Sermon 12th November 2023 – 24th Sunday after Pentecost
Text: Matthew 25:1-13 –
Patiently waiting
How are you at waiting?
It can be hard to wait. Don’t you get
frustrated when you are put on hold and you hear: “Your call is important to
us. Please continue to hold.” Do you
feel like hanging up? “Take a number and have a seat until you are called” is
not too bad. At least you know where in line you are. I recently had to have a
blood test and it’s one of those ‘take a number’ when you arrive. You can’t
make an appointment. So I arrived 30 minutes early so I could be first. Unfortunately
someone else had the same idea so I was 2nd. Or when “your results will be in
two weeks” and it’s now 15 days and you haven’t heard anything. And no doubt
many of you have experienced the shortage of specialist appointments especially
since Covid and “The next available appointment is in six months.”
Waiting is hard because
we are not in control. The parable Jesus tells is about a wedding feast and
waiting. When the feast was set to begin, the groom would come get his bride,
and together they would walk to the wedding banquet with the bridesmaids
holding lamps to light the way for them to walk to the feast. There are no
streetlights, there is no electricity, no headlights so their job was to light
the way. The problem in the parable is
that only half of the bridesmaids were prepared as the bridegroom had been
delayed. The other five weren’t. All of them had fallen asleep. So, when the
bridegroom comes, 5 are not ready. The 5 who brought extra oil don’t have
enough to share. So the unwise bridesmaids go off in a panic trying to get a
refill for their lamps. Eventually, they
do, but by the time they arrive, it’s too late, the door has been locked, and
for those five bridesmaids, they are locked out. Despite their pleas and now
being ready, the bridegroom is not ready for them: Lord, lord, open to us.’ But
he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’.
This is an interesting
story but sadly it’s also an example of eternal life and the reality that some
miss out because they were not prepared for the day when Jesus returns or when
Jesus calls them home. The bridegroom’s arrival is a symbol of the Second
Coming of Christ, when he will bring the faithful to the heavenly banquet, a
great feast for eternity. This Parable actually explains the challenge that the
church faces today. The 5 bridesmaids were not evil according to the parable. They
were unwise. They thought they had plenty of time so why bother with extra oil
for their lamps. We’re still waiting for the arrival of the bridegroom. 2000 years ago Jesus promised to return and
our biggest challenge has been complacency and the temptation to give up. But
it’s not just those who have lapsed from their faith or church attendance.
Even we can fall into
the situation of the 5 unwise bridesmaids. We believe in Jesus but we might
also believe that he’s not going to return today so I’ll worry about it
tomorrow. It’s easy to become disheartened about the delay which can cause
doubts. Why doesn’t Jesus come and set things right? What’s taking him so long? There’s a lot wrong with the world -- so much
suffering! The wars – the violence – the
natural disasters. The parable urges us
to remain vigilant in preparedness and watchfulness; especially in the face of
such tragedies. One day Jesus will return like a thief in the night and will we
be ready. Whether we’re waiting for the Second Coming of Jesus or waiting to
meet our Lord when we die, as Paul describes in our 2nd reading; We are still
waiting and it’s been 2000 years since Jesus said he would return. How are you
at waiting?
We don’t like waiting,
but God promises us blessings even as we wait. Waiting is not doing nothing, and having to
wait for the Lord doesn’t mean God is doing nothing. God is always at work,
doing “far more than we can ask or imagine,” according to Ephesians 3:20. Waiting doesn’t mean inactivity. Having oil at the ready, being prepared, comes
from living in trust.
Trust in our Baptism
where we were made children of God – and that is what we are, as we heard from
John last week. Trust in Holy Communion where we proclaim our Lord’s death
until he comes. There are ways to strengthen that trust. Prayer, reading the
Scriptures, fellowship and worship with other Christians, caring for people. We are only on earth for a short time when you
compare it to spending an eternity in Heaven. God wants us to appreciate the
world he’s given as a gift. But there are some not nice things happening around
us and that’s another thing we can do as we wait for Christ to return. We can
pray for the world where it needs healing. Whether it’s the wars around the
world – the floods, the fires, the droughts, the diseases. We can pray that
through these adversities that they will see the need for God in their life now
– not tomorrow for tomorrow may be too late. Today is the day of salvation.
Paul warns that one day
the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and with the
sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven and as John prophesies in
Revelation chapter one the people will cry out: “Look, he is coming with the
clouds,” And “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all
peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.” And then at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is
Lord, But sadly some will be on the wrong side of the shut door as Jesus says –
away from me I never knew you. They will be the saddest words ever spoken and
ever heard. But they are words no one needs to hear or fear. There is always
hope as everyone who calls on the name of the Lord WILL be saved. And yes, as
much as we don’t like to think about it, time does run out. You can’t say forever, “Someday I’ll think about my relationship with
Jesus”. No Jesus ask you and everyone today – who do you say that I am. Today
is the day of Salvation.
But the good news is
that we’re still here. It is not too late. Jesus is preparing a great feast for us - the
great banquet feast of heaven and we don’t want to miss it. And it’s not just
about being ready to welcome the Lord only at death. The kingdom of heaven
begins here and now. Christ comes into our life every day, in many ways. But are our eyes and ears open to perceive his
presence? Are we alert to welcome him
and to respond to his invitation today of “Follow me”? As we pray in the Lord’s
Prayer – your Kingdom come.
We do not have to wait
for death to experience the kingdom of heaven. Jesus comes to us to lead us to the full life which has been made
possible by his death and resurrection. As he said in John 10:10 - I came that
they may have life and have it abundantly. Not I WILL come that they WILL have
abundant life. Jesus is delayed, but that does not mean that he will not come. In
fact St Peter says in his letter that his delay is part of God’s grace: The
Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead
he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to
repentance.
We are a fast-moving
society. We don’t like delays. Even if
it’s less than a minute at a red light. There’s no need to fear the delay as
God has given us life to enjoy until his return. There is no need to fear God
saying “I never knew you” because in your Baptism God affirmed – this is my son
this is my daughter whom I love. He has given you his Son’s body and blood to
receive until he returns and says Well done, good and faithful servant! Come
and share your master’s happiness!’
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