish know that they need oil, they even ask for some at the
end. But the thing that really separates the wise from the foolish
here is one thing and one thing only – the wise make sure that they
have oil, and the foolish don’t care until it is too late.
Now,
consider yourself. You know who the Bridegroom is – You know
Christ Jesus. You know the salvation that He has won, you can all
tell me what happened on Good Friday, what happened on Easter.
You’ve got your lamp. You even have a tendency to be drowsy, to
not always be as eager for doing good as you ought. This really
becomes a question of preparation – of your oil.
What
is it that keeps you as a Christian focused upon Christ, ready for
His return, prepared to face Judgment Day and the life of the world
to come? What is this oil that fuels your faith, that keeps your
eyes upon Christ Jesus? It is the Word of God, it is the preaching
of God’s Word, it is our Lord’s Most Holy Supper, it is being
given Christ’s own forgiveness over and over and over so that you
are always full, always ready for His return. As Lutherans we have a
few catch phrases for this – “Word and Sacrament” - or “means
of grace” – that these are the means by which you receive Grace,
receive forgiveness, by which you are constantly forgiven and renewed
and kept strong in your faith, so that it is a living faith,
overflowing with Christ’s love, so that it is vibrant and shines
even in the darkness night. You enter heaven by virtue of
forgiveness, won by Christ upon the Cross.
And
what can happen? In our foolish, moronic love of the world, we can
be tempted to say, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know all about that Jesus
stuff,” and blow Christ off. Put Him and His forgiveness to the
side. And we dry up, and our faith dissipates. Faith isn’t simply
knowing of Jesus, faith isn’t book knowledge, but it is a trust and
love of Him, a trust in His salvation. And if you ignore Him, if you
constantly blow off Church or Bible study, blow off our Lord Himself
by ignoring Him when He physically comes to you in His Supper –
what do you think is going to happen to your faith? If you stop
eating and drinking, you die. If you put no gas in your car, it runs
out. If you cut yourself off from the Word of God, from the
Communion of Saints, what do you think will happen to you?
Here I
would like to remind you of all the opportunities Trinity provides
you to be in the Word. We have service both on Saturday and Sunday –
and there's bible study on both of those days too. If you're going
to be traveling for vacation, let me know and I'll help find a church
in the area for you – chances are I might even know the pastor.
There's plenty of time to be at worship. And then there are other
studies during the week – Monday morning I send out an e-mail
devotional. If you want to be added to the list, shoot me an e-mail.
Tuesday we have a study at 2pm that goes over the readings – it's
a lot of fun. The first and third Tuesday nights we have a men's
study – the women have the Hannah Circle the 3rd
Monday of the month and Martha circle as well. We have bells and
choir on Wendesday, which is a great time of fellowship, a great time
of music and the Word. I even record a podcast for Higher Things that
is basically 40 minute bible study, and if you want more on-line
resources I can point you to them. You have every opportunity to be
in the Word of God, to let the Word of God dwell in you richly. And
you have – but I'm reminding you today to be intentional about it,
to be focused upon it. Because the danger we have is to take things
for granted, to skip opportunities and push them off – I'll do that
later. And that's when we wither. That's when we act the fool, act
the moron. That's when we ignore the reality that we are sinners who
need Christ Jesus' forgiveness – ignore that Jesus brings His
forgiveness to us again and again.
My
friends, see all that Christ has done. See how richly He forgives
you, see how often He comes to you in His Word, in His Supper, over
and and over so that you are ready for when He comes again. Because
it will be a good thing; not just the party to end all parties, but
the eternal party, the feast that will have no end. Christ prepares
you for this with His Word of forgiveness and life. In the Name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +