November 12, 2023 – Pentecost +23A

[Jesus said to the disciples:] “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” Matthew 25:1-13

I am quick to tell you which are my favorite parables and stories within the scriptures – and I will do the same with my least favorites. This is one of my least favorite. The parable presents people as either wise or foolish based simply on their ability or their inability to see into the future. So how fair is that? No one wants to appear foolish in this life. No one. I cannot think of anyone who likes to appear foolish unless you work for the cast of Monty Python. Most of us would rather appear wise. And I am sure that we all hope that we are prepared for whatever comes our way. But we can not always be prepared for everything. There is nothing worse than getting caught with a flat tire when you least expect it – which is always; or caught without your wallet when you are in line at the grocery store.

This being our Sunday to honor our Veterans, these are men and women who trained, fought, and died within an atmosphere of ever-present danger – they could not afford to be caught unprepared – they had to expect the unexpected. No one likes to be caught unprepared – especially when, if you do, you might appear like a fool – or it may cost you your life. This then is what gives this parable real power – at least the power to make us squirm. And then, to make matters worse, Jesus has to go on and say: “This then is what the Kingdom of Heaven will be like.” We must ask the question “How?” How can the Kingdom of Heaven be described like a place where people who have worked so hard to get in are turned away? How can this be? Or the Kingdom of Heaven is like a place where people do not share out of their abundance. Instead they tell others to go find their own stuff. Or the Kingdom of Heaven is like a place that has a lot of wise people who only take care of themselves.

My friends, our military brothers and sisters were trained to always be prepared – always have the things necessary for survival, and necessary to fight to stay alive. They carried everything they needed when they went into battle. We must learn to do the same when it comes to battling evil, battling the devil, and battling the forces of this world that want to weaken our faith. Our faith requires our constant attention recognizing when our faith jugs are getting empty, or half-full – and then spending the necessary time to replenish those faith jugs through prayer, worship, communion, and bible study.

The quality of our faith oil matters my friends. The better prepared we are, and by prepared I mean the better quality our relationship with Jesus, the brighter and longer our faith lamps will burn — and we will be prepared not only for the day Jesus finally does return – but we will be ready for the potholes, the pitfalls, and the unexpected turns of life right now.

Pastor Dave