Keeping the Light On: Matthew 25:1-13 - Fourth Sunday in Lent

When Sunday evening rolls around, I frequently bore my family by talking about what I plan to preach on next Sunday. I mentioned this Sunday’s sermon would be based on the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids, to which my daughter asked, “what does a bridesmaid do?”

I’ve never been a bridesmaid, after all, and anytime Elizabeth or I are asked to be in a wedding, it’s always to officiate. Aside from wearing a dress and helping the bride with her dress and flower bouquet, I assumed that was mostly it.

According to Brides.com, the bridesmaid’s duties include organizing the wedding shower, assisting with planning and decorating, and assisting the bride with her hair, makeup, and attire in the wedding day. The magazine also indicated that bridesmaids are also responsible for keeping the bride calm and preventing any drama between family and friends, as well as assisting with cleanup after everyone goes home.

In short, the bridesmaid’s responsibilities begin well in advance of the wedding day and continue long after the wedding is over. It is a relationship that carries both great honor and great responsibility.

In today’s parable, one of these responsibilities was to prepare for the arrival of the bridegroom. Five of the bridesmaids were wise, bringing flasks of oil for their lamps. The foolish ones bring no oil. When the bridegroom was delayed, all ten of became exhausted from waiting and fell asleep. Suddenly, they heard someone shout, “look, here comes the groom!” They quickly got up and lit up their lamps. But five did not have enough oil. They ask the other five, “will you share your oil with us?” But they said, “no; if we give you our oil, then all ten of us may run out. If you oil, you will need to buy some.”

Click here to read the Scripture text

So, they set off at once, but by the time they got back, the wedding banquet had begun. They knock at the door, saying, “Lord, lord, open to us!” But the bridegroom replies, “I don’t know you.”

In conclusion, Jesus warns, “Keep awake, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

If the bridesmaids had known the day and the hour, the story would’ve ended differently. Nobody would’ve needed extra oil, and nobody would’ve fallen asleep. It’s the waiting, and how the bridesmaids handled that waiting, which made the difference.

I hate waiting, and I’m sure you do too—but you will spend up to one-third of your lifetime waiting for something. Therefore, if you’re going to wait, how can you wait well?

The difference between the foolish bridesmaids and the wise was that the foolish stopped focusing on who they were waiting for. Consequently, they forgot who they were and what they were supposed to be doing.

This parable highlights the struggle of every believer to stay focused on God’s future in the face of present demands. You know how we say, “out of sight, out of mind?” This is how a person who’s busy, or who’s lost in the fog of worry, loses their focus on God. Even though you call yourself “Christian,” there’s little about how you live or what you prioritize that would indicate this is so.

Maintaining oil for their lamps was a basic task of these bridesmaids. What are the basic tasks of the Christian? Prayer, bible-reading, coming to worship, sharing your gifts, and helping those in need. These are not tasks to check off a list. This is how you live in relationship with God. 

One thing that made the five bridesmaids particularly wise was that they helped each other to stay disciplined, prepared, and alert. 

Let me give you an example. A lot of people who say, “you don’t need the church to be a Christian.” But look around this worship space and see your siblings in Christ. Think about the people who’ve inspired your faith, and who’ve been there for you in times of need. Where did you meet them? At church. 

How many of you would’ve seen the faithfulness, peace, and love of Jesus Christ in our beloved Pete, had it not been for the church? Consider what a loss it would be for the people of our community if we were not church together? We all would be living our lives, but who would be serving our neighbors in need, supporting them in their grief, sharing God’s love with their children, and sending God’s love out into the world around us?

Naturally, we all fall short of that. We talk the talk without walking the walk. We label ourselves Christian but fail to do what that requires. Our need of forgiveness, both from God and one another, never ceases. We all grow weary not only of the waiting, but also of the working which demands so much of us, and so often does not bear the fruit we’d been hoping for. We all grow weary as the powers of death and evil rampage through our lives and through the world around us. But the only thing worse than going through hell on earth is going through it alone. Yet you’re not alone. Your prayers are not in vain. Your good works are not in vain. And your waiting is not in vain. 

You are the Body of Christ. We are Church together. The things we do together keep the light of God shining in an otherwise frightening and desolate world. God’s gifts of prayer, Scripture reading, and other faith practices are the oil for your lamps. The lights you shine are the love, mercy, and forgiveness; justice and peace-making

If you are weary from the working, the waiting, and the worrying, the Gospel is your wake-up call. We know not the hour of the day. But we know: the bridegroom comes! The Lord is near! So trim your lamps, lift your heads, and let your light shine for all to see!

Oil Lamp by Dennis Sylvester Hurd on flickr. CC0 1.0