Matthew
25:1-13
The Wise and
Foolish Virgins
November –
when the secular world starts playing Christmas music (or as they say, when
Mariah Carey is thawed out anew every year).
The weather is getting cooler, even here in Texas, and the seasons are
certainly changing. But in the church
we’re still two seasons away from Christmas.
So let’s just hold our horses a bit.
Soon we will
be in Advent, the season of preparation for Christmas. But before we even get there, we have this
little season at the end of the church year, in which our readings emphasize
the last things, the end times. The
fancy pants theological term for all of this is “eschatology”.
And this
year we hear about the end times from Jesus in Matthew 25. Next week we will have the Parable of the
Talents, where the king goes away for a long time and expects his servants to
make good use of his money. Then on the
last Sunday of the church year, the account of the sheep and the goats, who
Christ will separate the believers and unbelievers at the final judgment.
But before
all of that, today, we have the parable of the 10 virgins, or of the wise and
foolish virgins. Here, too, Jesus is
preparing us for his second coming, and urging us to be ready when he does
return in glory at the last day.
Jesus seems
to love the imagery of marriage, and uses it often to describe his relationship
with his people, he the bridegroom, we the bride. Earlier, in Matthew 9, after Jesus was asked
why His disciples don’t fast like John the Baptist’s, He responded that the
wedding guests cannot mourn while the Bridegroom is with them. In this He was
referring to Himself. Later in the
Revelation to St. John, Jesus presents a vision of the church adorned as a
bride, the Holy City of Jerusalem. We
heard not too long ago the appointed Gospel reading, the Parable of the
Marriage Feast, and the importance of being properly attired by the host in the
wedding garment.
Like so much
of Scripture, we see truth through a contrast.
Here, the distinction is between the 5 wise and the 5 foolish virgins, as together
they wait for the bridegroom to arrive and for the wedding festivities to
begin. But somewhat unexpectedly, the
bridegroom is delayed. Some of the young
ladies were prepared for that scenario, and some were not. But all fell asleep while they waited. When they woke up, the sudden news came that
the bridegroom was on his way, and the unwise virgins began to panic. They didn’t have enough oil.
And they
first turn to the five wise virgins, who seem sympathetic, but can’t really help
them out – then no one would have enough oil.
“Quick, go to town,” they say, and “buy yourselves some more oil.” Ah,
but it’s midnight, and the Oil-mart isn’t open as late as Taco Bell. These foolish virgins are really in a pickle. The story ends sadly for them, as the wise
virgins enter the feast, and when the foolish virgins finally arrive later, the
doors are shut, there’s no way in, and even when they beg, the Lord says, “I
don’t even know you.”
Now, of
course Jesus is the bridegroom here. The
party doesn’t start till he walks in, and so the party-goers must wait and wait
and wait for him And the church, at
least the visible church here on earth, is represented by all 10 virgins. They’re waiting for the Bridegroom, that is
Jesus, to arrive. So this is clearly
about his Second Coming at the close of the age.
The lamp,
common to them all, seems to be the distinguishing mark of a Christian. We might say it represents Holy Baptism, or
saving faith itself. Ah, but yet they
are not all the same – for some have enough oil and some do not. So what is this oil? And how do we get it? That seems a pretty important upshot of the
parable.
What feeds
our faith, but the Word of God and his Holy Sacrament? What do we need to be continually ready for
his return, ready to meet him either when he comes in glory or when we depart
this life? What keeps us in the one true
church, but the Holy Spirit, working through the means of grace. And here we have the heart of it.
Jesus on the
one hand warns us – and sternly! Do not
neglect the oil! Do not fail to fill
your lamp! Receive his gifts while they
are available. Seek the Lord while he
may be found. Repent, for now is the day
of salvation. What a dangerous game some
people play by putting off for tomorrow the things of God. What foolishness to NOT tend to the faith he
has given, with the gifts he still gives.
Every
parable breaks down at some point. Every
comparison has its limits. Of course the
virgins in the parable had to buy their own oil, but we receive faith and all
God’s blessings as gifts from him. The
lamp, the oil, the invitation to the wedding itself – it’s all a gift from God,
out of pure grace for the sake of Christ.
But these
are gifts that can be rejected, and they can be neglected. Ask the foolish virgins how that went. Faith can be lost. It can slowly die. It can wither and starve. Or like a lamp, it can run out of oil, if it
is not replenished and nourished regularly.
So hear
God’s word, dear Christians, as often as you can. Read it, mark it, learn it, inwardly digest
it. Come to church. Come to Sunday School. Read the scriptures daily. Find what works for you to feed your faith
with the rich food of his word, the oil that will keep your lamp burning. And that word will show you your sins, but it
will also show you your crucified and risen Savior, Jesus Christ. And in repentance and forgiveness, your faith
will grow. And your lamp will ever be
full.
The oil that
keeps the lamp burning is also his Word attached to bread and wine, and the
promise of his body and blood for your forgiveness. As the oil sustains the flame of a lamp, so
the Sacrament sustains and strengthens faith in God and love for neighbor, as
we say in that post communion prayer, “that of your mercy, you would strengthen
us through the same (that is, through the Sacrament) in faith toward you and in
fervent love toward one another…”
Another
interesting aspect of this parable is that all the virgins, wise and foolish,
fell asleep while waiting for the bridegroom.
And in our Epistle reading today, Paul talks about those who have fallen
asleep. That is to say, those who die in
the faith before Christ returns. We’re
just a week out from All Saints’ Day, when we especially remember those who
have fallen asleep in Christ in our own midst.
One day, that bell may toll for you.
It is also
for this day which we prepare. It is for
this day that we keep our lamps full of oil.
It is in view of our own death, that we must ever be ready and stand
firm in the faith, so that we are ready not just to live but to die in
Christ. No one knows the day or the hour
of his return. And no one knows the
moment that he will fall asleep in death.
But Paul
does describe death a sleep because, for Christians, we will rise and
shine! At the day of the resurrection,
when the bridegroom returns, the dead in Christ will rise, and we will meet him
in the clouds in glory. To die in faith
is to be ready, and to rest in peace until that day.
So the basic
point of this parable is: be ready. Be
ready for the arrival of the bridegroom, our Lord Jesus Christ. Be ready by continuing to receive his gifts,
in Word and Sacrament, and by living by faith in him and in love toward your
neighbor. For…
Midnight
hears the welcome voices, and at the thrilling cry rejoices, “Oh where are ye, ye virgins wise? The Bridegroom comes, awake! Your lamps with gladness take! Alleluia!
With bridal care yourselves prepare to meet the Bridegroom who is near.”
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