Are You Ready For Life's Crises?
Sermon
One of my failings tends to be that of procrastination. If I'm facing a job I really hate, I generally work under the maxim of "never do today what you can put off until tomorrow." This means for instance, that cupboards and drawers overflow with clothes I haven't worn for years because I just hate sorting them out. I have far more exciting things to do than to sort through drawers of old clothes! But my comeuppance occurs whenever we move, for then I'm forced to sort through the drawers and the cupboards and it takes me forever.
I therefore have a great deal of sympathy for those young bridesmaids who were so full of excitement about the forthcoming wedding feast that they didn't bother to take any extra oil for their lamps. And I have to confess to feeling a certain irritation with those smug young ladies who were just too well prepared to be true, but who refused to share anything with their friends.
Part of my sympathy arises from the fact that the wedding was due to take place during the day, not at night. So it was remarkable that the girls even took lamps, let alone oil. All of them had sufficient oil to see them through the afternoon and evening. But who would have expected the bridegroom to arrive for his own wedding at midnight? Nobody expected the bridegroom to be late. If the bridegroom had been on time everything would have been all right, for the lamps wouldn't have been needed. The whole unfortunate incident looks very much like the bridegroom's fault.
There's an emphasis throughout the Bible from the early days of the history of the Israelite people, on a God who cares deeply about those people, and who therefore expects them to care deeply about each other.
In an ancient country with no state social security, the Israelites had their own strong ethical code in which widows and orphans were especially cared for, and in which strangers were afforded the highest levels of hospitality. And that code was enshrined in the law by which all Israelites lived.
Deuteronomy 26:13 reads: then you shall say before the LORD your God: "I have removed the sacred portion from the house, and I have given it to the Levites, the resident aliens, the orphans, and the widows, in accordance with your entire commandment that you commanded me."
Jesus not only continued this tradition, but paid special attention to those who were poor, and often told stories about sharing. Stories such as the tale of the farmer who wanted to keep all his wealth to himself, but dropped dead that night (Luke 12:16-20). And the yarn about the man who wasn't afraid to get his friend out of bed at midnight because he'd run out of bread (Luke 11:5-8).
One of Jesus' most powerful illustrations of the kingdom of heaven, is when God separates out those who unwittingly have compassion on the poor and marginalised, from those who unwittingly don't. "When did I see you, Lord, poor or thirsty or in prison, and ignored you?" say the people. But Jesus says, "Depart from me, for when you didn't do it to one of the least of these my brethren, you didn't do it to me." (Matthew 25:31-46)
And Jesus reinforced his teaching through his own actions. He gave unstintingly of himself even when he was dog-tired, and when the crowds were tired and hungry up on the mountain, he made sure there was enough food to go round.
It comes then, as something of a shock when Jesus tells this story about a group of bridesmaids, and actually commends those unpleasant teenagers who refused to share their oil with their friends.
Why is it, that as we come towards the end of Jesus' ministry when events are really hotting up and the hostility towards Jesus is dramatically increasing, that all his previous teaching about consideration and unselfishness and generosity suddenly seems to be reversed? From all that's gone before in the Gospels, you'd have expected those selfish girls to be condemned, not commended. But although this may be the first thing that leaps out at Western minds, perhaps it's not really what the parable is about.
All the girls had been invited to the wedding. All were welcome. Indeed, they were not only welcome, but as bridesmaids held places of honour. The parable revolves around the unexpectedness of the bridegroom's arrival, as do many of the parables of judgement.
In the parable of the tenants in the vineyard, the wicked tenants thought the owner of the vineyard would never appear, so they indulged in all sorts of corruption and cheating the system, and did their best to indefinitely delay the arrival of the owner. But he suddenly and unexpectedly appeared, and judgement was swift.
In the parable of the talents the man who buries his talent is fine, until the master suddenly and unexpectedly appears. And then it's too late.
And this is the theme of the parable of the wise and foolish bridesmaids. Everything was fine for all the bridesmaids until the sudden and unexpected arrival of the bridegroom. And then for half the bridesmaids, it was too late.
The girls who were ready were those who had taken the unexpectedness of life into account. The just-in-case girls who wanted to be ready and who had slipped an extra bottle of oil into their pockets at the last moment because whatever happened, they were determined not to miss out on this party.
We can't afford to take God for granted. It's usually just when everything is swimming along really smoothly and the sky is a bright, unblemished blue, that disaster strikes, that the unexpected happens.
When that happens we need inner resources of strength and courage and a reliance upon God to see us through. But those inner resources don't magically appear. A relationship with God doesn't happen overnight, it's something that takes years to gradually build.
Those who only turn to God when life suddenly goes wrong, often find themselves disappointed, because they suddenly discover that God doesn't respond or react in the way they expect. They haven't taken extra oil. They haven't filled themselves over the years with the things of God, they haven't made God's acquaintance, they haven't learned anything about him.
And so they often find the door apparently slammed in their face, because they've excluded themselves from God's company and when the chips are down they have no idea how to approach him or what to expect. The oil in their lamps has burned down and they have no means of replacing it when life is at crisis point.
And in fact, the preparation is not so great. All that the wise bridesmaids did was to pick up a spare flask of oil and take it with them, just in case. They believed that the bridegroom would come at some point. Even when it was far too late to expect the bridegroom ever to arrive, they still believed and they acted upon that belief.
The foolish bridesmaids had no such belief. They didn't know very much about the bridegroom, or they'd have realised he might well be delayed. And as time went on and the bridegroom failed to appear, they didn't go off to find more oil while they had the chance. They simply shrugged their shoulders, assumed the bridegroom would never come, and went to sleep.
We may not know anything about the Second Coming, where or when that might happen, but we do know that in every human life there comes at least one moment of crisis. Most human lives have many more than one time of crisis. Those who want to be able to handle that crisis, not only without going under but also growing through it, need to pick up their spare flask of oil right now. They need to believe that at some point in this life they are going to need God's love and comfort and support and strength, and they need to act upon that belief.
All are welcome to the great feast of life, but only those who believe and act upon that belief are able to enjoy it to its utmost.
I therefore have a great deal of sympathy for those young bridesmaids who were so full of excitement about the forthcoming wedding feast that they didn't bother to take any extra oil for their lamps. And I have to confess to feeling a certain irritation with those smug young ladies who were just too well prepared to be true, but who refused to share anything with their friends.
Part of my sympathy arises from the fact that the wedding was due to take place during the day, not at night. So it was remarkable that the girls even took lamps, let alone oil. All of them had sufficient oil to see them through the afternoon and evening. But who would have expected the bridegroom to arrive for his own wedding at midnight? Nobody expected the bridegroom to be late. If the bridegroom had been on time everything would have been all right, for the lamps wouldn't have been needed. The whole unfortunate incident looks very much like the bridegroom's fault.
There's an emphasis throughout the Bible from the early days of the history of the Israelite people, on a God who cares deeply about those people, and who therefore expects them to care deeply about each other.
In an ancient country with no state social security, the Israelites had their own strong ethical code in which widows and orphans were especially cared for, and in which strangers were afforded the highest levels of hospitality. And that code was enshrined in the law by which all Israelites lived.
Deuteronomy 26:13 reads: then you shall say before the LORD your God: "I have removed the sacred portion from the house, and I have given it to the Levites, the resident aliens, the orphans, and the widows, in accordance with your entire commandment that you commanded me."
Jesus not only continued this tradition, but paid special attention to those who were poor, and often told stories about sharing. Stories such as the tale of the farmer who wanted to keep all his wealth to himself, but dropped dead that night (Luke 12:16-20). And the yarn about the man who wasn't afraid to get his friend out of bed at midnight because he'd run out of bread (Luke 11:5-8).
One of Jesus' most powerful illustrations of the kingdom of heaven, is when God separates out those who unwittingly have compassion on the poor and marginalised, from those who unwittingly don't. "When did I see you, Lord, poor or thirsty or in prison, and ignored you?" say the people. But Jesus says, "Depart from me, for when you didn't do it to one of the least of these my brethren, you didn't do it to me." (Matthew 25:31-46)
And Jesus reinforced his teaching through his own actions. He gave unstintingly of himself even when he was dog-tired, and when the crowds were tired and hungry up on the mountain, he made sure there was enough food to go round.
It comes then, as something of a shock when Jesus tells this story about a group of bridesmaids, and actually commends those unpleasant teenagers who refused to share their oil with their friends.
Why is it, that as we come towards the end of Jesus' ministry when events are really hotting up and the hostility towards Jesus is dramatically increasing, that all his previous teaching about consideration and unselfishness and generosity suddenly seems to be reversed? From all that's gone before in the Gospels, you'd have expected those selfish girls to be condemned, not commended. But although this may be the first thing that leaps out at Western minds, perhaps it's not really what the parable is about.
All the girls had been invited to the wedding. All were welcome. Indeed, they were not only welcome, but as bridesmaids held places of honour. The parable revolves around the unexpectedness of the bridegroom's arrival, as do many of the parables of judgement.
In the parable of the tenants in the vineyard, the wicked tenants thought the owner of the vineyard would never appear, so they indulged in all sorts of corruption and cheating the system, and did their best to indefinitely delay the arrival of the owner. But he suddenly and unexpectedly appeared, and judgement was swift.
In the parable of the talents the man who buries his talent is fine, until the master suddenly and unexpectedly appears. And then it's too late.
And this is the theme of the parable of the wise and foolish bridesmaids. Everything was fine for all the bridesmaids until the sudden and unexpected arrival of the bridegroom. And then for half the bridesmaids, it was too late.
The girls who were ready were those who had taken the unexpectedness of life into account. The just-in-case girls who wanted to be ready and who had slipped an extra bottle of oil into their pockets at the last moment because whatever happened, they were determined not to miss out on this party.
We can't afford to take God for granted. It's usually just when everything is swimming along really smoothly and the sky is a bright, unblemished blue, that disaster strikes, that the unexpected happens.
When that happens we need inner resources of strength and courage and a reliance upon God to see us through. But those inner resources don't magically appear. A relationship with God doesn't happen overnight, it's something that takes years to gradually build.
Those who only turn to God when life suddenly goes wrong, often find themselves disappointed, because they suddenly discover that God doesn't respond or react in the way they expect. They haven't taken extra oil. They haven't filled themselves over the years with the things of God, they haven't made God's acquaintance, they haven't learned anything about him.
And so they often find the door apparently slammed in their face, because they've excluded themselves from God's company and when the chips are down they have no idea how to approach him or what to expect. The oil in their lamps has burned down and they have no means of replacing it when life is at crisis point.
And in fact, the preparation is not so great. All that the wise bridesmaids did was to pick up a spare flask of oil and take it with them, just in case. They believed that the bridegroom would come at some point. Even when it was far too late to expect the bridegroom ever to arrive, they still believed and they acted upon that belief.
The foolish bridesmaids had no such belief. They didn't know very much about the bridegroom, or they'd have realised he might well be delayed. And as time went on and the bridegroom failed to appear, they didn't go off to find more oil while they had the chance. They simply shrugged their shoulders, assumed the bridegroom would never come, and went to sleep.
We may not know anything about the Second Coming, where or when that might happen, but we do know that in every human life there comes at least one moment of crisis. Most human lives have many more than one time of crisis. Those who want to be able to handle that crisis, not only without going under but also growing through it, need to pick up their spare flask of oil right now. They need to believe that at some point in this life they are going to need God's love and comfort and support and strength, and they need to act upon that belief.
All are welcome to the great feast of life, but only those who believe and act upon that belief are able to enjoy it to its utmost.
