"Are You Ready?"
Gettysburg Presbyterian Church
David C. Wright
Matt. 25:1 - 13
November 1, 2009

          This Fall we’ve been looking at the parables of Jesus.  We’ve learned that the major theme of Jesus’ teaching is….?  Right, the Kingdom of God.  The Kingdom of God exists wherever God is recognized and honored as king.  Wherever God’s will is done.  The parables we’ve looked at so far have emphasized the characteristics of God’s kingdom here and now.  The Kingdom grows, has great influence and great value.  The Kingdom is characterized by grace and mercy and forgiveness.  It seeks after outsiders.  It is a place of prayer.
          But Jesus taught that the Kingdom of God is moving toward a future culmination when everything and everyone will do the will of God.  That’s what we pray every week when we pray the Lord’s prayer:  “Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  We’re asking for God’s Kingdom to encompass everyone and everything, as God originally intended.  When God finally restores all Creation to his original plan, all violence and betrayal, hurt and pain, sickness and death will end.  That’s what we all long for and hope for, when we pray for the coming of God’s Kingdom. 
          Some of Jesus’ parables point us to that future dimension of the Kingdom like this one does in Matt. 25.
          1  "Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.
          2  Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.
          3  When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them;
          4  but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.
          5  As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept.
          6  But at midnight there was a shout, "Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.'
          7  Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps.
          8  The foolish said to the wise, "Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.'
          9  But 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.'
          10  And 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.
          11  Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, "Lord, lord, open to us.'
          12  But he replied, "Truly I tell you, I do not know you.'
          13  Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
          This seems like an odd wedding story.  In fact, it’s the only wedding story I’ve ever heard in which the bride plays no significant role!  There is certainly no bridezilla here!  The scene is a typical Palestinian wedding that begins when the groom’s party arrives at the home of the bride accompanied by musicians and dancing.  In a culture where “being on time” is not very important, no one is certain exactly when the groom will show up.  But when he arrives, the bride, accompanied by her bridesmaids, joins a celebration parade which winds through the entire village and ends up at the home of the new couple.  There, a joyful celebration begins which could last as long as a week! 
          The job of the bridesmaids is to provide light for the wedding party by carrying lit lamps or torches.  This is a very important function, since there were no street lights in Jesus’ time!  Those torches made it possible for the wedding party to proceed safely to the newlywed’s house.
          In this case, five of the bridesmaids, knowing that the groom and his party could arrive at any time, are well-prepared;  They have oil for their lamps ready to go.  But the five foolish bridesmaids take no oil for their lamps.  They knew their responsibility, but they failed to do it.  The main point of the parable has to do with being prepared for the coming of the groom. 
          The meaning of the parable would have been obvious to those who first heard it.  Jesus had already foretold his death and resurrection, but promised that he would return at a future, unknown time.  This hope in the return of Christ is a foundational Christian belief.  It’s found throughout the New Testament.  We talk about it in the Apostles Creed when we say that Jesus will come from right hand of the Father to judge the quick and the dead.  We refer to it when we quote Jesus’ words as we dispense the Lord’s Supper- “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you show forth the Lord’s death until he comes again.”  The coming of the bridegroom in this story clearly represents the return of Jesus for his bride, the church.
          The five wise bridesmaids remind us that some of Jesus’ followers will be alert and prepared for his coming.  They will react with great joy when he arrives, since his coming means the fulfillment of all the work they have been doing on his behalf.  They are wise because they order their lives in the certain knowledge that Jesus will return to finish the work he began during his first Advent.
          But then there are those other foolish bridesmaids.  Although their responsibility is clear to them, they are slothful and neglect to do their duty.     I once worked in a church near Daytona Beach, Florida as the Director of Christian Education and Youth.  While there, we were watching a local parade and I saw someone walking along in a huge, shaggy beast costume surrounded by people waving placards which read “Save The Giant Sloth.”  It turned out that over 10,000 years ago, giant sloths roamed the Daytona Beach area and a recent excavation had uncovered the bones of one of them.  Various community organizations were raising funds to build a museum to house the giant sloth bones.  They thought it would be an added tourist attraction!  Let’s see, the Daytona Speedway, Disney World, Sea World, and … Giant Sloth World.  Later we found out that the person who usually wore that extremely hot giant sloth costume at various community events was a church member.  She had my sympathy.
          Although we don’t know much about how ancient giant sloths lived, we do know something about modern sloths.  These slow-moving, 10-pound mammals live in the Amazonian rain forests where they spend just about all of their time hanging from high tree limbs, lazily reaching for the succulent leaves which are their entire diet.  Sloths move so slowly that algae and moss actually grow on their backs!  This is fortunate for the sloths for it helps to camouflage them from predators from which their slow-motion ways provide no defense.
          The parable reminds us that it’s possible for us to be possessed by a kind of spiritual sloth, which the five foolish bridesmaids represent.  Perhaps we once had an excitement about the God’s kingdom- maybe after a retreat, or summer camp, a mission trip, or other spiritual mountaintop experience.  But now we’re more likely to respond to the things of God with a “whatever.”  We don’t engage in the spiritual disciplines of Bible study, prayer, regular worship, fellowship, and service.  Our hearts are shaped more by the values of this world than by the values and priorities of God’s kingdom.
          The warning of the parable is that if we persist in spiritual slothfulness, a time will come in which it is too late to turn around.  A number of years ago, I was leading a group of folks on a mission project in Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula.  We had a wonderful week of construction, leading a Vacation Bible School, handing out eyeglasses, and fellowshipping with our Mexican brothers and sisters.  Unfortunately, our return flight from Merida was inexplicably delayed for over an hour.  So we arrived late in Houston, waited impatiently through customs and immigration, and raced to the gate for our connecting flight home.  We arrived about one minute too late.  We could see our plane sitting right outside the window, but the door to the aircraft had been closed.  The gate attendant could not be convinced to re-open it.  We were too late.  And we missed our flight.
          In the parable the foolish bridesmaids were too late and they missed out.  That may seem unfair, but it’s actually a profound insight into human nature.  You see, the choices we make each day are shaping our character, the “habits of our hearts.”  If we choose to nurture ourselves in a godly direction, over a lifetime those ways become more natural to us, even in times of crisis.  However, if we make our life choices based on pleasure or expediency or just plain selfishness, our hearts are formed in that way, and over time it becomes nearly impossible for us to turn back again to godly ways.  We reach a point of no return.
          That’s what Jesus is warning us about in the parable.  Remember that part of the story when the wise bridesmaids refuse to share their oil with the foolish ones?  That bothered me a little.  But the story makes it clear that they only had enough oil for their own torches.  If they had shared what they had, then all the torches would have gone out prematurely, and the whole celebration would have been plunged into darkness, unable to proceed.  Jesus is reminding us that some things can’t be done on behalf of someone else.  We are individually accountable before God, and the faith and good works of our parents or friends can’t help us out with that.
          United Methodist bishop, Wil Willimon, tells the story of attending the funeral of a friend at a small church in rural Georgia.  The preacher pounded on the pulpit and said, “It’s too late for brother Joe.  He might have wanted to spend more time with his family, but he’s dead now.  It is too late for him, but it is not too late for you.  There is still time for you.  You can still decide.  Today is your day of decision.”
          The preacher went on to tell a story about a Greyhound bus which crashed into a funeral procession on the way to the cemetery.  “That could happen today!”  he said.  “Now is the hour to decide.  It’s too late for brother Joe, but it’s not too late for you!”
          Willimon was furious at the preacher.  He told his wife in the car, “Have you ever heard anything so manipulative and insensitive to that poor family?  I found it disgusting.”
          “Yes,” she replied.  “I’ve never heard anything like that.  It was manipulative.  It was insensitive.  Worst of all, it was also all true.”
          Jesus reminds us that a day of accountability is coming, when he will return.  Are you ready?  Why not get ready today?  The Lord’s Supper provides us with a time for self-examination and reflection on our relationship with Jesus Christ.  Use this time to assess your readiness for the Lord’s return.  As always, any of us pastors would be glad to talk further with you about being prepared for the life to come.

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