Matt. 25 : 1 – 13
Television programs have changed in our time. No more well-crafted production with professional actors and actresses, but you can have ordinary people become stars in what has been dubbed reality TV. And so we have the Big Brother Big Sister, Housewives of Atlanta, the Housewives of Beverly Hills and the Housewife of Washington DC. If you want a little spice and youthful opulence, how about seeing how to keep Up with the Kardashians? Perhaps you can see men going abroad to bring their wives into America “Before the 90 Days” or watch those who have already brought their spouses and are counting the 90 days when they must either get married to an American or return to their countries. Congress set up the K1 Visa at the end of WWII to help the GIs bring their girlfriends home to America. It has proven so popular that there is a whole industry and now a television show. Our story today set before the days of the television can fit perfectly into a reality show. Think about the Bachelor reality TV show. A man must choose from among ten girls, but that is the easy part the real test is getting prepared and staying awake to meet the groom. Would the groom be on time; would the brides stay awake? Would they make the necessary preparation and persevere? Would they get distracted? Stay tuned!
There are lots of things that can distract us in our postmodern world. The Mariam Webster’s Dictionary defines watchfulness as “vigilant, wide-awake, alert, being on the lookout especially for danger or opportunity”. If you ask anyone who has experienced war about watchfulness, you may learn a thing or two about what it is like to be vigilant, wide awake, alert and being on the lookout”. The soldier is particularly attuned to sounds and movements and anything unusual quickly arouses the curiosity of the soldier. They have been trained to pay attention to what can be dangerous in the battlefield. Life depends on staying alert and safety requires being familiar with what can be dangerous. In a way we Christians are to borrow a leaf from those in the battlefield and our Lord used the parable of the ten virgins as an illustration of the importance of watchfulness. For those of us not familiar with the culture of the Middle East in the time of Christ, there may be some confusion about the practice of waiting for the bridegroom. There were two phases to the wedding ceremony. The first phase was the banquet or feast where the groom meets the bride. At the second phase, the bride accompanies the groom to his home and meets his family where the festivity continues. The story in our Gospel Reading today concerns the first phase where the bride is waiting for the groom.
Turn with me to the Gospel of Mathew 25 : 1- 13.
Ten brides are waiting for their groom and it is clearly an illustration of what can happen for those waiting for the Kingdom of Heaven. In the days before electricity, the brides each were ready as can be seen in the fact that they all took their lamps (v.1) but notice that it is not just the lamp that is the issue but the details in the preparation. Five of the brides took extra oil for the lamp and the other five described as “foolish” just took the lamp with no planning for any contingency. The other five described as prudent took extra oil for their lamp. They planned ahead and thought about what could go wrong. As is often the case, what can go wrong often goes wrong, in this case, the groom was late and they do what humans do best, they all fell asleep. When we asleep, we remember very little of the world and our surrounding but because the prudent had prepared ahead of time, getting up to meet the groom was not an issue. The groom showed up at midnight and the messenger summoned the brides. Notice that they all had to prepare to meet the groom and make a good impression. They trimmed their lamps (v.7). That was when the other five noticed that they were running out of oil for their lamp and so they asked to borrow some oil from the other five (v.8). Not about to shortchange themselves, the prudent five as was their nature planned well and again look at the future and refused to share since they were concerned with self-preservation. They had a good suggestion though for their colleagues: “go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves,” they suggested (v. 9). Finding themselves between a rock and a hard place, the foolish virgins had to make a quick decision. Do we go out in the dark and meet the groom and lost the chance of being selected or do we rush to the dealer and get some oil and dart back quickly before the dinner starts? They opted to go and get some oil. While they were gone, the groom came, got everyone together, the feast started and the door was shut (v.10). They returned and despite all pleadings, the groom refused to open the door for the other five and days and months of preparation and anticipation went down the drain. Look at verse 12 “But he answered and said, “Truly I say to you, I do not know you”. Our Lord concluded the parable as Mathew often reports with a lesson from the story “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour” (v. 13).
The story of the ten virgins is simply an illustration in watchfulness and planning. The author of St John in the New Testament demonstrated this same understanding when that writer stated “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him may not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3 : 16). Humans, in this understanding, have a part to play in the saving grace history despite the generosity and benevolence of the divine. God provides an opportunity in human lives, but we humans must use our intellect in order to benefit from such opportunity. God provided the virgins with an opportunity to be married, but their response, planning and preparation will eventually determine whether they become a bride or not.
The French chemist, Louis Pasteur, once wrote that chance favors those who are prepared. We stand prepared when we do our part and use what we have been given to seek what we need. We seem to live in an age where theology has changed into what critics called success theology. There seems to be a belief that we just have to belong to a particular denomination or believe a certain way then all we ever need will come true. While it is important to acknowledge the influence of the divine in our lives, it is equally important to know that the use of our abilities is equally stressed by the scripture. While some may say that we alone have all the powers to change our lives, there is the realization that we may not have all the answers to all of life’s problems. If you smoke, a practice that we do not encourage in the church, sometimes taking the time to look for the pipe, and having the patience to search around the house may be a better approach to the problem than seeking the services of the diviner the Annangs of Nigeria says in their proverb.. Thinking of a solution with the knowledge of what is possible in the physical world may be better than paying a prophet or a diviner that is ready to tell you what you want to hear. Working and planning for your future is no substitute to just fasting and praying alone.
There may be times when looking around serves us better than looking up. We do better when we consecrate our hands, our feet, our intellect and all we have, as instruments to be used by the divine for our needs. Imagine what could have happened if the five brides had remembered to think about how long the oil will last in the lamp. They could have had an equal chance of being selected. “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day or the hour.” Our Lord warned. Human perception and ability to know is limited and we cannot play God. Therefore prudent living requires planning, being alert and knowing that we cannot tell the future. Benjamin Franklin, the great American orator is quoted as saying that when we do not plan, what we are doing is planning to fail. The five virgins did not plan and, therefore, they were in actual fact making preparation to walk into failure.
How then should we as Christians plan in a world of uncertainty?
1. Understand the concept of amorphous time and be prepared to live within it. The French novelist, Marcel Proust, introduced the world to the idea that our time in this world is ever flowing and not an ordered and linear experience in his giant novel “In Search of Lost Time”. Who we are from childhood until now is a journey punctuated along the way by the experiences of love, aesthetics, hurt, memories of friends gained and lost, sadness, joy and even an experience of taste that is capable of bringing back memories. Looking back in each of our lives will reveal where we have been and is capable of pointing us towards where we are going. Understand the concept of amorphous time and be prepared to live within it. The saying that life is more like a wrestling than a dance captures the essence of this understanding for we stand daily in the midst of challenges that we often do not plan to face. Life throws a curve ball sometimes such that when you think the ball is going to land in one place, it drifts to a different place entirely. Thus, some face illness and spend time and money battling it. Others are faced with unemployment at a time that they did not plan, while others face problems with relationships which force a detour from other plans. Sometimes when you think that you have all the answers figured out, and that you have your plans in order that is when other things get in the way. The important thing is not that there are problems, but how we perceive these roadblocks on our way is important. Life is not a dance, it is wrestling and wrestling requires strategy, planning and the recognition that we lack the awareness of what is coming next. Yet we cannot approach it with fear for the wrestler who approaches the opponent with fear is bound to get defeated. It requires courage, strength and a realization that the grace that has led us this far will always be with us and will lead us home. The virgins had no idea that the groom would be late, but it happened and only those who were prepared had a chance to be in the banquet.
2. Do not trust that help will arrive when you need it. Individualism is a concept that is becoming increasingly popular. Everyone expects you to pull yourself up by your bootstrap. We do not care if you have the boot. Know that those you think you can depend on may not be available for you. The five virgins thought the other girls would help but they did not.
3. Not all advice, no matter how good it sounds, make sense and cannot be used as a substitute for preparation. “Go to the dealers and buy yourself some oil” The five prudent girls told their friends. Sounded like a reasonable thing to do but it was not the best advice. In our time there are many self-help books but none of those who write with fancy degrees know your situation. The scripture ask us to “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight (Prov. 3 : 5 -6). We do not know what tomorrow holds but we can trust God who makes tomorrow.
4. In a world of uncertainty there is no substitute for planning. Are you enrolled in your employer’s 401K plan? How much do you save each month? Do you think you are too young, too old to put some money away for a rainy day? How much do you put away each month? We serve God, each other and ourselves when we consecrate our hands, our minds and ourselves to live faithfully in an uncertain world. Thanks be to God. Amen.
