November 12, 2023 Sermon
Sermon title: "Wise and Foolish Maidens"
Scripture: Matthew 25:1-13
(Other lectionary suggestions include Joshua 24:1-3a and 14-25. Psalm 78:1-7, and I Thessalonians 4:13-18.)
Matthew 25:1-13
The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids
1“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; 4but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. 6But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. 8The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ 10And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. 11Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ 13Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
The sermon title comes from the name of the parable, "Wise and Foolish Maidens," which we heard in this morning's reading. The description of the bridegroom coming at any time was well known in Jesus's day. A wedding was a big deal, and everything stopped for the occasion. And people really had to be ready for an unexpected arrival of the bridegroom! So, people who heard this story from Jesus would have been familiar with the setting.
The question is, Why did Jesus tell this parable? One explanation comes from the Interpreter's Bible, a copy of which we have in the church office. Please keep in mind that Matthew's Gospel, part of which we heard today, was written well after Jesus walked the earth. If Jesus died and was resurrected sometime in the thirties, and Mark's Gospel, thought to be the first one written, came about in 65 A.D. and Matthew's sometime after that, say 70 to 80 A.D., there has already been some passage of time, say 30 to 40 years. So, we can say that Mark and Matthew are both written a generation or more later than when Jesus walked the earth. Again, why this parable? The early church believed that Jesus would come again - the Second Coming, sometimes called the Parousia - a lot sooner than it did. In fact, you and I are still waiting for the Second Coming, right? Most of those who knew Jesus in the flesh expected him to return sometime during their lifetimes....and IT DIDN'T HAPPEN! That is, unless he came and we missed it! I am joking, of course - at least, I HOPE I'm joking! Otherwise, he came while you and I weren't looking, and we're still here! Oh, no! We missed the rapture! What will become of us now?!
The truth is that the early Christians made a mistake or some sort of miscalculation as to when Christ would return. As I said, most thought he would come again in their lifetimes, and he did not, as far as I know. Listen to this from I Thessalonians 4:13-18: {{13But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died. 15For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died. 16For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever. 18Therefore encourage one another with these words.}}. Paul's letters are the earliest writings we have in the New Testament. They came even before the Gospels were written. The members of the churches Paul had planted were beginning to worry, because their fellow believers were dying, and they had expected the Second Coming before anybody died! THAT was why the Apostle Paul wrote what he did in I Thessalonians. And that is ALSO the reason for this parable of the Wise and Foolish Maidens! It was put in there by whoever wrote Matthew's Gospel to encourage the early believers to be ready, because the bridegroom (Jesus!) could return at any time. The early church, including the church at Thessalonika or Thessalonia, was getting a little restless: how come the bridegroom (Jesus!) had not returned? This parable was told for their benefit. It's gonna happen, and you had better be ready! Now the wise maidens who didn't share their oil may appear to be selfish - but that's not the point of this parable! The point is: Be ready And the bridegroom may appear to be heartless when he says, “Truly I tell you, I do not know you.” But that's not the point! Again, the point is: Be ready.
You may be shocked at how mean Jesus (or the bridegroom) seems in this parable. But there are some truths that not even Jesus can change. How about a student preparing for an exam? What does “being prepared” mean? If he didn't study, can he learn it all in one night? He may TRY, but usually all-nighters don't work. What if a person is being considered for a job? Can he suddenly acquire the skills he needs? What if his character is questionable? Can he all-at-once will himself a new one? Here's an amusing story.....When the Queen of England, Mary of Orange, was dying, her chaplain came to her to explain the way of salvation to her. She exclaimed from her deathbed, “I have not left this matter to this hour.” Isn't that a great story? Even the queen of England knew that some preparation was in order, and she was prepared!
Another point of this parable is that some things cannot be borrowed. When you're on the way out, do you think you can borrow some of Mother Theresa's goodness? I think you know the answer! Says the Scottish scholar William Barclay, “We cannot borrow a relationship with God; we must possess it for ourselves. We cannot borrow a character; we must be clothed with it. We cannot always be living on the spiritual capital which others have amassed. There are certain things we must win or acquire for ourselves, for we cannot borrow them from others.” To be too late can be such a tragedy.
Again, be ready for whatever God has in mind. If I were to die today, I would hope that I had said “I love you” to all those whom I have loved, and I hope that I'd have a chance to say, “Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life you have given me. Please forgive me for unknown sins, and especially the KNOWN ones! Thank you, Lord. I have been richly blessed, and I hope to live with you forever very soon.”
Let me close with that “Look busy!” joke! Amen.
Pastor Skip
