This is a typed Pentecost sermon from 1993 with yellow highlighting. It was preached on November 14, 1993, likely at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Seymour, WI.
The gospel text is listed as Matthew 25: 1-13, which does correlate to the 24th Sunday After Pentecost in the Revised Common Lectionary. Google Docs OCR was used to get a transcription of the scanned sermon.
Ready and Waiting - 24 Pent A - 1/14/1993
24PentA
READY AND WAITING
(11/14/93)
Matt.25:1-13
Dear friends in Christ, grace and peace….
During these final Sundays of Pentecost, our attention is turned to the last things, especially our Lord’s return. It is a very serious subject; one way to approach it is through a humorous story: It takes place at the Vatican. A cardinal rushes in to see the Pope, and gasps, “Your holiness, I have some good news and some bad news”. “Well, give me the good news first.” “I just received word that Christ has returned to earth.” “Wonderful,…but what’s the bad news?” “Your holiness, the call came from Salt Lake City.”
This funny little story raises an important question. If Christ were to return today, who would it be good news for? The Roman Catholics, Jews, Methodists, Lutherans, Mormons? Would it be good news for white or black people, the rich or the poor, for law-abiding citizens or those in prison? If Christ were to return today, who would be rejoicing? Let’s not be too quick to answer that question, until we have looked at the answer of scripture. The reading from Amos suggests that some people who think they have it made will be surprised….the prophet tells them that their worship has only been a sham—because of their behavior, their offerings and worship stink to God, and therefore justice and righteousness will roll down like a flood and sweep them away.
Then who will rejoice at the Lord’s return? Jesus tells us in an unusual story of the wise and foolish maidens. It is a wedding story… Jesus used this metaphor for talking about the last days more often than images of the courtroom and of judgment.
We need to remember that wedding customs were different in Jesus’ day. Festivities filled a whole week, not just a weekend. The wedding was the high spot in the social calendar of a village (as it may have been here in times past). The climax was the bridegroom coming to the bride’s home to take her to their new home. Usually, this took place at night, and it was the bridegroom’s surprise as to when it would be (not like our invitations which say exactly when the wedding is going to happen). Because it was at night, bridesmaids carried lamps instead of bouquets, to light the way for the procession. The lamp was a dish of oil with a wick mounted on a stick. There was no honeymoon following the wedding, instead a week of festivities took its place. (How would you like taking your family and friends on your honeymoon?) When the celebration began, the door was shut, and those who came late were not admitted. So one of Jesus’ answers to the question, “Who will rejoice when Christ returns?” is those who are waiting for him.
To be a bridesmaid was a great honor. It was possibly one of the great high points of a young woman’s life. Ten bridesmaids would indicate a large wedding. Their honor was not bought or merited…it was a gift to be chosen. This is one of the hidden answers to the question: “Who will rejoice?” One must be chosen and invited to the great celebration. How are we invited to be a part of the great banquet of God’s kingdom?…by baptism. God chose us for the great honor of being brought into the gates of his great and eternal feast. How is it then that some, even of the chosen (the baptized), are going to miss out on the feast?
“Who will rejoice?” those who are prepared, who are ready. Still today, preparation being a bridesmaid. There is a dress to be purchased, a gift for the bride, a rehearsal to attend. In Jesus’ day, to have a burning lamp was an essential preparation. The lamp needed to be lit for the entire procession from the bride’s home to her new home. When the bridegroom in this story was delayed, some of the bridesmaids were not prepared with enough oil for the long wait. The wise bridesmaids would not lend their oil, because then all the lamps would burn out half way through the procession. We are reminded that one person’s spiritual preparation cannot substitute for another. We cannot borrow faith from someone else to tide us over in a pinch, like going next door for a cup of sugar. You have probably heard the expression, “God has no grandchildren”–it is a startling statement of the reality that the words: “My father was a charter member of the church’, or ‘my grandfather was a pastor’ or ‘my Mom taught Sunday School’ will not gain us entrance at the gate of heaven. The Lord needs to know our voice, not just the voices of our relatives and friends. Jesus tells us that some will be ready at the Lord’s return some will not, and their preparation makes all the difference.
People nearing death often assure me that they are prepared, or they ask me how they can be better prepared. My answer to them is that everyone, young or old, ill or healthy, needs to be prepared every day for Christ’s return. This is why Luther emphasized that we remember our baptism every day, that we confess our sins daily, that we commit ourselves to God’s care daily. best images of preparation are not having your spiritual fire extinguisher charged or a fresh battery in your smoke detector, it is the image of knowing your rescuer. It may seem cruel that the Lord of this parable shuts the door and does not open it in the night to those who pound and pound and say, “Lord, I wasn’t ready. Now I am…let me in!” And this Lord says “The door is shut. I don’t know you. These are perhaps some of the saddest and most surprising words of Jesus. We like images of Jesus which tell us that he has room for everyone in the kingdom, whenever they get around to being ready. But the Bible tells us that we must be prepared to enter; we have the invitation, but we must be ready and waiting for the Lord’s return. Those who foolishly fail to prepare will be sorry. Our chosen, the baptized, is to grow closer purpose as the to God. To become lazy about being ready is dangerous indeed. There will come a time when what we might or should have done will count for nothing….the only thing that will count will be what we indeed have done to be ready, waiting and prepared. The scout motto “Always be prepared” is a good one.
Let me end what may seem like a tough, “downer” of a sermon with perhaps the greatest assurances of scripture which are also here in this story. First, we have been chosen, we have an invitation to the great banquet. We don’t deserve to be there, but we are welcome to come, because our Lord is gracious. We only need to be ready and waiting. Is that too much to ask?
Finally, there is no doubt that there will be great rejoicing at the eternal wedding feast of our Lord. For all who gather there, there is a wonderful time to be had. We will be in the presence of God and all those God has gathered. All the former things will be past, and the best will be yet to come. Who would be so foolish as to miss such great rejoicing and fellowship, for lack of being prepared…Not those who are in Christ!, who seek To love and serve God daily.
+THE PEACE OF GOD WHICH PASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING….AMEN.