Last Sunday of the Church Year

Dear child of God, by faith you are prepared for Christ's Return. That is the absolute foundation upon which Christianity resides. This visible church here in Howard Lake exists for the sole purpose of providing oil for lamps - faithfully and properly preaching, teaching, and administering sacraments - the precious means of grace that nurture the blessed gift of grace and mercy that brings eternal life to all who believe. By faith, you are prepared for Christ’s return.

Concerning that return, "The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night" (1 Thess. 5:1-11). The arrival of the bridegroom - of Jesus - will be sudden and unexpected. That’s why our reading happens in the middle of the night. We may think we know when everything will happen. We may lay our heads in slumber at night resting well in our plans. But when the Lord will return we know not.

Therefore you are to be watchful and ready like the five wise virgins. "For you know neither the day nor the hour" when the Son of Man is to return. (Matt. 25:1-13). Now don’t get fooled. All of the virgins fall to the reality of their sinful flesh. They all sleep. Even the most pious Christian gets lulled to sleep by the allurements of the world. Much grabs your attention and priorities and some so easily lay aside the necessity that is filling your lamps - that is being present in Word and Sacrament.

The lamps are the Word of Christ that gives you faith. Another way to think about it is that the lamps are the gift of faith you are given in your Baptism. Again, all the virgins have it. They’ve been claimed as God’s children and they are where they need to be - waiting for the bridegroom. They have their lamps. But as we know, there’s more to it than simply being claimed and marked as a child of God. There’s life to live. And with that life comes responsibility and accountability to God’s good and gracious will for your lives. No, this doesn’t mean that your salvation is conditional, rather, your life is to reflect the identity you’ve been given.

Think of it like this. If you were to be given a vehicle as a gift. Keys in hand. No payments are necessary. No taxes are due. An all-expenses-paid gift. Now, what is your responsibility? You’ve got to provide proper maintenance for that vehicle, correct? You’ve got to fill the gas tank in order to run it, correct? You’ve got to wash it to keep it clean, correct? Doing those things don’t give you the vehicle - they don’t make the vehicle what it is. Doing those things reflect the fact that you now care for what has been given you. You maintain the gift as it serves you with its intent.

So, with lamp in hand, you, dear child of God, have a necessary responsibility to keep that lamp filled. It’s your faith. It’s a gift. And if you don’t, you’ll end up like the foolish virgins who when they needed the light, had none. No amount of trimming of the wick will make up for an empty lamp. Along with the lamp, you have the free gift of oil necessary for lighting it. But again, are you wise or foolish? Are you keeping your lamp full or leaving the oil behind?

The oil in the lamps is the means of grace through which the Holy Spirit works to create and sustain the flame of faith in Christ. By faith, you are prepared for Christ’s return. The foolish are those who do not give proper attention to the working of the Holy Spirit in baptism, preaching, and the supper, and so their faith does not endure.

Are you foolish? Are you one who takes your lamp - your faith - for granted? You take your faith for granted by believing that this Sunday morning stuff isn’t all that important. You take your faith for granted when you think that by simply being here, you’re good - you know, like just coming and sitting in the pew because your spouse told you to - not opening a hymnal, following along, participating in the service. You take your faith for granted when you think that so long as you have the confirmation certificate in hand - that you’ve paid tuition to go through Lutheran school - that you’ve given this or that amount of money to the church - that your last name is this, that, or the other well-known names that fill the pages of this congregation’s history. You take your faith for granted anytime you think that somewhere or something else is more important than being in this very place each Sunday and being in God’s Word every day. Your lamp must be filled and you don’t have the means on your own to do that. To think such is to be a fool.

The wise, however, are those who diligently attend to these gifts of the Spirit, and who therefore have an abundance of oil. Why? Because they don’t take their faith for granted. Remember, the wise, too, are sinners. They also fall asleep. The battle of the flesh is real and all children of God will fail. But the difference between the foolish and wise is that when shaken and awakened from their slumber, the wise have oil in their lamps that light the way - that light the way to repentance.

You come to this place to receive the precious gifts of the Lord in Word and Sacrament not because you deserve it. No. You come here because you need the constant flow of oil that keeps your lamps lit. That oil also provides the healing balm upon your wounded souls. As the Word of God pulls you from the ditches in which you lay battered and beaten by the thieves of the world, your Savior brings you back to the path and delivers you to the inn - the church. And it’s here that you find the joyous noise that keeps you awake. By faith, you are prepared for Christ’s return.

So the firm, constant, and, believe it or not, loving admonishment from your pastor is constantly this: don’t be a fool. Be wise in your Baptism and despise not the means that fill your lamp - that nourish your soul. For that’s the heart of the matter folks - your soul. Is your soul guided by faith or lost in the world? As children of God, you belong not to the night, but to the day. “Since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:8-9)

The flame of faith endures to the end. By God's grace, all who believe and are prepared are received into the eternal wedding feast of the Lamb in His kingdom. The new heavens and the new earth are created by the Lord for the joy of His people (Is. 65:17-25). And so with that heavenly reality, you, dear child of God stand prepared. Be diligent in keeping your oil. Be present here and in your personal devotion to reading the Word of God. Be confident not in your own doing. Instead, rest assured in the blessed gift of faith and the means that fill and light the way. For when you least expect it the bridegroom - the Lord - will come calling. And may we all give thanks at that moment, that by faith, you are prepared for Christ’s return. Amen.