The Last Sunday after Trinity

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

As we come to the end of the Church Year, our focus shifts to the end of time—to Christ’s second coming, about which we will hear even more in the early weeks of Advent as the end of the Church Year rolls seamlessly into its beginning. Today’s Gospel text is the Parable of the Ten Virgins, which is one of the foundational end times texts. On the Second Sunday in Advent, we will hear more of our Lord’s explicit teaching on the end times. But it is this Parable of the Ten Virgins which sticks in imaginations. In fact, this parable is the basis for Philipp Nicolai’s great hymn that we just sang, which is sometimes called the King of Chorales:

“Wake, awake, for night is flying,” The watchmen on the heights are crying; “Awake, Jerusalem, arise!” Midnight hears the welcome voices And at the thrilling cry rejoices: “Oh, where are ye, ye virgins wise? The Bridegroom comes, awake! Your lamps with gladness take! Alleluia! With bridal care Yourselves prepare To meet the Bridegroom, who is near” (LSB 516:1).

Parables have a way of penetrating more deeply into the human psyche than ordinary rational arguments and discourse. This is so because we are people who live in stories, and we experience life in stories. Therefore we naturally connect with stories. I can tell you the point of our Lord’s parable: Be prepared for our Lord’s second coming. But when this teaching is connected to a story—in this case, our Lord’s parable—then you will see and feel and understand the teaching more deeply. And so, our Lord tells this parable so that we know what the kingdom of heaven will be like on the Last Day when He returns in glory to judge both the living and the dead. If one were telling this story in present day terms, it might go something like this:

Once upon a time there were ten virgins. In our culture, we might better think of them as bridesmaids. These ten bridesmaids were preparing for the wedding of all weddings—the marriage of Christ and His Bride, the Church. And these virgins were given the glorious honor of participating in the wedding because they are of the Church, which is to say, they belong to the Bride. And on Her account, Christ, the Bridegroom, has invited them to the wedding.

As with any wedding, preparations must be made. In our world, those preparations consist of trying on dresses, picking out flowers, and the like so that the bridesmaids are prepared to assist the bride and to bring honor to the marriage. In the world of this story, one is not concerned with flowers and dresses, but with lamps, whose light will shine with radiant brightness to bring honor to the marriage of Christ and the Church.

Now, the thing that you need to know about lamps in this world is that they need oil—like an old oil or kerosene lamp of our world. There are no electric lights or battery-powered flashlights. And so, without oil to serve as fuel, there would be no light to give honor to the marriage.

Knowing this, you would think that the ten virgins would all pack extra oil with their lamps—just in case something were to happen—that way they wouldn’t be caught out in the dark (literally or figuratively). But I’ve made a big enough deal out of this point for you to figure out, even if you didn’t already know the story, that the five foolish virgins didn’t bring extra oil for their lamps. They presumed that the little bit which remained in the bottom of their lamps would be enough to get them through. The five wise virgins, however, packed oil to spare.

And so, the night of the wedding arrived, and the ten virgins set out with their lamps lit to meet the bridal party. But when they arrived at the meeting place, the Bridegroom had not yet arrived. They stood for quite a while, watching each passing shadow and waiting to see when the Bridegroom would arrive. Eventually, their attentiveness diminished. They sat down, and soon they began to doze, and they fell into a deep sleep.

But then midnight came, and a loud cry was heard: “Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!” (Matthew 25:6). As if awoken by a sudden alarm, the virgins shot up, remembering their bridesmaid duties, and they looked to their lamps. Not a single lamp was lit. The five wise virgins were prepared for such an event, so they refilled their lamps with the spare oil, trimmed the wicks, and re-lit them. The foolish virgins, however, tried in vain to re-light their lamps. But it was no use, because their oil was gone. The wise virgins did not have enough oil to share. And even if they did, it was the place of each individual bridesmaid to ensure her lamp was lit—each one should provide for herself. After all, if you were a bridesmaid in a wedding, you would not expect another bridesmaid to be responsible to prepare and bring both her dress and yours!

So, the foolish virgins were forced to go to the market to seek out more oil. But the Bridegroom came when they were gone. And the virgins who were prepared entered with the bridal party into the wedding hall. And the foolish virgins were locked out. Even when they came to beg at the door that they might be let in, the response of the Bridegroom was damning: “Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you” (Matthew 25:12).

Now, this story could be applied to any number of things to illustrate the importance of preparation. But remember how I said in the beginning that this is a story about what the kingdom of heaven will be like on the Last Day. Therefore, the preparation that we should learn from this story is preparation for Christ’s second coming. We should make preparations for Christ’s second coming by following the example of the wise virgins, lest we end up locked out of the wedding hall with the foolish virgins.

Key to our application of this story is the lamp possessed by each virgin. The lamp is the vessel through which the flame would burn and bring light to the wedding. The lamp is merely the vessel for the flame. And it is the flame which brings honor and glory to the wedding. In the same way, our Lord said in Matthew chapter 5:

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).

But remember that in this world, a light needs oil to burn. In the same way, the light of your faith cannot burn brightly in acts of love toward your neighbor without the proper fuel. And that fuel for you is the Holy Spirit working through God’s Word. Said plainly, you cannot be a Christian witness nor can you faithfully reflect the light of Christ to friends, coworkers, or neighbors without the fuel of the Holy Spirit. There is a reason why St. Paul speaks of our external actions and motives as the Fruit of the Spirit (cf. Galatians 5:23-26).

Without the Holy Spirit working in you through God’s Word, you are just like the foolish virgins—which is to say, your light will go out. And as the parable teaches, the Bridegroom is coming. There will come a time when the doors of eternity will be locked. If you don’t want to miss out because of your own foolishness, you must be prepared for our Lord’s second coming. This means regularly submitting yourself to those places where the Holy Spirit through God’s Word fills your lamp with oil. So, be in church to hear the Word and receive the Sacrament. And not just occasionally—but every single week. And if you can’t make it for an extended period of time, call the church office and arrange for me to come visit you. For Christ’s Word and Sacraments are the primary means by which the Holy Spirit fills your tank of oil. Never presume that you have enough oil.

Dear friends in Christ, this is the paradox of the Christian faith. Your salvation and entrance into the eternal wedding hall is not achieved by your own works. But if you don’t place yourself in positions to receive the grace of the Holy Spirit, you will miss out. But when you do enable yourself to continually receive God’s grace, He will give to you in such abundance that your oil will never run out. May it be so for you for Christ’s sake.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.