Matthew 25:1-13
Clackety! Clackety! Clackety! Clackety!
I knew the sound the moment I heard it – coming from under the hood
of my 1967 Dodge Dart. It was the sound of the engine as it was self-
destructing. I couldn’t tell if it was a thrown rod or a bad valve or some
elves under the hood hitting the engine with hammers – but I knew it
was bad.
I knew that because it had happened before. In fact, I had bought the
Dart in the Spring of my junior year of college – and just four weeks
after I put a license plate on it, the engine failed.
Hoping it was something minor and easily fixable – I checked the oil,
praying that the dipstick was dry. It wasn’t. It was just the right
level – but that told me the engine was shot and I’d have to replace it.
A couple of friends and I spent a couple of days during Finals Week
swapping out the engine with one from another Dart that had been
consumed by rust. Trust me – we drained the old oil and made sure
we put the right amount of brand-new oil in it.
I was thankful that the engine failure was not my fault – although that
did little to lessen the stress of it all. The Dart’s former owner must not
have been diligent in checking and changing the oil. Diane will tell you
that I – on the other hand – am pretty obsessive about changing the oil
when we reach the mileage on the windshield sticker.
The five foolish virgins in our reading today from Matthew learned the
hard way about making sure they had enough oil in their lamps for a
wedding celebration.
Jewish wedding traditions in Jesus’s day were very different from ours.
For one thing, the prospective groom would make an offer to the father
of the bride – who would then make a counter-offer – and they would
haggle until both were satisfied with the price. Sorry ladies – the bride
didn’t get much say in this – if any.
Then the groom would tell the bride: “I am going to prepare a place for
you.” Does that sound like something you’ve heard before?
He would go back to his father’s home and build a beautiful room for
his bride – and then fill it with supplies for a week-long honeymoon.
When all was ready, he would go to get his bride.
Since they didn’t have cell phones in the first century AD, he couldn’t
shoot her a text to tell her he was on the way. Meanwhile, the bride
and her bridesmaids would wait. The groom could come at any time,
so they had to be ready all the time: watching and waiting – with their
lamps filled with oil and their wicks trimmed.
In this parable, some of the bridesmaids were wise and some were a
little bit too carefree. The wise ones took extra oil with them – but the
foolish ones figured, “We’ve got enough.”
The bridesmaids lighted their lamps just before they left home.
Unfortunately, the groom was delayed. Significantly delayed.
And the bridesmaids fell asleep while waiting.
At midnight, someone cried out, “The bridegroom is coming!”
The bridesmaids grabbed their lamps. The ones who had brought
extra oil refilled their lamps – which would stay lit until morning came.
The ones who did not have a reserve supply knew their lamps would
soon go out. They begged the other bridesmaids to share their oil,
but they refused to share – not wanting to run out themselves.
The unprepared bridesmaids had to look for an all-night convenience
store that sold lamp oil – and by the time they got to the wedding
venue, the door was shut and locked. They banged on the door and
begged to be let in – but the groom told them, “I don’t know you.”
What a sad story! What’s even sadder is the message Jesus wanted
the story to convey: that Jesus has invited people – including people
like us – to His wedding banquet. Some come up with excuses for not
accepting the invitation. Others think they’re good enough on their
own and don’t need His invitation. Others don’t even believe He
exists: to them, there is no Groom and there is no wedding to attend.
The truth of the Gospel is that – collectively – we the Church ARE
the bride – NOT the bridesmaids. We sing that truth in the great hymn,
“The Church’s One Foundation:”
“From heaven He came and sought Her to be His holy Bride;
with His own blood He bought Her, and for Her life He died.”
If we have embraced the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for us – then we are
His Holy Bride – and we will be waiting with eager expectation for Him
to arrive. We have no idea when that will be – so we don’t believe
anyone who tries to give us a date for that earth-shaking event.
The Apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonian Christians that Jesus
would come back “like a thief in the night.” And Jesus reinforced that
message in Revelation 16: “Blessed is the one who stays awake,
keeping his garments on …”
That does not mean we must wear our street clothes to bed. It’s an
illustration of how we have to be ready for His return. Part of that
preparation – that readiness – is our gathering every Lord’s Day to
worship and hear God’s Word
We who are worshipping our returning Savior today need not worry
about when Jesus is coming back. He says even He doesn’t know
when it will happen. We just need to be prepared: waiting, watching,
witnessing, and worshipping – until He comes on the clouds of
Heaven.
Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!