Sermon Text: Matthew 25:1-13
Date: November 11, 2023
Event: Proper 27, Year A
Matthew 25:1-13 (EHV)
“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3When the foolish ones took their lamps, they did not take any oil with them; 4but the wise took oil in their containers with their lamps. 5While the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ 7Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. 8The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’ 9But the wise answered, ‘No, there may not be enough for us and for you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ 10But while they were away buying oil, the bridegroom came. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut. 11Later, the other virgins also came and said, ‘Lord, Lord, let us in.’ 12But he answered, ‘Amen I tell you: I do not know you.’ 13Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”
Be Prepared!
Are you a planner and preparer, or do you tend to fly by the seat of your pants? Do you write down every upcoming event on a large calendar in your kitchen, or do you assume you can keep it all in your head? Both are ways of preparing, but one is likely more manageable than the other. But, if you can give yourself enough time and remember to do what you need to do, then everyone’s own system serves the purpose.
The problem comes when you don’t keep track of it all. Something slips your mind, you didn’t write something down on your list, or you neglected to look at your list one last time to remind yourself what needs to be done, and then you’re stuck. Whether it’s packing for a trip, finishing a project for school, having an important conversation with a loved one, or even just packing your lunch for work, being unprepared can lead to some difficult situations and awkward moments.
In our Gospel for this morning, Jesus is talking about preparation, but not simply about earthly things; he’s zeroing us in on being prepared spiritually. He is reminding us that right now is our time to prepare for eternity. So we know we should be prepared, but how?
Jesus uses a parable with ten virgin attendants at a wedding celebration. They needed to be ready to receive the bridegroom and enter the celebration whenever he arrived. And while one might assume that he would come at any moment, all ten women bring oil lamps to light the darkness if it got late. But only five thought ahead and brought extra oil, while the other five brought just what was in the lamp itself. That meant their lamps were out when the bridegroom was returning. Because they were unprepared and off buying more oil when he came back, they missed the entry into the wedding celebration, and when they arrived late, the answer from the bridegroom was stark: “Amen I tell you: I do not know you.”
Jesus says this is all a picture of the kingdom of heaven, and while we might automatically think of eternal life itself when we hear that phrase, far more often, Jesus is speaking about his rule in our hearts by faith right now rather than eternal life. Certainly, saving faith leads to eternal life, but Jesus focuses on us in the here and now so that we are prepared for the eternal.
So, spiritually, we want to have enough oil in our lamps. What does that mean? How do we now prepare for eternal life? We don’t know when we will face eternity because we do not know when we will die, nor do we know when Jesus will return. Jesus was clear: you do not know the day or the hour. Even if someone guesses when the end of the world will be, it’s just a guess and almost assuredly a wrong guess.
So, since we don’t know if Jesus is returning today or 2,000 years from now, and we don’t know if our life has many years or months or even just hours left, it means that we want and need to be prepared now. How do we prepare for Jesus’ return? How do we prepare for our deaths? How do we prepare for eternity?
In part, the answer is right here, right now. The thing we need to be ready is faith that Jesus is our Savior, trusting that he truly forgave every sin and has given us eternal life as a free gift. But, it can be easy for us to be the women with their lamps but no oil in reserve. We could have the look of preparedness—maybe we were baptized, confirmed, or married in a church, but we haven’t done much with it since then. Perhaps we find confidence because our names are on the membership rolls of a Christian church, even though we rarely go. Or maybe, even more insidious, is that we appear to be ready with our lamp in hand because we are in church regularly, but we don’t let anything said or shared here have an impact on our lives; we come here to “give God an hour” and then off we go to the rest of our week, doing whatever we want to do without a thought or care about God’s will or his love for us.
Having a lamp with no oil can be dangerous because we can trick ourselves into thinking we’re set or put our confidence in the wrong thing, and thus be lost.
So, how do we ensure that our lamps are full of oil and have plenty in reserve? How do we ensure we are prepared for whenever we enter into eternity? The answer is still right here. Through his Word and sacraments, God gives and strengthens faith, the oil in Jesus’ parable. So, first and foremost, to be prepared, we want to surround ourselves with the means that God uses to create and sustain faith.
That means gathering with your fellow Christians for worship regularly. That likely also means having the Word in your home through devotions like the Meditations booklets or a Bible reading plan to allow God’s flawless and powerful Word to work deep into our hearts not just once a week but daily.
What does a prepared heart look like? It’s a heart that knows that you can do nothing to save yourself. It’s a heart that knows that you are a sinner and deserve hell for that sin. It’s a heart that trusts that Jesus did everything you needed him to do to rescue you when he lived a perfect life in your place and died on the cross to pay for every single sin you and everyone else has ever committed. It’s a heart that trusts that Jesus will return and open the door to that wedding banquet, and you will be brought in because of his love and mercy for you.
All of that is internal. Are there external ways to see this preparation? While we cannot do anything to earn God’s love, forgiveness, or eternal life, the way we live our life reflects the preparation, that faith, in us. The way you treat others is a reflection of your preparation. How you respect the leaders God has placed over you in your home, church, and government reflects your preparation. The way you think of sin in general—whether as something to be sought after or something to be avoided—is a reflection of your preparation. Your faith should affect your life; your time in God’s Word should affect what you do and why you do it. Your faith brings forth a life of good works in thanksgiving to God because he’s forgiven your sin and given you eternal life.
Tending to your faith with God’s Word and sacraments and letting that produce a real, ongoing change in our lives is what it means to be prepared. Ever focused on Jesus as our one and only Savior and living our lives in thanksgiving to him for rescuing us from sin, death, and hell is how we keep our lamps lit and continue to ensure we have plenty of oil to last. That is precisely what Isaiah meant in our First Reading when he urged us to “Wake, awake!” (Isaiah 52:1). Likewise, this is what Paul meant in our Second Reading when he urged the Thessalonians and us, “Let us not sleep like everyone else, but rather let us remain alert and sober (1 Thessalonians 5:6).
As I look at my life, I see so many times when I have not remained spiritually alert and sober. I have drifted to sleep in complacency and apathy. I have been drunk on my sin and my desires, caring little for what others, including God, wanted. I have been selfish and thoughtless. I had no oil in my lamp.
And while it is easy to let guilt for those times be crushing, God would have us see a different way forward. Rather than seeing all those times as reasons I am unprepared, I can look at those times and see God’s grace and forgiveness that wipe out those sins. I can see his love for me as preparing me for eternity when I, on my own, was wholly unprepared. Paul’s words to the Thessalonians resonate loudly in the picture Jesus paints with his parable. Consider once again how he concluded our Second Reading: You see, God did not appoint us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up, just as you are also doing (1 Thessalonians 5:9-11).
There, Paul sums up everything we want to remember as we look forward to our time entering eternity: God has given us complete salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, even for all of those times when we weren’t preparing for eternity as we should have. Whether alive in this life or asleep in him, we are safe because of his death and resurrection. And while we are here, let us encourage one another to be the wise women with oil to spare. Let’s encourage each other in this deeply personal yet communal task of preparing for the end because that’s why God has given us to each other.
My brothers and sisters, how do you prepare for eternity? You let God do everything you needed. While rejoicing in what he’s done, stay awake, keep watch, keep your lamps trimmed and burning, for your Bridegroom, your Savior, will return. Come, Lord Jesus! Amen.
