Last Sunday of the Church Year

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Marriages have always been a legally binding agreement. But the specifics of that agreement or contract vary from one culture to the next. In order to understand the parable from our Gospel text, we need to know a little bit about how marriage worked in Bible times. Today when people get married, all the legal business happens on the day of the wedding. That’s when the papers get signed and the marriage becomes official. But in biblical times, all that legal business happened earlier, on the day of the engagement. The contract was written up, the papers were signed, and then the newly engaged couple was considered legally married. All that remained was for the marriage to be consummated. As soon as the engagement ceremony was done, the groom went away to prepare the home for his new bride. Maybe he needed to add a bedroom in Mom and Dad’s house, or perhaps he built a new home from scratch. In either case, you can be sure that he was working overtime, because the moment everything was ready, no matter what time of the day, he was off to get his bride and bring her home.
This meant that during the period of engagement, which was normally very short, the bride lived in a state of continual readiness. She never knew when her groom would come, perhaps even in the middle of the night. The bride and her bridesmaids had to be ready at any moment. This is the kind of wedding that Jesus tells us about in our gospel text. This is what the kingdom of heaven is like.
Jesus is the bridegroom. And who is his bride? We are, the Church. When did the engagement begin? It began when our heavenly bridegroom purchased us with his own blood. That’s the moment it became official. All the legal formalities have already been taken care of. You belong to Jesus. And then he said to his Church, “I am going away to prepare a place for you.” What’s heaven going to be like? What will be happening at the wedding feast that has no end? We don’t know the specifics, but think of this: If God spent six days making the world with all its beauty, imagine what heaven will be like, since Jesus has been working on it for over two-thousand years!
Now as members of the bride of Christ, what is our job during this time of engagement, as we wait for the return of our Bridegroom? The bride’s job is to be ready. Jesus tells us a parable about ten virgins who are waiting for the Bridegroom. Five of them are foolish and five are wise. But who is who? How can anyone tell which ones are foolish and which ones are wise? They are all waiting in the same place. They are all dressed alike. They all have lamps. They all fall asleep. During this time of waiting that we’re currently in, it can be hard to tell the difference between the wise and foolish. But at the moment of the bridegroom’s arrival, the difference that was hidden in life, becomes plain for all to see. The wise virgins had oil in their lamps; the foolish did not.
The foolish virgins represent those who are part of the church but are not actually believers in Christ. They are found in every church today. Their names are on the membership rolls. They are probably very nice people. But they have no oil in their lamps. You can have a beautiful oil lamp. You can trim the wick and get it all ready to light. But without oil there will be no fire.
The fire is our faith, and the oil is the Holy Spirit. If you don’t have the Holy Spirit, you won’t have faith. If you don’t have faith, even if you have an ornate lamp, you won’t be prepared for the return of Jesus. The foolish virgins were in church. They were baptized. They may have even received the Body and Blood of Christ. They heard the gospel. But they didn’t treasure these means of grace. They figured they knew all they needed to know. They neglected the means by which the Holy Spirit keeps us in the true faith. So, when they needed faith, its source had run dry. The wick was dry and useless.
Many people like to talk about their faith. They will often talk about how deep it is, how important it is, and how much they rely on it. Then you ask them to put their faith into words, and they don’t know what to say. You ask them about Christian teaching, and their eyes glaze over. “What is doctrine to me? Doctrine is dead. My faith is alive! Doctrine is dry and boring. My faith is vibrant and meaningful.”
Is that so? What faith? There is no fire in the wick without oil in the lamp. There is no faith in the heart without the teaching and doctrine of God’s Word. Faith isn’t something that we create in our hearts. God creates it in us. How? By his Word. Faith comes by hearing the Word of Christ. St Peter writes, “You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God” (1 Peter 1:23). God’s Word is your only source of life. Without it, no matter how strong and vibrant you may consider your faith to be, that wick will run dry. And so, as the church year draws to a close and we consider the return of our heavenly Bridegroom, ask yourself, “Do I love God’s Word? Do I hear it with gladness? Do I treasure it above all earthly possessions?”
Jesus tells us this parable as a warning. On the last day, you will meet Jesus in whatever condition you were in when death removed you from this world. Wise or foolish, with or without oil, we shall all stand before Jesus when he returns. There is still time today to prepare for his coming. There is still time to have your lamp filled with oil. There is still time to hear and learn God’s Word so that the lamp of your heart can be saturated with oil to light your way. The door of grace still stands open. But it will not always be so. The foolish virgins learned too late that their lamps were empty. When the bridegroom’s arrival was announced, they rushed off to find oil. And when they returned, the door was closed forever.
During their earthly lives, they thought, “I know what I need to do to be saved. I know about the gospel. I know about Jesus. And someday soon I’ll fill my lamp and my faith will be ready to light.” What they didn’t understand is that the gospel is not something that we believe by our own natural powers. Faith is not a switch that we turn on the moment we need it. Faith is a gift from God. Only he can give it. And where and how has he promised to do this? In and through the preaching of his Word. Here, in his church, where the Gospel is proclaimed and the sacraments are administered. This is the place where the Holy Spirit is operative in our lives, saturating our hearts with the words and promises of Christ, creating and sustaining the faith that lights our way to the heavenly banquet.
All of this is God’s Work. He is the Heavenly Bridegroom who redeemed us from death, signing the marriage contract with his own blood. He is the one who is preparing our eternal home. His return is drawing closer with every moment. And our task, as members of the one Bride of Christ, is to watch and wait for him with faithful expectation. We know not the day nor the hour. Even so, the whole Church, those yet living and those who have already fallen asleep, prays, “Come, Lord Jesus!” Amen.
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