November 9, 2008

Dedication Sunday

Matthew 25:1-13

 

Got Oil?

 

            This parable scares the bejabbers out of most of us. You’ve got to be ready for Jesus’ second coming; and if not, the door closes and you can’t get in to the eternal wedding party. The Left Behind series of books plays on this fear and makes someone a lot of money. I just shake my head in bewilderment at folks who exploit this fear by interpreting Biblical prophecies as commentary on events going on in our world today. And, of course, this stuff has been going on in each generation since the time of Christ. Matthew makes quite clear that this speculation is hogwash when he records Jesus saying in Matthew 24:36 just before this passage that “No one knows of that day and hour –not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.”

 

But what astounds me more is the transformation of Jesus into a kind of monster when he returns. What is that? Is there anything in the gospels that turns God’s love in Jesus into such destructive judgment? No! In fact, we do have Jesus coming a second time after his resurrection; and he loved his disciples and he further instructed them in the ways of God to nurture God’s children into serving others with God’s justice and mercy. This is what we call Easter. So please do not go down this aberrant road of our religion that plays on such Last Days’ horrors.  If you are mistaken about who is coming at the end of time, then you might be mistaken on what that person would have you do to prepare.

 

Now on the other side of our religious practices we have “happy time” religion that is focused on ourselves rather than on God. It makes us feel so good about ourselves and omits any cosmic importance of the darkness of life. I say again, this is not of the teachings of Jesus; because God has immersed himself into our life experience and suffered alongside us, took our sins upon himself, died as we will, and was raised by God who vindicated his love and life.. There just seems to be many forms of the Christian religion that have little to do with the Gospel of Jesus. These kinds of religion become more important than a relationship with God whom we know as the loving Father of Jesus.

 

I think this parable can help us see what God really wants us to know. Let’s look at it more closely. But first, we need to understand what a wedding was like at this time. Well, the groom brought the bride into his father’s household where they lived with his parents. At the time of a wedding the bride and her bridesmaids gathered at her house and waited for the groom to come. There were no invitations and no specific time that he would show. The bridesmaids might have to wait. When the groom arrives, they go to the house of the bridegroom. Young ladies must have a light with them to go into the night to the groom’s house for the consummation of the marriage. In this story five of the maidens did not bring enough fuel to make the trip. When they got the fuel, the wedding party was already inside and the door was closed to them. No latecomers would be let in.

 

So what did the listeners of this story hear Matthew tell that Jesus says to them? They heard “You don’t know how long you have to wait for Jesus to return so be prepared.” There are ten bridesmaids involved here. They wore the same clothing, carried the same lamps, and all drifted off to sleep. There is no comment on any of them being “good” or “bad” – just “wise” and “foolish.” They are all friends of the bridegroom. We are not dealing here with pagans and “Christians. The listeners in Matthew’s day would understand that all ten were Christians – some wise and some foolish.

 

The difference between the wise and foolish is that five bridesmaid brought extra oil with them, for the waiting time could be extended because they knew the groom could take his time coming. So what is the significance of the oil? What kind of oil are we talking about? The oil has to be what will matter at the coming of Christ. Our waiting time is not to be idly wasted. It is to be productive. Matthew illustrates it in the next two stories he tells after this parable. The first is the Parable of the Talents. We are to invest and use what God has entrusted to us for God’s purposes. The second illustration gives it definition when he talks about separating the sheep from the goats. The sheep, Jesus said, fed, gave drink, clothed, and visited him in prison. They asked him when they did this as they were unaware of serving him. His reply, “…as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it unto me.” To the goats he accused them of not feeding, giving drink, clothing and visiting him. They asked when did they ignore him? His reply, “…as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did not do it unto me.”

 

The oil is our whole life of discipleship. It is about sharing resources with those who are lacking and welcoming others in from the darkness of life. Having oil in your lamp is doing the will of God. We maintain a relationship with God by loving and serving others as Christ Jesus loved and served us. If we are not in touch with God, then we are not in touch with love; and the door of a relationship with God is closed.

 

We are called to a life of active faith and service where we follow the will of God that we know from the life and teachings of His Son. The foolish bridesmaids let their faith wither as they brought no resources with them. They were lazy and had only a lip service faith. Do you take your relationship with God for granted? Got oil?

 

As a faithful community of God’s people, we strive to serve the Lord and grow in a closer relationship with Him. It takes resources for us to do this. Today we will pledge a little bit of our resources to the life and work of our ministry together. May it be enough to light our lamps for the coming year. As the choir sings our last verse of “Blessed Be the Lord God,” let us come up and put our pledge in the basket and our offering in one of the offering plates. Please raise your hand if you would like an usher to come to you.