"Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, 'Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the wise answered, saying, 'Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.' And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, lord, open to us.' But he answered, 'Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.' Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. (Matthew 25:1-13 ESV)
A couple years ago, when this reading for the Gospel last came around, Kelly suggested that we should put the following on the reader board out in front of the church: EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL. It was pretty clever, and points out the key to today’s reading. We, represented by the virgins in our parable for today, are in need of extra olive oil–that is, the gifts of Christ– for our lamps of faith. Always.
This is a parable, which unlike many of Jesus’ parables, does not have an inside the kingdom/outside the kingdom of God dimension. Here, all the people involved are invited and planning on going to the great feast of the kingdom. The Bridegroom is coming, is coming soon! That much, all the virgins understood. Their role in such an occasion was to meet the arriving bridal party and serve as the lights to bring the festive couple into the hall for the bridal supper. Typically, the bridegroom would arrive earlier than he did in this story, but never mind that; the job of the maidens was to be ready whenever.
Some were wise; they thought ahead, and brought supplies in case the arrival took longer than necessary. If they didn’t need it, it was a festive occasion anyway. Nobody much cared. If they did need it, they’d have it and not be thrown out of the party. Some were not wise. They only brought just enough oil to cover their needs for the short term. After all, the party would be any minute!
Jesus here points out the nature of true faith. The wise ones are those with true faith, and the foolish ones are those who are in the church, but not really of the church.
Sometimes we are hesitant to say anything about the need to be persistent in faith. After all, we believe strongly in what theologians call the monergism of grace— that God is the one who saves you by His grace alone, apart from our works. We see this reflected in our church’s teaching on Baptism, that, as the Bible clearly says, it actually works salvation, forgiveness of sins, and eternal life, by virtue of God’s promise working through water and the Word. And yet we are hesitant to point out that the Scriptures also teach that these are gifts which it is possible to lose, over time, if you allow them to fade away.
This is what is meant by the five foolish virgins. They believed in Jesus, sure. They believed enough that they were excited for the party, for heaven to come. It was a treasure to them. They wanted to be a part of it. But over time, they simply weren’t ready. They hadn’t continued in the oil of the Word which is the Lamp, they hadn’t continued in the body and blood of the Lamb who is the eternal light from the Father. They hadn’t continued in daily repentance and remembrance of their Baptism. They hadn’t kept it going, because they were expecting it to be quick and easy, not a long and hard haul.
I hate to say this, but our church membership books are full of people who, I am certain, loved the Lord, but their recent commitment to His Word and His house have shown that, unless they get back, the Lord may just utter to them those awful words, “I don’t know you.” I’m not stepping out of place by saying this, either; after all, we teach and believe the third commandment, that we are to honor the Sabbath, that is, to be faithful in hearing preaching and the Word of God. By the way, that counts as much for those of us in the seats as those who aren’t here. Our culture has made church membership more important than Christ, and the Christ of the Church ultimately can and will determine who is truly His church. I do not presume to judge anyone’s heart. But it was the external action of these five foolish virgins that wound up with them scrambling for help at the last minute—and unable to find any.
We’re not at the end yet; we have a responsibility, all of us, to our brothers and sisters in the faith who have let their flame go out, who have forgotten the source of the oil for their lamps. I’m talking about those members of our own faith community who live and walk among us, but for whom regular attendance at the Lord’s house has not been on their radar screen for some time. We have a calling to warn them, to encourage them, but to do it gently and in the spirit of Christ Jesus. It’s not just for the pastor to seek out the wandering ones, but for anyone who has contact with them to continue to seek them out and encourage them to return. It won’t be easy. The writer to the Hebrews points out in Hebrews 6, that in many cases, if you fall away from the faith, you never really come back.
The reality is that in the end, even those who have held church membership, who have claimed to follow Jesus outwardly but had not the faith in their Saviour, are in dire jeopardy of being left to the outer darkness, to judgement, to hell. As a heavy metal song a number of years ago said, “I don’t want to go to hell. Nobody in their right mind wants to.” Hell is not a destination which anyone who claims to bear the name of Christ should be tending toward, but all of us possess that old Adam, that sinful nature, which trends us ever toward it, when left unchecked. For hell is the destination for sin and its effects, for all which has spoiled God’s perfect creation and left it fallen and ruined. The life of faith is one of a persistent battle against hell. The devil is always trying to take you down, to get you to think that your sins are no big deal, that your neighbour is somehow worse than you so it’s okay to hold that grudge, it’s okay to spread that rumour, it’s okay to lust after that movie star, it’s okay to covet that new car or big screen TV you don’t really need or even have space for. And the oil slowly diminishes and the flame slowly flickers out.
On the other hand, we have the precious treasure of Jesus Himself here at Trinity/Zion. We have His Holy and precious Word which does not lie to us, but tells us God’s own truth from the first word to the last. We have the precious message of salvation through Jesus’ perfect life, death, and resurrection for us. We have the precious treasure of forgiveness of sins granted through Baptism, absolution, and the Lord’s Supper. We have Jesus’ own presence and that of His Holy Spirit guaranteed by His own promise. We have all these things; and we take them all, far too often, for granted. For these things are the oil which our lamps need, and it is only by keeping in these things, these gifts from God, that we will be able to continue with our faith strong.
And we dare not neglect the oil, for as in the days of Noah, so it will be at the Lord’s return. There won’t be any warning. The trumpet will sound, and every eye on earth will see the Lord’s return as judge, together. And you don’t want the day of the Lord to happen if you’re not constantly at the ready. As Amos says, “Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD! Why would you have the day of the LORD? It is darkness, and not light, as if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him, or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall, and a serpent bit him. Is not the day of the LORD darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?” (Amos 5:18-20 ESV) For those who are without that constant hope in Christ, for those for whom Jesus has simply become a buzzword rather than their constant hope, the day of the LORD will be a frightening day indeed. When that moment comes, you can’t rely on any other person to pull you through. Each will stand or fall based on their own trust in their Lord. Yes, the day of judgment is coming, and we do not know when. All we know is that it will be soon; that the promised signs are almost all in place, and that at any moment our Saviour could choose to return. He will come to judge both the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end.
And yet, for those who are in Christ, who do rely on His promises, and His promises alone, those who do not trust in their works or their own reason or strength, for those who keep Christ and His salvation first, the day of the Lord, the return of the King, the arrival of the groom is a joyous and blessed day. For with the supplies they have, the Word, the forgiveness of sins, the grace of Baptism and the ongoing nourishment of the Lord’s Supper, they keep their lamps trimmed and their fires burning, ready for the day. In such faith, you can rest easy, knowing that you are ready for the Lord’s return.
Rest easy, but not rest lazily. While it is day, you and I and all believers are called to be strong in the Lord, spending time in the Word both at church and at home, hearing and rejoicing in the salvation of Jesus Christ. We are called to follow Him in good and bad, high and low, happy and sad. For we are called to wait, not sadly, but with great expectation and joy. Our Jesus is coming, is coming soon! He is coming to take us home with Him, to be with Him in all blessedness and joy for all eternity. He is coming to take us into His feast, where there will never again be sadness or hurt, but all will be joy for all eternity. Keep watchful and alert, grounded in His Word, relying on His gifts of grace until His return.
Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly. Amen.
Last updated November 2008 by the webmaster.