Trinity 27 2020
Matthew 25:1-13
November 22, 2020
Zion Lutheran Church – Nampa, ID
Today, in the Gospel reading we hear Jesus speaking the parable of the 10 virgins, or the 10 bridesmaids. All of them took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five were foolish for they went unprepared for the long wait. Five were wise and packed oil. For some reason, and we aren’t told why, the bridegroom was delayed. And then all 10 of the virgins fell asleep. Abruptly woken up by the midnight cry, the foolish five realized they didn’t have enough oil. Sharing wasn’t an option, for the wise women wisely observed that if they shared no one would have enough and to go get their own. Obviously, this would be a challenge so late at night and with so little time to spare. By the time the foolish five return it was too late. The door was shut. The time to enter had passed. Why weren’t they ready for this?
Why weren’t we ready for this? People have been asking that question a lot this year. Back in April, National Public Radio aired a podcast in which they tried to answer this question. Why weren’t we ready for this? “Again and again,” the host said, “the world was warned that it was not ready for a pandemic. Warned by the World Health Organization and the World Bank in a big study last year. Warned by research scholars and in long magazine articles. Warned even by Bill Gates in a famous TED Talk in 2015.” Whatever you think of the pandemic, the world was warned that something like this was going to happen. Why weren’t we ready for this?
The podcast explored some of the reasons. One is economic efficiency. People have a hard time spending money on the potential for a disaster. Especially a disaster we haven’t experienced personally. Another reason is what’s known as optimism bias. Some of you don’t suffer from this because you are so pessimistic. But most of us, even if we know there’s a disaster on the way, don’t really think it will hurt us. Then there’s the herd mentality. When only a few people are worried, then we don’t tend to get too worked up. If everyone starts to worry, then we’ll probably join in the frenzy. Case in point, the toilet paper shortage from 6 months ago.
There are all sorts of reasons why we weren’t ready for this pandemic. But they all come down to one. We weren’t ready because we can’t see into the future. We plan, and we calculate, and we prepare. But if there’s one thing we’re learning right now, in real time, it’s that we don’t know what’s coming next. Or do we?
The 10 virgins certainly did. They were there to meet the bridegroom after all. They knew that he was coming. Their problem wasn’t that they didn’t know, it was that the foolish five didn’t expect the delay in his coming. And when he did come suddenly, they were out of time, unaware, but with no excuse.
So why aren’t people ready? Some may not have heard about Jesus. Some may be in a position in this life where they think they have it all together, well off, good job, good family, health and wealth and don’t really feel the immediate need. Optimistic for this life, the end – the end of the world, the end of one’s life – often seems far away and not a real pressing issue. Even now, just statistics and numbers, impersonal.
What about you? Are you ready? Death comes to us all. And Jesus could return at any time. Are you ready to greet Him? What does that readiness mean? Readiness doesn’t mean knowing the time when Jesus returns, for no one knows the day or hour. It does mean having the oil needed to keep the light of faith going. Such readiness is an individual matter, “No one can be aided by the works and merits of another, because it is necessary for everyone to buy oil for his own lamp” (AC XXI 30). A real and present danger of the pandemic tide is people running out of oil as the time of Christ’s coming draws near, of being removed by tyrannical mandate or God forbid, willful separation from the source of faith Himself, and time running out. The sad reality is that many will fail to enter heaven because they neglect their faith. Faith is the oil continually sustained by the means of grace, which enables God’s people to patiently endure until Christ’s return.
And Christ is coming. This is certain, as certain as He is risen is from the dead. And He is coming back in judgment. But you have already been judged. Because of God’s grace received through faith, you have already been declared “not guilty” and welcomed into the kingdom of heaven for the sake of Christ. For God has not destined you for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for you, so that whether you are awake or asleep you might live with Him (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10).
The lesson of the parable is simple and summed up in the last verse, “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” Be ready. There is no excuse. You know what is coming next. It has been said that the church is “a people ahead of time” (Richard John Neuhaus). We are a people who live in the present knowing the future. We know how it will end. Not how the pandemic will end—whenever that might come. No, we know how all things will end. And that knowledge, that certain hope, that word and promise from the Lord flows out into our lives. It flows out into the way we interact with one another.
The end will be sudden, in the middle of the night the cry happens, and those who are ready go to meet the bridegroom. Until that time comes, stay awake. Keep the fire of faith burning and the oil filled by the word of God living in the confidence that while Jesus’ return is delayed, we are ready to greet Him at His coming and join Him in the marriage feast of His eternal kingdom.