Be Prepared, Sermon 140

  9 Oct 16

 Ez 33:7-16; 1Cor12:12-21; Mt 25:1-13 

Preached by Brother Luke, Holy Wisdom Church

During our summer retreat I read a book by Brennan Manning entitled: Ruthless trust: the ragamuffin's path to God.  He made a comment in the book about how we should understand the Gospels. It gave me pause, simple as it was. He said we should realize that the focus of the Gospels is always Jesus Christ. He went on to say that all too often we can get caught up in the details of a particular story or parable and miss the point. It is sort of like missing the forest for the trees, or worse missing the forest for the leaves.

Today’s Gospel is a classic example of that problem. By referring to this story as being about the wise and foolish virgins or bridesmaids we can get off track immediately. We can begin to focus on comparing the actions of these characters before we even ask the question, where is Jesus Christ in all of this? So, for example, we can look at the actions of the wise virgins and conclude that they are stingy, lacking in compassion, arrogant, prideful, etc. But if we understand the story as a vehicle for Jesus to make a point about living for the reign of God, then that becomes our frame of reference. The main point is very simple: be prepared. It’s the Boy Scout’s motto. So we start there as we look at the actions of the various characters.

Indeed, the wise virgins could have given some of their oil to the foolish ones but to what end? Had they done so, they all may have run out of oil. But if the story had gone in that direction, the lesson about being prepared would have been lost. This is because the wise virgins, to use a more modern phrase, would have “enabled” the foolish virgins to escape the consequences of their actions and thus allowed them to avoid learning the lesson about being prepared. Sometimes we describe this type of response with the expression: tough love. The story is not intended to condemn anyone, rather, it is a wakeup call to be prepared.

This leads to the next question: be prepared for what? In this story the virgins are waiting for the bridegroom to arrive. They do not know when he will arrive.  And that is a familiar caution throughout the Gospels: you know neither the day nor the hour. But one thing is certain, they know that he is coming. And when he comes, they are to accompany him into the wedding banquet.

For us the question is: when is Christ coming into our lives? The answer can be deceptively simple: he is coming into our lives every day. Are we ready to receive him? And what might that look like? So its morning and the sun is shining, breakfast is ready, coffee is brewing, the kids’ lunches are ready, homework done, you drive them to school, head off to work, get news of a bonus for a job well-done, in other words, all is well. It’s easy to be open to the good news and to be grateful for it. However, meeting Christ in the midst of plenty is only part of the story. The next day you get up and it’s raining, you can smell the burnt toast, the coffee pot is broken, the kids’ lunches are not ready, you have a presentation to give at a meeting and you are hoping to get to work early to put on the finishing touches only to discover that the car has a flat tire. You’re not just going to be late; you are likely to miss the meeting all together. Not so easy to be grateful for what this day has wrought. But we can be prepared for both scenarios. Not because we desire to go through the messed up day, but because we know that it is all part of a reality that is larger than one day. Life presents itself in many guises. The storm at sea is calmed by Jesus because he is not thrown off by it. He faces it head-on.

So, the lesson of the bridesmaids’ parable is that we need to be prepared to receive Christ EVERY DAY. Being ready to receive him means being open to what comes to us each day. Open to face each day’s reality, not pining for some magic to change things or make them better. 

For me that reminder came again last Wednesday when my dog Quena who was just 6 years old, had to be put to sleep. Spondylosis had set in rapidly and her pain was acute. My playful and sweet companion would be spending the rest of her life managing her pain. It all happened too soon and too quick. You know neither the day nor the hour. These are always traumatic decisions. But we can’t avoid them. It is a path every living being must travel.

Even as Jesus was telling this story about the bridesmaids he too was on the path to Golgotha. No wonder we always hear this story during Holy Week. Jesus is showing us the way, not trying to find an alternate route. And for those who believe as St Paul so clearly affirms, that Christ rose from the dead, the end of the story is one of hope and not despair.

Christ is coming to us every day to keep us on the path to salvation, no matter what the terrain, smooth or rocky. So as Isaiah says, clear the way, level up, level up the road, we are coming and we’re not turning back.

Keep this in mind whenever we say, Christ is in our midst, he is and shall be: say it with assurance, say it with ruthless trust.