Loving God, you invite us to keep our eyes on Jesus and to rejoice in his presence. Keep us from getting distracted by things that don’t really matter, that we, too, might join in the heavenly banquet; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

            Last week, we had a wedding banquet, and this week, we are waiting for a wedding to happen.  At least one person has suggested that if the wedding were happening today, the parable might start something like this:

Ten bridesmaids took their smart phones and went to meet the bridegroom.  Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.  When the foolish took their phones, they didn’t take their chargers with them; but the wise took their chargers with their phones.  As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept.  But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him. Then all those bridesmaids got up and grabbed their phones.  The foolish said to the wise, ‘Our batteries are almost dead.  Let us borrow your chargers so that we will be able to use the light on our phones and take pictures.’ But the wise replied, ‘No!  If we give our chargers to you, then our phones will go dead before the wedding is over.  You’d better go and get your own chargers.’ And while they went to get them, the bridegroom came (cf. Mt. 25:1-10).

         Of course, some of you may be wondering why the bridesmaids were waiting around for the groom to come in the first place.  In first-century Palestine, the groom would come with his groomsmen to the home of the bride’s parents.  Then the bride and the groom and all of their attendants would go in procession to the home of the groom’s parents, where the marriage ceremony would take place.  In this case, however, the groom was so late that all of the bridesmaids fell asleep.

         Many interpretations of this parable have focused on what the oil might represent.  What is it that the wise bridesmaids had enough of but the foolish ones did not?  However, I’m not convinced that the lack of oil was the real problem for these young women. When we think through the role of a bridesmaid, what was their primary task?  Was it to have oil in their lamps, or was it to welcome the bridegroom and participate in the wedding?...  The most foolish thing that they did was not forgetting to bring extra oil, but going at midnight in order to try and buy some. Who’s going to sell you oil at midnight? They forgot to keep the main thing the main thing and were distracted by secondary concerns (WorkingPreacher.org).

         At the same time, the supposedly wise bridesmaids are not particularly virtuous examples.  As one pastor points out, imagine some bridesmaids who actually have enough oil to share and know that others might struggle. For, not everyone has the same access to oil (RevGalblogpals).

         However, be that as it may, the parable still has what seems like a particularly harsh ending.  For, when those bridesmaids show up late, the wedding banquet is already in progress, and the door has been closed to them. They ask to come in, but the reply comes, “Truly I tell you, I do not know you” (Mt. 25:12).

         Those who are particularly astute might hear in these words some echoes of another passage in Matthew. In Matthew 7 we read:

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.  On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evil-doers.’ (Mt. 7:21-23)

The bridesmaids also say, “Lord, lord, open to us” (Mt. 25:11). However, the bridegroom does not know them.

         This parable, and indeed all of Matthew 24 and 25, has the theme of being ready at all times. Christ will return, and there will be a judgment day, and the end will come for all of us.  And, as with all parables, there is a certain shock value in the one we have heard today.  Not only is it shocking that people would run off at midnight to try and buy oil, but the closed door at the end is also shocking.  After all, the supposedly wise bridesmaids don’t seem to be any more deserving of a place in the kingdom of heaven than the supposedly foolish ones. The focus then becomes the foolishness of allowing secondary concerns to become more important than God’s priorities. After all, in the passage from Matthew 7, Jesus points to those who do the will of his Father in heaven as the ones who are ready to enter the kingdom.

         Truthfully, it is so easy for us to get distracted by things that don’t really matter.  In fact, how many of us will be staring at our phones when Jesus comes, saying, “Just a sec.  I’m almost finished this game.”  Alternatively, God’s priorities involve things like feeding the hungry and clothing the naked, and visiting those who are sick or in prison.  God’s priorities involve giving drink to the thirsty and welcoming the stranger.  God’s priorities are also on full display at the end of the gospel of Matthew where we are told to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey all that Jesus has commanded (Mt. 28:19-20).  Our purpose is to share God’s love with all people.

         Thankfully, that love has been shared with us first.  We do not have to earn it.  We don’t even have to calculate exactly how much oil we will need for our lamps.  God has given us all that we need through Jesus Christ, and empowers us by the Spirit so that we can keep the main thing the main thing and share God’s love with all people.  Thanks be to God!  Amen.

Lent 4 (NL 1)                                    Matthew 25:1-13

March 31, 2019

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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