Last week we began talking about this season we find ourselves in, a season where the church year begins to draw to a close, where we start to come full circle in the story of the life and ministry of Jesus. As the year draws to a close, we know that there are familiar stories coming, even as we also know we will likely hear them in a new way.
Today, we have a story that is perhaps familiar to many (see Matthew 25:1-13). It is a parable about the kingdom of heaven, a recurring theme in the Gospel of Matthew. The Sermon on the Mount, which occurs early in the Gospel of Matthew, is all about laying out Jesus’ vision of what it means to live in the kingdom of heaven. In our story today, found near the end of Matthew, we see that Jesus is still talking about what the kingdom of heaven looks like.
Here we find him teaching in parables, as he so often does, using scenes and events from everyday life that the people he was talking to would have understood to explain something they cannot yet envision. In today’s story, he talks about ten bridesmaids going out to meet the groom after dark. All of them brought lamps with them to light the way, but only half of them thought to bring along a bit of extra oil. As it happened, the groom was delayed and the maids fell asleep. When they were awakened in the middle of the night by his arrival, the maids who had brought extra oil were still ready to greet him, but the others had to go in search of more oil. They had not been fully prepared for the arrival of the groom, even though they had been told to expect him. In the end, they are shut out of the wedding feast because they had not been prepared and were late arriving. Jesus sums this all up by saying, “keep alert, because you don’t know the day or the hour” (Matthew 25:13, CEB).
In times of uncertainty, even when we know that the end is approaching, we do not always know what to expect or even when. We know that as one thing ends, something else will begin. But we don’t always know what that new thing will look like. We only know that things will change.
We know that the church year is coming to an end. We know that Advent is coming. But the stories we hear this year will be slightly different from last year. Not only that, but we will hear the stories differently this year.
Over the last seven months, the entire world has been engulfed by the effects of a deadly virus. This virus has spread around the world, causing death in some and lingering negative health effects in others, even though there are some who seem to show little if any symptoms from the disease. Our response to this virus has been central to our lives for over half of this year. We know that someday it will come to an end, but we do not know when, nor are we fully aware of what things will look like on the other side.
Most of us routinely wear masks now. We do this partially as a precaution for ourselves, but also as a precaution for others. I wear a mask so that if somehow I have become infected, I reduce the chance of spreading it to others.
Some of us have also reduced our visits to other places or people that we might have gone to before. Over the last few years since moving back to Georgia, we have visited with my parents at least once a month and gathered with extended family for birthdays and other celebrations about every six weeks. But I haven’t seen my extended family in person since January, and we’ve only seen my parents a few times for socially distanced outdoor meals. When it comes to those with multiple risk factors, we do what we can to cut down on the risk of either catching or spreading the virus.
We know this is temporary and will eventually end, but we do not yet know when or what things will look like on the other side.
This week, our nation has waited anxiously to see the outcome of the many elections that occurred on Tuesday. We came into this weekend still not entirely certain of the outcome of many of those races, including the one for president. While we may now know the outcome of many of these elections, we do not yet know what that outcome will mean for us. We may have some notion of what we hope for or expect, but we won't know for certain until it arrives. For now, we only know that it is coming.
As we look again at Jesus’ teaching here in Matthew, we can see that his teaching works on multiple levels. On one level, Jesus is making a claim about the Messiah. In this metaphor, the groom represents the Messiah. We may may even remember that Jesus has referred to himself as the bridegroom at other times. His teaching is pointing out that there are some of those that are waiting for the Messiah that will recognize him and be ready when he comes. At the same time there are others that will fail to be prepared when the Messiah arrives.
But this teaching of Jesus can also be read as a teaching about the second coming, about the return of Christ. In this light he is foretelling his return and cautioning us on how to be prepared for it. We do not know the when, only that it is coming. We should therefore be ready.
When read this way, we can take it as something of a warning. Beware that you do not simply wait for the return of Jesus to do what you should have been doing all along. He has taught us all throughout this gospel what the kingdom of heaven looks like, what those of us called to live in it are meant to do and to be. When we are called to go forth to greet the groom in the night, we grab our lamps and whatever we might need to keep them going. When we are called to be a part of the body of Christ, we go forth to do those things that Jesus told us the kingdom was about even as we await the final coming of that kingdom.
We don’t simply sit back and say, “Jesus will fix it when he gets here.” We get up and do those things that Jesus told us need doing. We look at his life as an example of what that is supposed to look like. We heal those who are sick. We give water to those who are thirsty. We give food to those who are hungry. We do what we can to care for those in need. We pray “thy kingdom come.” We pray “thy will be done.” And then we go forth to do those things.
As I thought about this admonition to be prepared and to do the things that need doing instead of simply waiting around, I was reminded of The Lord of the Rings. Maybe you've read the book or perhaps seen one of the film adaptations.
In this story, an ancient magical artifact has been discovered, a ring that gives the owner immense power to control others. The ring had been thought lost, but it's existence is now known by the powerful evil that had created it and would use it to dominate others. The young hobbit, Frodo, who now has possession of the ring is urged on a quest to deliver the ring to those who will decide it's fate.
It is decided that the only thing to be done is to destroy the ring. But the only way to do that is to undertake a perilous journey into the midst of the enemy's land to destroy the ring in the heart of the volcano where it was created.
At this point, Frodo has done what he had set out to do - he brought the ring to the wise ones who would know what to do with it. It is someone else's responsibility now. But as those assembled argue over how to actually accomplish the task, the young hobbit again steps forward to say he will do it. He will carry the ring once again.
A mixed group of men, other hobbits, an elf, a dwarf, and a wizard are chosen to go with him. This fellowship of nine sets out on a journey no one else was willing to undertake. Everyone agreed that something needed to be done, but the others were willing to let someone else undertake the work.
Eventually through some misfortunes and misunderstandings, Frodo splits from the others with his closest friend, Sam, to continue the journey alone. At this point, the others could have felt justified in going their own ways as well. The one with the ring has gone on without them. But even though the destruction of the ring was being cared for, the others did not sit back and wait. There was other work to do. They continued to gather more allies. They continued to stand against the gathering darkness. They continued to fight for what was right. Even though victory was uncertain. Even though they had no way of knowing if or when the hobbits would succeed.
None of them knew what things would look like on the other side. They may have had some vague notion of what freedom would look like, but the darkness in the world had existed for more than a lifetime. What would it look like on the other side? They don't know, but still they do the work that needs doing. They were not meant to simply sit around waiting to see what would happen next, waiting for someone else to save the day. They had work to do.
It is the same with us. Jesus has given us some glimpses of what the kingdom of heaven looks like. He has taught us in parable and metaphor, and he has shown us by his actions what those of us called to live in the kingdom are meant to do. Rather than sit around waiting for his return, rather than sit around waiting for the present world to end, we face the future, the unknown, with knowledge that we have a job to do.
As we look around at our world of uncertainty, we do not yet know what tomorrow will bring. We do not know what will happen, how things will be changed by all that we have been through in recent months. We only know that the end is coming. In the meantime, Jesus' example gives us a clue as to how we should act now. We must love those we meet. We must do what we can to protect those at risk. And we must work to show the rest of the world what that looks like
As I considered a musical selection to help us reflect on the theme today, I chose a song from the United Methodist hymn book, The Faith We Sing. “The Summons” is a song about hearing the prompting of Jesus and going forth to begin making the kingdom of heaven a reality. It is a song about continuing the work that Jesus began rather than simply waiting around for him to return.
I hope that you will hear this song as a way of reminding us of all that Jesus calls us to do.