Parables for the Summer I

Parables for the Summer I Matthew 25:1-13 How many parables did Jesus tell? Take a guess. Counts differ and many were repeated throughout the Gospels, but 36 seems to be a good number to verify. Parables, what are they? A parable is a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, as told by Jesus in the Gospels. My first summer here I did a short series on parables. I wanted to take this summer to continue that series, by revisiting one about the Ten Virgins. Having reread the first one, I have discovered a new meaning; and that’s another feature about parables, they can mean many things all at once to a number of audiences. Jesus was a genius at storytelling. In a short paragraph or two he would tell a story to the illiterate masses while Pharisees, scribes, politicians and a host of others would listen in; and He would give a different message to each, all with the same story. To some it would be a message of hope or comfort, to others a message of warning or judgment. So, tell me a story, Daddy. I’d hear that often from a three-year-old Gabriel. I remember when we were in Lockington, Ohio, about 40 miles north of Dayton, my first appointment, and I would sit on the porch in the swing with Gabriel, and he’d ask me to tell him a story. One memorable one was The Robin and the Worm. It’s a good children’s story I’ll have to share with you sometime. Stories are the way we communicate in our families and circles of friends. How many stories have been told in your families, that you have repeated over and over, and often at your or someone else’s expense? We all have our stories. Here’s one for you from my past. Has anybody ever had the experience of guests coming, and you're not ready for them? We plan for their arrival but then highway traffic or phone calls or an appliance decides to go on the fritz... or some urgency comes up and before you know it, you're late with preparations. I remember having just moved into the Wyalusing parsonage in the early 90’s. We had unpacked some boxes, but were still living rather frugally. Some company was coming to help out with setting up the house when, before their arrival, we had a severe thunderstorm with what I believe was a mini-tornado that knocked down all the electric and telephone lines in town. Utility poles were broken and trees were sent crashing down across power lines and streets. We were living primitively for 48 hours. When the company finally arrived, we had no electricity or water and a house in turmoil. Time had run out - they had arrived. To say the least, we were not prepared. 2 Much of the learning that takes place in people takes place through storytelling. No tradition is richer with stories than the Jewish tradition of which Jesus was a part. And Jesus, following in that rabbinic line, was a master storyteller. Today, we want to review one of Jesus' parables - that talks about time running out and not being prepared. This parable lays open the transparent excuses we use for our actions or inactions and our failure to respond in a timely and reasonable manner. One point may be that we too often make excuses in our relationship with God. Excuses don't work with God though, for God knows us better than we know ourselves. There is no way to evade the consequences of our own acts and attitudes, and that's what this parable is about. Jesus described the coming Kingdom of God in many way: like a thief in the night, like a flood, like a master returning from a journey, or like a long-delayed bridegroom… Here, Jesus is saying, "The Kingdom of heaven shall be compared to ten maidens who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom." Jesus is identified as the Bridegroom. Here, judgment is expressed by "the door is shut." We all can picture a slamming door. It tells us that whatever is going on, it’s over, period. We don’t like to think about the judgment. It doesn't fit our image of a gentle, loving, grace-filled God. But sin and a self-first attitude is serious business, and God deals with it seriously. The door was shut! When the five virgins discovered they were out of oil, the first thing they did was ask to borrow oil from their friends. Some might regard the wise virgins as selfish for not sharing their oil, but their responsibility was to light the way for the bridegroom. Had they shared, they would have failed the bridegroom and the bride and all the guests. In our day, what is a bridesmaid to do, help out another bridesmaid or, when the hour has come, be there for the bride? In the end, what is an usher to do, be there for the bridegroom or help out another usher? Jesus was making a point that there are some things we must provide for ourselves, that we need to be responsible for and accountable for and prepared for that cannot be borrowed from someone else, especially at the last moment. I’ll talk about borrowing something a little later. Jesus is also calling us to be spiritually prepared for the Kingdom of heaven that is in our midst. In other places, Jesus tells His disciples to watch and pray that they may not yield to temptation. He speaks of the 3 need to be prepared for sorrow, for persecution, for calamity. But here, now hear this, Jesus is saying, "Be prepared for joy. Be ready for the wedding feast." Our most bitter regrets may come, not because we were not prepared for the worst, but because we were not prepared for the best. I remember being at Houghton College, and there was this popular gospel group coming to campus for a concert. They were the hottest contemporary band of the day. I was really looking forward to hearing them. Well, I went to my classes and worked at my job after school and had a bite to eat for supper and thought, I have an hour before the concert, I’ll just take a little nap. I was really pooped out. Well, you know what happened next. I slept through the concert. When I woke up, I realized it was almost over and so never did get to hear even one song. What a bummer, I missed the biggest event of the year. Likewise, we may miss the event of Jesus coming and calling us all together because we’re asleep in our spiritual lives. Other people may not be asleep so much as they live on borrowed religion – from their parents', their spouse's, their pastor's, their church's. They rely on the faith of others to carry them through the pearly gates. But the only faith that will sustain us today and tomorrow and in the time of judgment is our own faith. Then again, some folks are a quart low when it comes to having oil in their spiritual lamps. They may be still living off a faith-filled experience from their youth; the oil that they were filled with 25 or 30 years ago. We have Bibles, but maybe we fail to read them. We belong to the church, but does the church ever become secondary to other more vital parts of our lives? We have had our highs and spirit-filled experiences, but have they faded in the past? Unless something changes, unless there is renewal, replenishing, response, and responsibility, the day may come when the door of opportunity will be shut; and we will be kept from attending the Kingdom banquet. Jesus doesn't want killjoys at His wedding any more than we do. He wants people alive in the faith and eager to serve, celebrating their love together and the community of faith that has been cultivated by His Spirit. The judgment of God is an essential part of the life and history of the Bible. In one of the most famous parables of the judgment (Matthew 25:31f), the Son of Man, surrounded by His angels, sits on His glorious throne; and nations of people pass in review. He separates them into groups (sheep and goats), with one to be 4 rewarded and one to be punished. Why, or on what grounds? Jesus will say, "Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it unto Me." There is both a doing and a doctrine to our faith; a practice to our principles, a performing of our preparations. In Ephesians 6, Paul has a wonderful word about being prepared. He says, "Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." Then Paul goes on to list the ways to be strong, "Gird your loins with truth, put on the breastplate of righteousness, take the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all saints." Now there’s another sermon… In other words, while waiting for the judgment, keep oil in your lamp. That's all there is to it - while you wait for the judgment day, and for believers, a wedding feast at that, let Jesus save you, again and again, with blessing upon blessings, joy upon joy, making sure that you are walking as close as you can to Christ each and every day, becoming more like Christ in your attitudes and in your priorities and in your practice. Question: Why were the virgins refused entry into the party, because they had no oil or because they were late? Did you catch the subtle difference for why they didn’t get into the party? Were these five foolish virgins simply so late when they returned from getting oil that the door was shut to them? But the Scripture doesn't say that. The reason the foolish virgins didn't get into the wedding feast was because they had no oil, they weren’t ready, their lives weren’t in order. There's not anything about their having oil when they returned, only that they wanted to get in, and we can presume empty-handed and empty-hearted. I believe, it is true to the mind and character of Christ, that if they had found oil, even at the last moment, they would have gotten in. May we always have our hand in His hand and our heart ever centered on Jesus. Don’t wait until the last moment. To the persons who are ready, the door is always open. They are ready, come what may. So, the truth of the parable is: The best way to get ready for tomorrow is to be ready for today. I also believe, there is a time that will come when no further preparation is possible, but if we have prepared for today, we will be ready for every tomorrow.