“Sleeping on the Job”

24th Sunday after Pentecost

November 12, 2023

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Matthew 25:1-13

Children’s Message:

Baptismal candle--Have you ever been in a storm where the power went out? What did you do? You found flashlights and lit candles, right? That way you can see? I’m the kind of person that thinks about putting new batteries in my flashlight when I realize they have gone bad and it’s totally dark out. That’s not a very good way to be.

But here’s the thing I want you to remember today. When you were baptized, you received a candle just like this one. And the pastor lit the candle and recited Jesus’ words: “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

While we might try to be prepared for the darkness, God reminds us that God has been preparing US to shine light. God has been working through US to bring light in the darkness. WE are the light, and God has done all the work that needs to be done in us to shine bright for others.

Let’s pray. Dear God, thank you for making us your light and for helping us shine. Amen.

Message:

This parable reminds of the scenes in movies where there’s a really fancy club, a line out the door, and bouncers asking, “Is your name on the list?” Of course, there’s always a famous person with an entourage who walks right in. The bouncers don’t have to know the groupies as long as they’re with the main event.

Parables are supposed to be a bit off—to make us think and make us uncomfortable. Mission accomplished. I’m uncomfortable. I’m also confused. What is it with bridesmaids and lamps, and why are they waiting for the groom? What’s actually going on?

Traditionally, marriage celebrations were not only long events but took a long time to get to. The groom and the father of the bride would enter into fragile negotiations, discussing financial compensation to the bride’s family for the loss of a helpful hand in the home, as well as the price offered to care for the bride should something happen to the groom.

This betrothal could take up to a year. In addition, the groom would have to create the home in which he and his bride would live. Whether he secured his own place or, more likely, built onto his family’s home, this would also take time. So, a ‘save-the-date’ would be out of place since no one really knew when the families would be ready for the wedding.

But, when all was ready, the groom and his friends would go to the bride’s house to bring her back to his own. They would organize a parade through the village, and the bride would ride upon a litter—a seat carried by the groomsmen. Along the path of the parade, the village would cheer and celebrate, and the bridesmaids would be collected to join the bride at the groom’s home. The tradition would be to have 10 bridesmaids, in addition to friends and family.

At the groom’s home, the festivities would begin. The first night, the bride would remain separated with her bridesmaids and friends. The second evening was the wedding banquet. The whole village would show up. There would be dancing and eating and drinking. And the bride and groom would finally meet under the canopy where they would exchange their vows and hear words of promise and love from the Song of Solomon. That night, they would retreat to their own room to consummate their marriage. And the festivities would continue for nearly a week.

Jesus often compared the kingdom of heaven to a wedding feast—a great celebration in which heaven and earth are joined together, and all the village is invited to the banquet. But Jesus also uses such parables to challenge our ideas and assumptions of heaven and God and even Jesus, himself. At this point in Matthew, Jesus’ parables have become dark and ominous as he draws ever closer to his death. And it becomes harder and harder to untangle Jesus’ teachings and Matthew’s own context.

You see, by the time Matthew writes his gospel account, the Temple has been destroyed, many followers of Jesus have been persecuted and killed, and though everyone has been awaiting the second coming of the Christ, there has been no sign. Believers have begun giving up hope. Even in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, written 20-30 years before Matthew, Paul is trying to encourage the church to stay faithful and not lose hope. Jesus will come. And those who have died before that happens will not be left out.

There is great anxiety and fear among the people. Was it all a lie? Is it worth the hardship that they were enduring? So, while we might hear the parable of the bridesmaids as a warning, I think Matthew meant it as encouragement to not lose hope. The previous chapter starts off with Jesus foretelling the destruction of the temple and the persecution of believers. He then talks about how the Son of Man will return. But the next parables all warn that no one will be able to predict when that will happen. I think this is Matthew’s way of helping people recognize that the wait is all part of the plan.

But more than that, he points out what the waiting should look like. We must pay attention and stay watchful—but for what? He tells the parable of the faithful and unfaithful slaves. The faithful slave takes care of his responsibilities while the master is away. He maintains the house and makes sure his fellow slaves are properly fed and cared for. The unfaithful slave decides he’s free to abuse his fellow slaves since the master isn’t there to catch him. And then the master comes and finds out what he’s been up to and punishes him.

“Then,” Jesus says, “the kingdom of heaven will be compared to ten bridesmaids.” And we know the rest. Some are prepared, some are not. But they ALL fall asleep. When the groom comes with the parade in the middle of the night, they are awakened. The unprepared ask for help, and the prepared tell them to deal with it. While the foolish ones scramble, the wise ones get into the party, and the doors are locked.

And we’re left to wonder: Is it possible to be too late?

Here’s the thing. First of all, the moral of the parable as Jesus told it wasn’t “Be prepared.” It was, “Keep awake.” And in that, everyone failed. Just as the disciples failed in Gethsemane every time Jesus went away to pray. Personally, I’ve found that staying awake is hardest when I’m actually trying to stay awake. Especially when I’m on my own in that endeavor. But we’re not on our own. And we all fail. We lose interest. We look away. We get distracted. We fall asleep.

Second of all, the ‘lord’ at the door was not the groom. It was probably the steward of the event. And much like bouncers outside a club, they don’t know who you are unless you walk in with the party. But we also know how the story ends. We know that the true Lord, the groom, the Son of Man, brings the party to us. Heaven isn’t an experience locked away behind closed doors. The whole idea of Christ coming to us on the clouds turns upside down the assumption that we need to get into someplace else. Jesus brings the party here. Jesus brings heaven here. The stone to the tomb is removed, the door broken wide open.

In his book, The Natural History, the ancient writer Pliny writes about how cranes care for one another at night. During the night, the cranes place sentinels to stand guard. Each crane holds a little stone in its claw so that if the bird falls asleep, the stone falls to the ground and convicts the crane of its neglect. The rest of the cranes are able to sleep in safety, standing on one leg at a time, tucking their heads beneath their wings, knowing that their sentinels are awake, watching, necks stretched, ready to wake the flock in danger approaches.

So, Jesus tells us to stay alert. Keep watch. Not so that we don’t miss out on the party but because we can be the sentries sounding the alert that something big is coming. That is our job as followers of Christ—to share the good news. Shout it from the mountaintops. Tell the world that the party is on its way. It’s on its way to us. It’s on its way to everyone. It’s so exciting that we simply can’t fall asleep.

And in the meantime, we not only watch and wait. We serve. We feed. We care. We help. We welcome. Because THAT is what it looks like to share the good news of Jesus Christ.

Pastor Tobi White

Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church

Lincoln, NE