November 8, 2020
/Proper 27
Amos 5:18-24 | Wisdom 6:17-20 | Matthew 25:1-13
The Rev. Bradley Varnell
Dr. Susan Hylen, from Emory University, makes the point that the in the parable of the ten bridesmaids all ten start out in expectation and all ten remain expectant through the night. The problem in our parable arises because some do not plan for the possible delay of the groom. Their waiting is in vain because they don’t consider that they really don’t know when the groom will come. The message of the parable, then, is about preparing our selves for a long wait. It’s about bringing enough oil that whenever the groom finally appears we can meet him with lamps burning bright. Be prepared might be a good summary of the parable.
Yet, Dr. Hylen makes the point, a point I want to follow, that for many of us modern Christians we’re not the wise bridesmaids, nor are we even the foolish bridesmaids. We aren’t even in the bridal party. See, somewhere along the way modern Christians gave up living lives in which the expectation of Jesus’ return was central to our faith. Yet it is precisely this promise that has sustained Christians for centuries. Indeed, it is this promise that is the very reason for the existence of the church in the first place! We are not an organization of spiritual seekers, a club to debate grand questions, or a collection of do-gooders. We are, before all else, people who wait and watch in expectation.
As a nation, we have spent quite a few days waiting the results of the most recent election, and we will continue to wait as recounts take place. But friends, we who follow Christ must remember that before we are Americans, we are Christians, and our waiting does not end with certified votes or an inauguration. Our waiting only ends when Christ the bridegroom comes in glory to judge the nations, to put death to death, to free us from the sin which mars our goodness.
Ten bridesmaids, so excited for the coming of the bridegroom that they run out to wait for his arrival. Ten bridesmaids, so excited that some forget to bring extra oil! We are invited to share this excitement, to cultivate in ourselves a joyful expectation of Jesus. As I said, expectation is the very reason we exist as a church. We gather week after week, in pandemics and persecutions and triumphs and tragedies to hope together in the promise that Jesus Christ – who came and died and rose again – will come again. We gather together to remind each other and remind the world through our worship that Jesus, even now, is on his way, to cast the forces of darkness that persist in our world into the pit once and for all, transforming us and our world into the very dwelling place of God.
This future hope calls us to lives of anticipation and preparation, lives that are pregnant with the expectation that God’s kingdom is pressing closer and closer into the world. Friends, we are invited to go out and await the coming of Jesus, to take our lamps and our oil, and prepare to meet the groom who is coming for a party! Our first lesson shows us that the day of the Lord, the coming of Jesus will not be a happy day for those caught off guard. When we are unprepared the surprise of the groom is like the surprise of finding a snake in your home. Shocking, disconcerting, panic inducing. But for those who are expecting Jesus, his coming is the beginning of a party that will not end. A party filled with abundance, with food and drinks, singing and dancing, with the joy of good friends and much laughter. Friends, our faith is not backwards looking. It looks confidently, hopefully, excitedly towards the future. I want to end with a verse from hymn 68, which John pointed me to, and which is inspired, in part, by our Gospel today. Verse 2 says:
See that your lamps are burning, replenish them with oil
look now for your salvation, the end of sin and toil.
The marriage feast is waiting, the gates wide open stand;
rise up, ye heirs of glory, the Bridegroom is at hand.
Amen.