PENTECOST 26, A – November 9, 2008

SCRIPTURES – Psalm 84; Amos 5:18-24; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; Matt. 25:1-13

 

            How many of you have been to a wedding? Raise your hands. Now, raise your hand if you’ve been a bridesmaid or groomsman in a wedding. There’s a big difference between just attending a wedding and being part of the wedding festivities, isn’t there? As a wedding guest you might have a great time. But, you might also know the bride and groom very distantly, or even not at all, and so be pretty much on the perimeter of the festivities and be bored. It’s not this way at all if you are a member of the wedding party, is it? If you’re in the wedding party:

q   You know the bride and groom well and share in their happiness.

q   You not only have a front row view of the wedding; you have a role in it!

q   You are in the pictures and may get special treatment because of this.

q   Maybe you ride together in a limo and share in that fun.

q   You have a seat of honor at the reception.

q   You know the inside jokes and stories that are told.

q   You are given a special gift by the bride and groom, thanking you for your participation.

A wedding, and the reception after, are so much better when you’re involved in them!

When Jesus speaks of His return from heaven and tells us to watch for it and be ready, He’s not talking about a affair with which you are going to be bored because it really has nothing to do with you. It will be a wedding celebration in which you will be involved! He has given you a special invitation and made you part of the wedding party!

We believers in Jesus have so much to look forward to. And, we’re not just waiting on the sidelines. Those ten virgins in Jesus’ parable who were waiting for the arrival of the bridegroom – they are us, Christ’s people, His Church. They were part of the wedding party, special friends of the bride who were chosen by her to wait with her that they might carry torches and accompany the wedding procession to the groom’s house. Now, if you’ve ever been a bridesmaid, you know what it’s like as you wait and get ready to leave for the wedding. You’re not waiting alone, bored and doing nothing. You’re with the bride; you have a special dress, a sign itself that you’re a special to the bride and groom, important to them and loved by them. You’re getting your hair and nails done. Sure, you’re doing a number of things that are routine as you get ready. But, because you’re together and you’re preparing for a special occasion, what you’re doing isn’t dull. It’s fun, even  exciting, because you’re getting ready for a wonderful event. This is true even for the guys. On the day of my wedding my friends helped me wash my car. Oh, boy! But, it wasn’t boring. It was an exciting day, and so we washed the car with much more enthusiasm and care than usual. The preparations are part of the event, part of the excitement and joy of the entire day!

Now, can you imagine being a bridesmaid and not getting ready with the other girls? Can you imagine showing up late for the wedding, with no make-up and your hair unwashed and uncombed? Can you imagine wearing, not the dress that had been picked out for you, but jeans and an old T-shirt? No way! That would be an insult! Those five foolish virgins, who had no oil for their lamps and so could not accompany the bridal couple in joyful procession, were not simply forgetful or innocent victims of an unfore-seen delay. They knew the groom was coming and what was expected of them. They knew they would need oil. But, they didn’t care. Their own lives and activities were more important than the bride’s and groom’s. They insulted them by their lack of readiness.

Jesus, our heavenly bridegroom, is coming. He is coming to take us as His bride, and to take us to live with Him forever in heaven. Such a great celebration, such joy and peace and comfort and blessing, awaits us! But, He’s also with us now in the activities He gives us to ready us for His arrival. They are routine activities, sure:

q   Gathering together here on Sunday’s.

q   Listening to readings from the Bible.

q   Singing hymns and the familiar liturgy.

q   Coming up every week to receive a small wafer and a taste of wine.

But, they are more than routine. They are done according to the command of Jesus, with Him and His people, and in the presence of His Father! They are done in anticipation of and to prepare us for the coming wedding feast in heaven! Reflecting on this joyful gathering, Ps. 84 cries out:

“How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! A day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessèd is the one who trusts in you!”

God loves this place, and makes it His dwelling place. He loves above all the worship that takes place herein. He loves to be here among us. He comes as a sun to shine upon us with the light of His forgiveness and fill us with His presence and peace. Christ is among us here as a shield, absorbing the flaming arrows of Satan’s accusations and our guilty consciences and quenching them with His blood, which He shed for our forgiveness. God loves to hear our songs of praise and to bestow His favor and honor. Don’t insult Him by not caring and not participating with joy and thanksgiving. Don’t insult Him by not preparing for Christ’s coming by receiving the great gifts of life and salvation He freely gives you here in His Word and Sacraments.

The Son of God is coming from heaven, and you must be ready for His coming. For, when He comes, He will take to His home in heaven only those He knows and loves, only those whom He has spent time with here. They are His bride, His believers; and when they enter heaven, the door will be shut. If you are not ready – if the oil of your faith and joy has run out and you have not been replenishing it from the abundant supply God has for you here – then you will not enter in. The door to heaven will be shut to you, never to be opened again, and the door to hell will open wide to swallow you. God will not be to blame, for He gave you His only-begotten Son that you might be ready by being clothed with His wedding garments of salvation. His people will not be to blame, for they cannot share their oil. You alone will bear the blame, and it will oppress you forever.

“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” Watch with Jesus and His people, His wise virgins. As a bridesmaid waits with the bride and puts on the dress she has picked out for her, so you, put on the robe of Christ’s righteous-ness with which clothes you here. Be filled with the oil of His forgiveness and joy, which will never run out. He will then make you ready, and keep you ready, to enter with Him into His joyous wedding feast!