WAITING FOR THE LORD...
MATTHEW 25:1-13
Introduction:
Weddings are like breeding grounds for embarrassing moments, aren’t they? Of course they’re incredibly precious moments and wonderful celebrations of love and all things beautiful, but how many weddings have you been to where there hasn’t been at least one thing that went wrong?
Whenever I prepare couples for marriage I try to prepare them for the fact that something on the day will probably not work out the way they wanted it to... The bride usually has a file the size of a doctoral thesis that outlines everything from when the groom must open his eyes that morning to how many steps she will take down the aisle – but no matter how well she plans and how minute her detailed analysis of everything might be, it is very likely, experience teaches us, that something will not work out the way she planned. That’s just the way weddings work, and in fact that’s just the way life works too.
I read of one occasion when a cake decorator was asked by the bride to inscribe the words from 1 John 4:18 on a wedding cake. The words are: "There is no fear in love... perfect love casts out fear."
Unfortunately, the decorator didn't know the Bible very well. So, instead of inscribing the words from 1 John 4:18 on the cake, he wrote the words from the Gospel of John 4:18. And these words happen to be: "You have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband…"
Talk about a big mistake and something clearly not working out the bride had planned! See friends, like we said... that’s just the way weddings work. There’s always something that doesn’t quite go according to plan. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing, is it? I mean sometimes it’s precisely the mishaps and embarrassing moments that we remember about a wedding – and these more often than not become good and happy memories. It helps when it’s something silly and laughable though... on the other hand, when it’s something serious it becomes a different matter altogether.
For example at the wedding we read of earlier in our Gospel text from Matthew 25 – when the bridesmaids failed in their responsibility, neglected the simple duty of being properly prepared, and as a result missed out on the wedding entirely. Because of their mistake they were excluded from the celebration, and when we consider that this wedding is actually a symbol for eternal life we see that in this case it no laughing matter at all.
This particular parable is perhaps one of Jesus’ less popular ones, not for reasons of creativity or prominence in his teaching, but probably because of the tremendously challenging message it conveys, the fact that it’s meaning is such a disturbingly difficult one to embrace – Jesus is essentially telling his hearers that there will come a day when he will return, as a groom to receive his bride; that the day of his return will be completely unexpected and unpredictable; and that if we are not found ready for it we will be excluded from the celebrations – for most people there is very little about this parable that is attractive because it isn’t exactly comforting or easy to accept.
But I would put to you this morning that if we listen carefully to this text and challenge ourselves to come to a deeper and fuller understanding of it, there will be few parables as comforting as this one (and of course others like it), for we will come to appreciate that we are indeed one the groom’s list of invited guests and we have the remarkable privilege of beginning our preparations for the great day of his wedding – we may be, at his invitation, part of the wise group who were ready.
However, before we can reflect more carefully on the meaning of this text there are a few background matters that we must come to terms with first. A couple of things that stand behind this text, as it were, that will shed meaningful light on our reading of it.
The first relates to the plausibility of the situation Jesus is describing at this point. See, for most of us modern, non-middle-eastern readers this whole situation sounds a little ridiculous; why in the world would the groom appear in the middle of the night – the bride would probably divorce him before they even got to the altar. Why would they not know exactly when he would arrive – the bride’s massive file would have dictated the time of his arrival to the minute... this whole situation is one that is foreign to us because this is simply not the way we do weddings.
But this is precisely the way a wedding feast would have unfolded in Jesus’ day and, in fact, still does in many of the traditional villages of the middle-eastern world today. The bride would not know when the groom was arriving, and part of her devotion to him would be illustrated by her willingness to always be ready and waiting; the bridesmaids were charged with keeping watch and accompanying he groom to the bride when he does arrive; the groom would have a companion (today we call him the best-man) who would go ahead of him and announce his arrival so everyone could come and greet him; the groom would often arrive at midnight because this time held special significance for the Jews – it was at midnight that they fled Egypt and the Exodus began, it was at midnight that the Jews expected the Messiah to be born, the groom came at midnight because this was a special time in that culture.
See friends, all these little details that appear so strange and unlikely to us were quite normal in Jesus’ day and to his hearers that this whole situation was actually quite plausible... and the plausibility of Jesus’ parable lends weight to its impact because it appealed to real lived experience of his audience. We need to appreciate this fact if we want this parable to have a similar impact on us and allow it to become more than just a story with a possible meaning.
Secondly, this parable forms part of that section in Matthew’s Gospel known as the Olivet Discourse... Beginning in chapter 24, Matthew tells us that Jesus went up to the Mount of Olives and at this time his disciples came to him and asked him to explain to them what he meant by his returning, when it will be and how they will know it is him. For the next two chapters Matthew records for us the things Jesus spoke concerning these questions; his parables about his second coming and the kingdom of God... it is in this light that we should always keep in mind that the primary and most fundamental meaning of this parable is to be found in the fact of Jesus’ second coming, his return, and our need to be ready for that great event.
It is perhaps no small thing that we should reflect on this reading with only three weeks to go before the Advent season begins...
And it is absolutely imperative that we state this fact and accept this reality first, before we attempt to make any creative or slightly nuanced interpretation of this text – it is essentially about the promised return of Jesus and our invitation to make sure we are ready for it. The groom, who is Jesus, invites us to prepare for his wedding, to participate in it, and to gladly wait for his arrival; even though it may only be at midnight...
But it is at this point that I want us to pause for a moment and reflect on a potential reading of this text that might open up a more present meaning for us. As we’ve said, the waiting described in this parable is primarily for that great day of the Lord’s return, but perhaps we might read it at a secondary level and consider what this text has to teach us about the importance of waiting for the Lord every day and in every moment. And what this parable teaches us about how we should be waiting, what we should be doing in our waiting...
If we do so we will see that this parable presents us with three things (in fact probably more, but it’s easier to remember only three) that are of tremendous value in our waiting for the Lord. Three things that will be of value to us if we wish to cultivate a spirituality of waiting for the Lord, which of course we should, not only for his great return, but also – and perhaps especially – for today!
Message:
Now before we consider any of these three things of value, as they are presented for us in the text, we should probably take a step back and just briefly define what we mean when we use the phrase: “to wait for the Lord”. We often hear this phrase used in worship services, either in prayers or in songs or in readings, and maybe we’ve even heard it said in conversation, when someone is facing a particularly difficult time, and the advice they are given is to simply ‘wait for the Lord’. This is a powerful phrase and makes for good advice, but what do we mean when we say it?
Some might think it is an excuse for doing nothing, or simply a slogan that those who don’t know what to do conveniently hide behind; others might think that it’s something said by ‘super-spiritual’ folk who under-estimate the power of common sense and feel the need to pray about everything. Well, it doesn’t mean any of these things.
G Campbell Morgan, the late nineteenth and early twentieth century minister and scholar of Westminster Chapel in London, once said: “Waiting for God is not laziness. Waiting for God is not going to sleep. Waiting for God is not the abandonment of effort. Waiting for God means, first, activity under command; second, readiness for any new command that may come; third, the ability to do nothing until the command is given.”
So friends, when we reflect upon the three things that will be of tremendous value for us in our learning how to wait for God, let us keep in mind that ‘waiting for the Lord’ is ultimately about cultivating the ability to obey God in all things and at all times – and that is a rather more active thing than what the generally passive term ‘waiting’ might imply at first glance.
Be that as it may, let us consider now what this parable of Jesus has to teach us about how we should wait for him.
1. The value of being prepared...
The first thing of value that we encounter in this parable is that of preparation and being prepared. And we reflect on this first, not because it is the most valuable, but simply because it is the first thing that should always be done in everything – preparation! Now it may seem embarrassingly obvious to refer to the value of preparation, I mean none of us would discount the importance of preparing for something as wonderful as meeting with the Lord, but sadly it would appear that for many of us this is not at all an obviously valuable thing.
I suspect that there are very few of us today who are actually prepared and spend time preparing; and I’d imagine that if we were all critically honest with ourselves we would probably place ourselves in that under-prepared group of people too.
Let’s consider the easiest possible example: the worship service this morning. Today we have the remarkable privilege of not only joining in worship, but also celebrating the Lord’s Supper and I wonder how many of us actually prepared ourselves before we came here this morning to worship. How many of us got up 20minutes earlier so we could have a quieter more reflective start to the day, instead of getting up at the last minute and ended up rushing here, hoping to get a good parking spot? How many of us, sat down and had a cup of coffee or breakfast with our families so we could all be in good spirits before we came here, instead of fighting with the kids to get them out of bed and snapping at our spouses for possibly coming late? How many of us prayed before we came, or read something devotional, or just grew quiet and thought about God?
The well-known Presbyterian minister from more than 150 years ago used to make his congregation attend devotions every day for a week before and a week after the celebration of Communion if they wanted to receive it. Now that’s preparation! I wonder how many of us would still be taking communion if that sort of preparation were demanded of us. Now I’m not suggesting at all that we should be that rigid, but the point is obvious... We’re not well-prepared at all (most of the time). Even for such a wonderful privilege and blessing as to worship God and to celebrate communion, so perhaps to state the value of preparation in waiting for God is not such an obvious thing after all.
In the Gospel reading we read of 10 bridesmaids; 5 were well prepared and came with oil ready to light their lamps; while 5 others were ill-prepared and had no oil when they needed it most. In their waiting for the groom they underestimated the value of thorough preparation and the result was that they paid the price – the ultimate price, it might be added. The 5 wise bridesmaids who were well-prepared had done the right thing beforehand and when the moment presented itself they were able to enjoy the celebration fully; they understood the value of preparation. And their example invites us to do the same – to appreciate the value of preparation.
One other thing that this parable teaches us about the value of preparation in waiting for the Lord is that we ought to do it while there is still time, for there will come a time when it will be too late. It was not that 5 foolish bridesmaids did not know what preparations to make, nor that they did not want to make them, but rather that they were simply too late.
Friends, the best time to make preparations in waiting for the Lord is now, for tomorrow might be too late. It was the world famous poet, Lord Tennyson, who used the words of this parable when he wrote the words of a song directed at the evil Queen Guinevere:
Late, late, so late! And dark the night and chill!
Late, late, so late! But we can enter still.
Too late, too late! Ye cannot enter now.
No light had we: for that we do repent;
And learning this, the bridegroom will relent.
Too late, too late! Ye cannot enter now.
No light: so late! And dark and chill the night!
O, let us in, that we may find the light!
Too late, too late: ye cannot enter now.
Have we not heard the bridegroom is so sweet?
O, let us in, tho' late, to kiss his feet!
No, no, too late! Ye cannot enter now."
Friends, when we wait for the Lord, whether for that great day of his return, this great day of celebrating his Supper, or even the every-day living of life, we should understand and appreciate the value that good preparation holds for us. Let us come prepared always, ready to receive him, and let us do so today, for tomorrow might be too late.
2. The value of the lamp...
The second thing of value that we encounter in this parable is that of the lamp, which, of course, we tend to interpret metaphorically. And it’s good that we do so, because when we do we see more clearly the value that the lamp will have while we wait for the Lord.
Throughout Scripture the symbol of a lamp is often used. Sometimes to represent life, at other times to symbolize the presence of God in the temple – as in Revelation 4:5 where we read of the lamp representing the Spirit of God, and at yet other times to symbolize God’s word – as in Psalm 119 where we read, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
And when we keep these things in mind we begin to appreciate the value of this figurative lamp, of the presence of God in the temple and his word, for our act of waiting for the Lord.
Two things become quite clear at this point: firstly, when we wait for the Lord it becomes imperative that we do so in the right places. The lamp as a symbol of God’s presence in the temple illustrates this for us. Friends, when we desire to meet with the Lord and long to hear from him, when we wait for the Lord, we need to ensure that we are in the so-called right place. There’s no point in spending all our time at work, in malls, or at the sports game and then complaining that we never encounter God (of course we can encounter God in all these places too, if we’re properly prepared, but more often than not we meet in those place where we draw aside from the regular and distracting routines of life and actually intend to wait for him). The lamp as God’s temple reminds us of this.
Secondly, when we wait for the Lord it becomes imperative that we do so by absorbing his word. The lamp as a symbol of God’s word reminds us of this. Friends, when we desire to hear from the Lord, in our waiting for him, we should do so by immersing ourselves in the word he has spoken, the word recorded for us so faithfully in the Scriptures. There’s no point complaining that we never hear God speaking to us if we never read his word.
The bridesmaids of our parable all had this lamp in their possession, all ten of them, yet only five of made proper use of it, kept it in good order, and were willing to make the necessary preparations that their lamps would not fail them in the time they most needed it. Likewise we all have this lamp of God’s presence and his word, how will we use it?
This second thing of value is perhaps the one we neglect the most – making sure that we come regularly to a place where we can find God; and making sure that we immerse ourselves in the one trustworthy source of his truth, the Scriptures. When we do this, friends, our waiting for the Lord will be a joyous exercise, even in the dark and cold night (such as these bridesmaids no doubt faced), for the lamp will offer warmth and shed light.
3. The value of fellowship...
The third and final thing of value that we encounter in this parable is that of fellowship. The fact that these bridesmaids were not alone is a striking reminder of the value, the importance, that the family of God, the fellowship within which we find ourselves holds for our waiting for the Lord.
All too often, especially in the dark and cold moments of life, when we are so desperate to meet with God, we seem to imagine that we must do so on our own... but nothing could be further from the truth. Of course there is value in drawing aside and sometimes being alone, but not always. And we mustn’t neglect the value that fellowship holds for our encounters with God.
Perhaps there is a reason why we do not celebrate communion as individuals, but as a congregation.
We must embrace and celebrate the fact that none of the bridesmaids in the text were expected to wait alone, they were there together and could share that time of waiting with others. We have the same privilege.
Now an interesting thing bears observing at this point; though we cannot develop this thought fully because we simply don’t have time today... Both groups of bridesmaids had company, the wise, well-prepared ones with working lamps; as well as the foolish, ill-prepared ones whose lamps were useless. We must be careful which party we keep company with! It is true that we need never be alone, that we should never be alone, and that the fellowship of others is incredibly valuable in our waiting for the Lord, because we do so together; but we must be sure that we keep fellowship with the right bridesmaids, the wise ones who were accepted into the wedding feast when the groom arrived; not the foolish 5, lest we face the same fate as them and miss out on the celebration.
Nevertheless, the last (and perhaps most comforting) thing of value in our exercise of waiting for the Lord is the presence of others, the fellowship of our brothers and sister in the Lord.
Conclusion:
Dear friends, this day – on which we celebrate the Lord’s Supper – offers us a perfect opportunity to reflect on this parable. Because it is not only about waiting for the great return of Christ, but it is also about waiting for him here and now, in this place... at this Table. In waiting for him let us not lose sight of that which is most valuable. Let us prepare ourselves to meet with him through prayer; let us hold fast to the promise of his presence in this feast and the truth of his word, which constitutes it; and let us celebrate the fact that we are invited to share this meal with others, that we are invited to wait for Lord alongside the very ones we love and with whom we share this experience.
Let us draw near to the Table of our Lord then, and wait for him here, for he has promised that he will come. AMEN
