Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost

Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 27A)

November 8, 2020

Text: Matt. 25:1-13

            The Bridegroom was a great man, a man of means and substance, in fact, the Son of the King.  And everyone was in anticipation.  For the wedding would be a great affair, and all were invited to the feasting and dancing and joy.  The Bride, for all Her beauty, was a Nobody whom the Prince, by His love, had made into a Somebody, a real rags to riches story.  And now, by His orders and by His riches, She has been clothed in the radiant majesty befitting Their personages and the auspicious occasion.  The Bridegroom, who has given His everything for Her, would have Her presented to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, holy and without blemish (Eph. 5:27). 

            Now the ten virgins are waiting for the royal wedding procession.  The Bridegroom will come to claim His Bride and lead Her into His own Home.  The way will be strewn with cloaks and palm branches, with singing and great rejoicing, as the crowd follows the Bridal Couple into the Great Feast at the Bridegroom’s House.  All will come in to the great inner-courtyard of the Palace, and then the doors will be locked, that the festivities may commence, secure and undisturbed.  The virgins wait.  The Bridegroom is coming.  He is coming soon.  Ah, but He is delayed.  The hour grows late and the eyes grow heavy.  Heads begin to nod, and before you know it, all ten virgins are asleep.  The eager anticipation has been lulled by the delay.  The yawns give way to snores.  Perhaps the spirit is willing, but for certain the flesh is weak. 

            Then comes the call.  The trumpets blare and the herald announces: “Here is the bridegroom!  Come out to meet him” (Matt. 25:6; ESV).  The virgins awake from their midnight slumber.  There is great commotion and a scrambling to join the festive procession.  But there is a problem.  It is the dark of night, but five of the virgins have no oil with which to light their lamps.  They had been foolish.  Had they let them burn out?  Did they forget to bring oil in the first place?  The other five had oil and lamps burning bright.  They had been wise.  They kept their supply.  But they could not spare for the five who had none, lest their lamps, also, run out of oil.  Go and buy for yourselves from the dealers.  But it is midnight, and the dealers are asleep.  By the time the five can acquire the oil, the Feast has commenced and the door is now shut.  And no matter how desperately they beat on the door and beg, “Lord, lord, open to us” (v. 11), the Bridegroom inside answers, “Truly, I say to you, I do not know you” (v. 12).  

            What do we make of this parable?  The Bridegroom is Jesus and the Bride is the Church.  We have no problem with that.  The great Wedding Feast is our Lord’s return to raise the dead and judge all people, giving eternal life to all believers in Christ.  We understand that much.  But who are these virgins, and what is the difference between them?  The virgins are the individuals within the fellowship of the Church.  Now, it is not that some were bad and some were good.  It is not even that some were Church-goers and the others rank unbelievers.  They were all virgins, which is to say, outwardly, they all claimed to be Christians.  They were all waiting for the Bridegroom, so we may conclude they all attended Church, at least some of the time.  And they all fell asleep at the Bridegroom’s delay, which is to say, in waiting for Jesus to come back on the Last Day, they were lulled into a false sense of security.  And they failed to watch.  They were distracted by the things of the world and the comforts and pleasures of the flesh.  They thought they had time.  Just to rest the eyes a minute.  Just a quick power nap.  What could it hurt?  Jesus hasn’t come yet.  He’s unlikely to come while I let down my guard and relax.  I’ll get back to watching for Jesus soon.  Really.  It will be fine. 

            They all did this, which is to say, we all do this.  We all get sleepy, like Peter, James, and John in the Garden.  We doubt Jesus will come back today, because He didn’t come yesterday, or the day before.  And He probably won’t come tomorrow.  So we fall into thinking only about this life and our present situation.  And all of a sudden, things like presidential elections become the be-all and end-all of our existence, and those running for office become our gods and our devils.  Our fortune is determined by our salary and the stock market, and we look to our 401k to provide our daily bread in later years.  Doctors and medical researches become our saviors from death.  Television programs, radio, and the internet become our catechists.  We make our homes, or the lake, or the golf course, into our heaven.  You may have to substitute a few things for my examples, but we all do this to one degree or another.  It is a great temptation.  We fall asleep.  These worldly things take the place of eternal things.  These things may be important, but at best, they are penultimate.  We make them ultimate.  We neglect to watch for Christ.  Beloved in the Lord, wake up.  Open your eyes.  Christ is coming.  It could be any moment.  You know not the day or the hour.  Let not His delay lull you into spiritual slumber.  Repent.  Watch. 

            Thank God, it is not the fact that they fell asleep that keeps them out of the Wedding Feast.  Remember, the Bridegroom gives Himself into death for His Bride, to sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word (Eph. 5:25-26).  That is, you are baptized into the death of Christ, and all your sins have been forgiven.  Even your falling asleep on the watch.  Even your confusing temporal things with eternal.  And you are baptized into the resurrection of Christ, so wake up.  Arise.  Watch for, and hasten, the Bridegroom’s coming by your prayers. 

            But if that is not the difference, then what is?  It all comes down to the oil.  The five foolish virgins had no oil.  The five wise virgins were well-supplied.  And what is the oil?  Many preachers and commentators, including Luther, say the oil is faith.  Well, that may be, and I don’t want to be presumptuous, but I think we can be more precise.  The oil is the substance that saturates the wick, that the lamp may burn brightly in the darkness.  The oil of our faith is the Gospel and Sacraments of Christ.  Faith is that which is fueled by our Lord’s Gospel and Sacraments, to burn bright, that we may see and follow Christ into the Wedding Feast.  In other words, the Means of Grace are the oil, faith is the flame.  And by the way, it shines forth in good works on the way, like a lamp on a stand enlightening the whole house, that others may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven (Matt. 5:15-16).

            But, you say, the five foolish virgins were also virgins, that is, outwardly Christians; and they, too, were waiting for the Bridegroom, so at least some of the time they were Church-goers who heard the Word and received the Sacraments.  Yes, and that is the point of the parable.  They are hypocrites.  There are hypocrites within the external fellowship of the Church.  That is to say, there are unbelievers who claim to be believers.  Not everyone who hears the Word receives it.  Not everyone who comes to the Supper eats and drinks to their salvation.  Some receive the Body and Blood of Christ to their judgment.  “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 7:21).  The Word and the Sacraments do not work ex opere operato.  They are not a work to be worked for credit in God’s record book.  Those who rely on being “good Christian folk” to get into heaven will find themselves locked out.  Those who think the mere gracing of us and God with their presence on Sunday morning earns them a spot at the Feast, will be taken unawares on that Day.  Those who rely on anything other than Jesus Christ and His salvation given freely, apart from merit, in the Word and Sacraments, are not really Christians.  They don’t receive the oil, which the Lord here gives.  They think what they have of themselves is sufficient.  And their lamps burn out.  Maybe they had oil as a child, but they left the Church, and the oil burned out.  Maybe it happened later, as they grew older and became more enamored with the world.  But in any case, they have no oil now, when it counts.  And they cannot borrow from another.  You either have oil, or you don’t.  You either have the Means of Grace, or you don’t.  You either believe in Christ, or you don’t.  And no one can believe for you, nor can you believe for another. 

            This is the chilling warning in our text.  There is an end to the time of grace.  There is an end to the Lord’s patience and the opportunity to avail yourself of His Word and Sacraments and so let faith come alive and burn bright.  On Judgment Day, when Jesus comes again, it will be too late for those who put off coming to Christ.  And even if He delays, you never know when you could die and face the judgment.  So keep a good supply of the oil.  Keep saturating the wick.  Be in Church.  Be in the Word.  Be at the Supper.  There is nothing more important.  For those who are found without oil when the Bridegroom comes will miss it.  They will be locked out.  There is a hell.  They will find themselves in the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

            But those who are well saturated with the oil of Jesus’ Gospel and Sacraments will be awakened at the Bridegroom’s coming, and they will trim their lamps and follow Him into the joyous, eternal Feast.  The point is, watch and be ready.  The Lord is coming to take His Bride to Himself.  If you want to be ready for His return, soak in His Gospel and Sacraments, that faith may burn brightly.  The Lord here freely gives you all that you need to be ready on that Day.  “With bridal care Yourselves prepare To meet the Bridegroom, who is near” (LSB 516:1).  Come, Lord Jesus.  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son X, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.