Those That Were Ready Went With Him
23rd Sunday after Pentecost- November 12, 2017 Baltic and East Nidaros Parish GOSPEL: Matthew 25:1-13 [Jesus said to the disciples:] 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. 8 The 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.’ 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. 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.”
Those That Were Ready Went With Him Sermon by Intern Randall J. Questad Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. As this year is quickly coming to an end, once again preparations are being made for Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings. As our family becomes larger it takes more coordinating of schedules as we anticipate and plan for these events. I would confess that I enjoy our Thanksgiving family events more than our Christmas gatherings. I suspect I prefer our Thanksgiving family events because there is less preparing for me to do. I just have to clean the garage and then enjoy meals from the many good cooks in our family and relax. Our Christmas events seem to require more planning for getting the right gift for our growing number of grandchildren. More shopping trips happen. More preparations are made to trim the house with Christmas decorations. I certainly enjoy participating in both of these holidays, but it seems that the more preparing you have to do—the less certain that you are ready for the event. As the church year is quickly coming to an end, Matthew’s lesson for us today speaks of anticipating Christ’s second return. Matthew uses the parable of the ten bridesmaids to describe the kingdom of heaven. I compare the ten wise bridesmaids to myself just showing up for the Thanksgiving meal and the ten foolish bridesmaids to my Christmas metaphor where you never can do enough to be certain that you are ready. All of the scriptures for today can be quite frightening. In the first lesson for today, Amos speaks of Christ’s second coming or as he says “the day of the Lord” will not be a good day for some. Amos says why would you want such a day? There will be darkness not light. It will be like you fleeing from a lion, but then meeting a bear. It will be like just resting your hand against a house, but then being bitten by a snake. And Matthew delivers some of the harshest words that you can hear and the harshest words that you can find in scripture. This is when the foolish bridesmaids are on the wrong side of the closed door and ask that the door to be opened for them, but the bridegroom replies, “I do not know you”. There was a great deal of fear at the time that Paul wrote this letter to the people of Thessalonica. It may help to put this fear into perspective by understanding when Paul wrote this letter. 1Thessalonians is believed to be the first of Paul’s letters and one of the earliest writings of the early church. Scholars believe that it was written about 50 years after the death of Jesus. Some of these people who first read these words met Jesus face to face. Some of these people witnessed Jesus’ empty tomb and his ascension into heaven. Some of these people heard Jesus himself say that he would return again.
But some of these people who trusted these things that they witnessed and hear Jesus say, now had family members die. They were standing beside the graves of their loved ones. They had expected Jesus to return, but he had delayed his coming. What was Jesus going to do with the people who had died before he came as he promised? So Paul preached to these people telling them that they should not grieve as people who have no hope. He told them that since Jesus died and rose again, so who all who have died in Christ also be raised. Whenever I hear the parable of the ten bridesmaids, I am reminded of the day that my daughter Sarah got married. There weren’t ten, but there were 9 bridesmaids! I’m still not sure just why they wanted an outdoor wedding. Maybe it was partly because they needed about an acre for the wedding party to stand. There was reason for some fears that day too. Was it going to rain? Was it going to be an unbearably hot August day? Was the generator to provide electricity going to be too loud for the ceremony? Were the chairs going to be delivered on time? With all the concerns for what could go wrong, it would have been possible to miss the joy of the day. But as the day unfolded, we were prepared and enjoyed the day. In the same way, in the parable of the ten bridesmaids, it is easy to only focus on the darkness of the day. And make no mistake, for some the day of the Lord will be a dark day. For me, I found it helpful to first see what all ten bridesmaids had in common. They all got up to see the bridegroom. They all had lamps and trimmed them as they went out. When the bridegroom delayed, they all fell asleep. And none of them knew for sure when the bridegroom was coming. So what was the difference between the foolish and the wise bridesmaids? The wise had the oil that was needed for their lamps. They were prepared and ready for whenever the bridegroom would return. They were prepared. They were not preparing. The foolish bridesmaids thought there was something they had to do to get prepared. They wanted to have a share of the wise bridesmaids’ oil. They even thought it would be possible to buy some oil to get ready. But the more they thought they needed to do to something to prepare, the more certain is was that they weren’t prepared. Words and events can create fear. The recent tragic tragedy during the worship service last Sunday in Texas can lead people to wonder, “Where are you God?” The words in the parable can lead you to wonder if you have enough oil for our lamps while Jesus is delaying. You can wonder what will happen to your family members when you stand by their graves. You can wonder if God will know you. But there is good news in this parable. Being prepared is not something for you to do, but it is something done for you. Those who were ready went with him into the banquet. They too had been sleeping when the bridegroom returned. But when they were awakened, they were recognized by the bridegroom and they simply went with him into the wedding banquet. They were not surprised when the bridegroom arrived because they believed this is exactly what he said he would do. The oil that they had is faith that was given to them by what the bridegroom promised he would do. Having oil for your lamps is simply hearing the voice of Jesus call your name. There is nothing more that you can do. He has called you first in the waters of baptism. He said, “I know you. You are mine.” And he continues to remind you of the promise of the banquet feast that is prepared for you every time you hear Jesus speak to you. There is nothing for you to barter for or for you to purchase. The bridegroom has paid the price for you. You have heard his voice because Jesus has made you ready and you know the voice of the bridegroom. You have what you need. Thy word is a lamp onto my feet and a light onto my path. You have the oil. You have heard the words of Jesus again who has claimed you as his own. You can now go home and sleep like all of the bridesmaids, for when you hear the bridegroom, you will simply get up and go with him because he knows you and welcomes you to the feast that he has prepared for you. Amen.
Those That Were Ready Went With Him Sermon by Intern Randall J. Questad Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. As this year is quickly coming to an end, once again preparations are being made for Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings. As our family becomes larger it takes more coordinating of schedules as we anticipate and plan for these events. I would confess that I enjoy our Thanksgiving family events more than our Christmas gatherings. I suspect I prefer our Thanksgiving family events because there is less preparing for me to do. I just have to clean the garage and then enjoy meals from the many good cooks in our family and relax. Our Christmas events seem to require more planning for getting the right gift for our growing number of grandchildren. More shopping trips happen. More preparations are made to trim the house with Christmas decorations. I certainly enjoy participating in both of these holidays, but it seems that the more preparing you have to do—the less certain that you are ready for the event. As the church year is quickly coming to an end, Matthew’s lesson for us today speaks of anticipating Christ’s second return. Matthew uses the parable of the ten bridesmaids to describe the kingdom of heaven. I compare the ten wise bridesmaids to myself just showing up for the Thanksgiving meal and the ten foolish bridesmaids to my Christmas metaphor where you never can do enough to be certain that you are ready. All of the scriptures for today can be quite frightening. In the first lesson for today, Amos speaks of Christ’s second coming or as he says “the day of the Lord” will not be a good day for some. Amos says why would you want such a day? There will be darkness not light. It will be like you fleeing from a lion, but then meeting a bear. It will be like just resting your hand against a house, but then being bitten by a snake. And Matthew delivers some of the harshest words that you can hear and the harshest words that you can find in scripture. This is when the foolish bridesmaids are on the wrong side of the closed door and ask that the door to be opened for them, but the bridegroom replies, “I do not know you”. There was a great deal of fear at the time that Paul wrote this letter to the people of Thessalonica. It may help to put this fear into perspective by understanding when Paul wrote this letter. 1Thessalonians is believed to be the first of Paul’s letters and one of the earliest writings of the early church. Scholars believe that it was written about 50 years after the death of Jesus. Some of these people who first read these words met Jesus face to face. Some of these people witnessed Jesus’ empty tomb and his ascension into heaven. Some of these people heard Jesus himself say that he would return again.
But some of these people who trusted these things that they witnessed and hear Jesus say, now had family members die. They were standing beside the graves of their loved ones. They had expected Jesus to return, but he had delayed his coming. What was Jesus going to do with the people who had died before he came as he promised? So Paul preached to these people telling them that they should not grieve as people who have no hope. He told them that since Jesus died and rose again, so who all who have died in Christ also be raised. Whenever I hear the parable of the ten bridesmaids, I am reminded of the day that my daughter Sarah got married. There weren’t ten, but there were 9 bridesmaids! I’m still not sure just why they wanted an outdoor wedding. Maybe it was partly because they needed about an acre for the wedding party to stand. There was reason for some fears that day too. Was it going to rain? Was it going to be an unbearably hot August day? Was the generator to provide electricity going to be too loud for the ceremony? Were the chairs going to be delivered on time? With all the concerns for what could go wrong, it would have been possible to miss the joy of the day. But as the day unfolded, we were prepared and enjoyed the day. In the same way, in the parable of the ten bridesmaids, it is easy to only focus on the darkness of the day. And make no mistake, for some the day of the Lord will be a dark day. For me, I found it helpful to first see what all ten bridesmaids had in common. They all got up to see the bridegroom. They all had lamps and trimmed them as they went out. When the bridegroom delayed, they all fell asleep. And none of them knew for sure when the bridegroom was coming. So what was the difference between the foolish and the wise bridesmaids? The wise had the oil that was needed for their lamps. They were prepared and ready for whenever the bridegroom would return. They were prepared. They were not preparing. The foolish bridesmaids thought there was something they had to do to get prepared. They wanted to have a share of the wise bridesmaids’ oil. They even thought it would be possible to buy some oil to get ready. But the more they thought they needed to do to something to prepare, the more certain is was that they weren’t prepared. Words and events can create fear. The recent tragic tragedy during the worship service last Sunday in Texas can lead people to wonder, “Where are you God?” The words in the parable can lead you to wonder if you have enough oil for our lamps while Jesus is delaying. You can wonder what will happen to your family members when you stand by their graves. You can wonder if God will know you. But there is good news in this parable. Being prepared is not something for you to do, but it is something done for you. Those who were ready went with him into the banquet. They too had been sleeping when the bridegroom returned. But when they were awakened, they were recognized by the bridegroom and they simply went with him into the wedding banquet. They were not surprised when the bridegroom arrived because they believed this is exactly what he said he would do. The oil that they had is faith that was given to them by what the bridegroom promised he would do. Having oil for your lamps is simply hearing the voice of Jesus call your name. There is nothing more that you can do. He has called you first in the waters of baptism. He said, “I know you. You are mine.” And he continues to remind you of the promise of the banquet feast that is prepared for you every time you hear Jesus speak to you. There is nothing for you to barter for or for you to purchase. The bridegroom has paid the price for you. You have heard his voice because Jesus has made you ready and you know the voice of the bridegroom. You have what you need. Thy word is a lamp onto my feet and a light onto my path. You have the oil. You have heard the words of Jesus again who has claimed you as his own. You can now go home and sleep like all of the bridesmaids, for when you hear the bridegroom, you will simply get up and go with him because he knows you and welcomes you to the feast that he has prepared for you. Amen.
