St. Matthew 25:1-13
Dearly beloved,
The kingdom of heaven is likened to ten virgins who took their lamps
and went out to meet the bridegroom. We gather today as a
Christian community to muse upon the words and actions of Jesus
Christ, our God and Lord. This is one of the reasons we gather. We
desire to know Jesus better, more intimately. Who is this Jesus? What
is He doing? Why is He doing it? Or, in this case, what is He saying
and why?
The beginning of the discourse shows that Jesus is sitting on the
Mount of Olives, teaching the disciples privately. This parable is in
response to one of the disciples questions, "What will be the sign of
Your coming, and of the end of the age?" Understanding the setting and
the Jewish culture is imperative for a correct understanding of this
pericope.
The ten virgins are marriage attendants to the bride. It is
intentional that the bride in this parable is not mentioned, only the
virgin attendants. In Jewish culture it was customary that the bride
would have attendants who would await the arrival of the bridegroom to
take the bride back to his home. This parable takes on a very pointed
character when Jesus explains that there were five virgin attendants
who were wise and five who were foolish.
The foolish ones took no oil with them. They were "happy go lucky."
They were expecting the bridegroom to arrive soon. They had only
enough oil in their lamps. They saw no need to take extra. The five
wise ones took oil in vessels just in case they needed some extra.
Jesus teaches about the end. He gives instruction that regards His
coming at the day of Judgment. The crucial point of this parable lies
within His timing.
Jesus teaches the disciples about readiness. The readiness for the
Lord does not mean holding fast to the expectation that Jesus must
come shortly. Rather, it means prudently taking into consideration
the possibility that He *delays.* We are told in the parable that the
bridegroom delayed. The trouble for the foolish virgins lies in the
fact that they were not prepared for the Lord delaying His return. It
is not as burdensome for the Christian if he knows the Lord is coming
shortly.
Only simple journeying is needed. But a delay means being more
thorough in one's approach. A delay means more struggles, more
prayer, life in the liturgy, and specific attention to things
spiritual. This parable, as I said, was spoken to the disciples,
those who would be the first apostles. It was to be theirs' to attend
to the bride. Why isn't the bride mentioned in the parable? Because
the bride implied is the church. The apostles would come to tend to
the bride.
Would they journey with preparedness or would they take the journey
for granted? Judas Iscariot and others not mentioned have fulfilled
the impropriety of the foolish virgins. They did not tend to the
bride faithfully and caringly. As a result, just before the
bridegroom came, the foolish virgins were forced to go back from where
they had come in order to make up for their inadequacies. But it was
too late.
This strikes a chord for Christians as well, because the Lord calls
you to be prepared. It would be easy if we knew the Lord would return
next week. There would be more people in church, devotion for the
Lord and His sacraments would be greater, and more pews would be
filled, or so we hope. But, the reality that Jesus delays in coming
makes it more difficult for us, because we become complacent with
worldly things. Other things take the front seat while Jesus is
forced in the background of our lives.
To fail to come to church, to fail to take the Lord's Supper, and to
fail to baptize and instruct our children in the faith is to be like
the five foolish virgins. Sadly, we see their conclusion. Midnight
symbolizes the end when Jesus comes again as people sleep. A cry is
heard ringing through the night air. Jesus tells this parable so that
we may recognize our spiritual failures. This is so that we may
confess our sins unto our merciful Lord, seeking His merciful word
that rings out in the air with a different tone, a tone of
forgiveness.
But this warning to the disciples is two-fold: Israel has not been
served well by her teachers. The Scribes and Pharisees have been
ill-prepared. Their hearts serve the world. Secondly, Jesus is
warning the disciples who will soon watch over the new messianic
community, the church, the Bride of Christ. Our Lord does indeed
delay His coming, but this is all the more reason to thank Jesus in
what He has given us until He returns.
This warning to the disciples no doubt lays the groundwork for what
is to come. Jesus was just days away from the Passover, and the
church knows well what came to pass at that Passover meal. Jesus
instituted the Eucharist. Herein lies one of the ways for the
disciples to be prepared in attending to the bride, the church. "The
cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood
of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the
body of Christ?"
This is the Lord's way of preparing us for the journey ahead. It is
His gift of forgiveness, and means of sustenance as He delays. Holy
Baptism was likewise instituted by Jesus, perhaps because He was to
delay His coming at midnight, the end of time. What is sure, though,
is that along with these holy mysteries given, we receive the Holy
Spirit, the Oil of Joy! Jesus in giving us the lamp that lights our
path, illuminates with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
It is this gift which is received Who leads us to confess, to pray,
to be in the midst of liturgy, to have the gospel proclaimed down
among us. As the gospel processes among us, the light of Christ
shines among us with the Holy Spirit giving forth that light. The
bride shouts her Halleluias because in this proclamation, she has been
attended to faithfully by the apostles, for they heeded the words of
Christ in this parable.
They wrote what they saw, they penned what they heard, and the light
of Christ and the oil of the Holy Spirit governed it all. Today from
the lecturn this faithfulness is in our midst, and you truly alive and
well-cared for. Sins forgiven, failures blotted out, and Jesus loving
you still as He delays.
He may delay in coming, but He is quick and faithful in His
forgiveness and love for you. It is shown in all of these holy gifts
which have been given to the bride as promises that He shall come back
to bring her home. Amen.
--
Rev. Chad Kendall
www.frchadius.blogspot.com
Trinity Lutheran Church
Lowell, Indiana
___________________________________________________________________________
'CAT 41 Sermons & Devotions' consists of works that are, unless otherwise
noted, the copyrighted property of the various authors; posting of such
gives members of this list implied consent for redistribution _with_
_attribution_ unless otherwise specified by the author, as well as
for quoting or use in a congregational setting
_with_or_without_attribution_.
Note: This list's default reply is to the *poster*, NOT the list.
Do *not* reply to the list with your comments, but to the poster.
Subscribe? Send ANY note to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Unsubscribe? Send ANY note to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Archive? <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/>
For more information on this or other lists offered by Confess And Teach
For Unity, you can contact the CAT 41 list administrator at:
Rev. Fr. Eric J. Stefanski <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
