Proper 27

Matthew 25:1-13

In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus talks a lot about how the kingdom is breaking into our world and spends a good deal of time describing the nature of the kingdom.

But as we know the kingdom won’t be FULLY REALIZED until he returns. We’re living in the already / not yet stage of history. The kingdom is already here in part but not yet here in full.

And in the parable we have today Jesus shifts to speaking in the future tense about what it will be like when he returns and we enter into a fully realized kingdom as his people.

BUT ... this parable is actually meant to serve as a warning, which means it’s inherently a bit unsettling.

So we’ll discuss it.

At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight the cry rang out: “Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!”

Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.”

“No,” they replied, “there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.”

But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. Later the others also came. “Sir! Sir!” they said. “Open the door for us!”

But he replied, “I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.” Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

Context

In the previous chapter Jesus has been teaching about WHEN he will return and how no one knows the day or the hour when it will happen.

He will arrive like a thief in the night. Or a master returning at an unexpected time to learn what his servants have been up to.

We human beings tend to be allergic to uncertainty like that so of course people will try to figure out a sign for when he’ll be coming.

But, Jesus says, there will be false messiahs, natural disasters, persecution and apostacy, wars and conflicts (including the destruction of Jerusalem) and none of them are a signal in and of themselves that he’s about to return.

He makes it pretty clear that however we try to calculate his return, we’ll probably be wrong. It’s best not to try to calculate at all. It’s best to simply be ready for it at any moment.

That leads into THIS parable.

Here the returning groom represents JESUS returning and the wedding feast represents the party that will take place when he fully ushers in his kingdom.

What Stands Out?

Given that the parable speaks to such a joyful moment, you might be struck by the harshness of the story.

If Jesus is the groom, what we have here is him turning people away from the kingdom who thought they were going to be part of it.

They knock on the door but he won’t let them in.

What do we do with that? Does this contradict the merciful God we know?

Didn’t Jesus say somewhere that

“Everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”

YES he did, in the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 7:8

But there are some other overlapping themes with the Sermon on the Mount that can help us understand this parable.

First, if you’ll remember near the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus talks about people letting their light shine, not hiding their LAMP under a basket. In this he’s talking about good works, or actions that reflect the character of God and the nature of the kingdom.

Keep that lamp lit.

And then near the END of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus tells us that not everyone who says “Lord Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of the Father. Matthew 7:21

People will cry out to him “Lord, Lord” and he’ll say “I never knew you.”

It is interesting then that in this morning’s parable the latecomers cry out “Sir, sir” or “Lord, Lord, let us in” and the response of the groom/Jesus is “I don’t know you.”

That’s always a bit of an anxiety provoking passage.

But Jesus does not mean for people to live in constant state of anxiety.

His warnings are not meant to paralyze us, they are meant to focus us so that we don’t miss out on what he desires for us.

And he is clearly teaching in multiple places that it’s possible to be casual and make some assumptions about our faith and be on auto pilot then find that we missed something important.

The “ask, seek, knock” of 7:8 is in reference to the generosity of God, reinforcing that God’s posture toward us is that of a loving Father who wants to give good gifts.

And the greatest gift he can give us is new life in his kingdom. And that invitation is extended to everyone since God desires all people to be saved and come to knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2:4).

HE DOESN’T WANT PEOPLE LEFT OUT.

So why are some people still on the outside?

Because some reject his invitation outright.

And, the point of this parable, some aren’t prepared to wait for it.

Application

Let’s look at the parable again.

All the young women start out the same. Ten of them that RSVP’d to the party.

What sets them apart?

Five just grabbed their lamps.

Five grabbed their lamps and oil to keep them lit.

Sure enough, the groom is slow to return and the young women fall asleep.

We might see some meaning in the fact that the groom arrived at night, as night time and darkness is often symbolic of the human condition in scripture.

If we extend the metaphor the question is, can we recognize Jesus when he draws close, even in the midst of the darkness?

Note that the fact they fell asleep is not the issue. Human beings need rest. Being 100% alert 24/7/365 is unreasonable and not what Jesus is asking for. And it’s not like only the foolish ones fell asleep.

A disciple who is prepared can fall asleep with assurance.

The issue is that some of them were prepared to recognize him and go with him, while the others were not.

What does all this represent for us?

Well the beauty of parables is that they are open to different application.

But I think in our time Christianity is often reduced to essentially accepting an invitation to the party.

The conversion experience is the RSVP.

And many have come to understand that once you RSVP you just have to wait until the trumpet sounds and the feast starts.

The lamp is cool but just kind of a bonus

And there’s nothing we need to do to KEEP the lamp lit

And, in fact, as many of us were taught, the mere SUGGESTION that there’s something for us to do undermines grace and would be adding works to salvation

But Jesus CLEARLY teaches that there is something more to the Christian life than a one time RSVP.

To respond to his invitation is to FOLLOW him.

It’s not just a party we are accepting an invite to, it’s a new reality, a new vision of life itself. A new purpose and a new destination.

Accepting the invite means cashing out of the bankrupt ways of the world, laying down every other idol, and re-orienting our lives to stay as close to him as possible so that he can lead us where we need to go.

This is important because, as he predicted, Jesus is slow in coming

Which, according to 2 Peter 3, is because he doesn’t want anyone to be locked out of the kingdom and wants everyone to come to knowledge of the truth

And so in the not yet we go about living, working, sleeping

But we either do that in a way that is ALWAYS colored by anticipating his return and aimed at the kingdom

Or we can do that in a way that kind of keeps it way in the background or forgets about it almost altogether

To keep it in the foreground is to keep our lamp lit

How do we do that? What is the oil exactly? Jesus doesn’t say specifically.

But I think we can say that the practices that align us with Jesus and his kingdom are a big part

It’s service and generosity in loving our neighbor

It’s prayer that draws near to God

It’s fellowship with other believers

It’s study of his word

These practices are the oil reserves that keep our lamp lit and keep us ready in the night

They help keep the flame of hope alive in the darkness for us and those around us

And they help us to see and recognize the groom as he comes

And this could help explain why the young women can’t share their oil.

I can’t just break off a piece of the intimacy I experience with God in prayer and give it to you.

At some level you have to cultivate that yourself.

And the point here is that you shouldn’t put that off. No one knows the day or the hour.

Conclusion

So is this Jesus adding works to salvation?

We have to do these things or else we’ll get locked out of the kingdom?

No. It’s just Jesus describing the true nature of faith.

Faith is following.

Faith touches down in real life, disrupts us and re-calibrates our lives.

It’s not just passively waiting for the party.

Even being invited to the party is grace.

We don’t earn our seat at the table. Quite the contrary.

But we are reminded over and over and over that accepting the invite means we re-orient our lives to that destination.

We live as though the return of the Jesus is imminent

And because we’ve cultivated lives that stay close to him and align with his kingdom we aren’t scrambling when the day finally arrives.

We don’t hear “I never knew you” but rather “Hello brother. Hello sister. We made it.”

It’s a natural transition.

Again, Jesus doesn’t give us these warnings to lock us up in anxiety.

He gives us these warnings because he loves us and doesn’t want us to get complacent or distracted and miss out on anything he desires for us.

So we want to be a church who is intentional in the waiting, investing in the reserve oil to help maintain hope in the dark and recognize Jesus when he comes near.