I don’t know about you,
but those words, “I never knew you,” send a chill up my spine. Certainly when I stand before Jesus those are
not the words I want to here. So is it
the point that we feel threatened by this parable of judgment? Let’s see…
Matthew clearly tells this
story of the ten bridesmaids as an allegory.
The bridegroom is obviously Jesus, and the great wedding banquet to
which he is headed is obviously the kingdom of heaven—the consummation of God’s
hopes and dreams for the whole creation.
The wise bridesmaids are
those disciples of Jesus who have been watchful, resourceful, prepared for the
bridegroom to come. The foolish
bridesmaids are those disciples of Jesus who are distracted, careless,
unfocused, unexpectant.
The point of the story
is how it is possible as the followers of Jesus, to miss the point. When the time for action arrives, instead of
being ready, we are confused, ill-equipped, groping around in the dark. By the time we get our act together, the
moment is gone, the door is closed, the bridegroom is off to the party without
us.
This is a day for us to
assess whether or not we are ready; whether or not our actions match our words;
whether we are participating in the transformation of the world or not; whether
or not we are getting the point.
The moment of truth in
the story of the bridesmaids comes dramatically
At midnight comes the
cry—The bridegroom comes!
Bring your lamps!
Come out to meet him!
The bridegroom comes! God, known
to us in Jesus Christ, comes! The bridegroom—the
one who loves us, the companion, the faithful one. Love is at the door. The bridegroom is ready to become one with
the bride. God is ready to become one
with the world.
Come out to meet him! Come
out. Leave the safety of the house. Go out into the night and lead his way into
the world.
How important it is that
all this takes place at night. Christ
comes. At night. The time comes for action. At night.
Act now. At night.
“But why not in the
day?” the foolish bridesmaids ask. Why
not during the day? Then we wouldn’t
even need these silly lamps—hey, this oil costs money, don’t you know? And money doesn’t grow on trees! (at least that is what my parents taught
me). Couldn’t you wait to make us act
when it doesn’t cost so much?
And there goes the
point, so fast it is easy to miss.
To be in relationship
with God. To live into the love that is
already ours as a gift. To act as a
follower of this love. It all costs. Spiritual costs, of course, of course, we
say. Take the time to worship, to pray,
what we call “the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving.”
But real, tangible,
costs, too—because God wants to be in relationship with the world—God wants to
marry us, not just our conscience or our souls.
This is a very material God who wants the world transformed, not just
everyone to think nice thoughts and feel good feelings—God wants hold of the
stuff of life. God wants us to act now
with the oil of our lives, pay the cost, be prepared, focused.
And so in this
stewardship season I have to say that there is nothing distasteful or
unspiritual about the church asking us to commit ourselves monetarily. We should not be embarrassed or feel the
least bit reluctant to say that how we fill out a pledge form is a measure of
how prepared we are for God to be in our lives—for God to transform our lives
and use us in and as the church to transform the world.
Am I willing to feel the
cost of that transformation? Am I
willing to say “Yes” to God with the real important stuff of my life—what the
Bible calls “the first fruits”—or do I have only leftovers to give that cost me
virtually nothing?
Christianity is the most
worldly of religions. The creation, we
believe, was not, is not, a mistake. God
does not want to be rid of it. God wants
to redeem it. You and me and all the
stuff of our lives—where we really live—what is really at the heart of our
lives—our time, our talents, our possessions, and, most of all, our God-given
ability to love.
The cry comes at
midnight—when we’re anxious, fearful, when our guard is up and our instinct is to
keep the door locked and the money protected.
At midnight comes the
cry—Arise!
Come out and meet the
bridegroom!
What do we do?
Do we live as if love
matters, as if we know that our participation in that love changes the
world. Do we ask somebody else to do it
for us? Do we get distracted by our
anxieties, fears, and that voice inside us that says, “This is mine, you can’t
have it!”
Or do I give to God as
God has given to me? Do I come out into
the night with the costly oil in my lamp?
Do I take my place in the procession of the bridegroom to meet his
bride, as God uses me and us to change the world?
And here is the real
point of the story—not a threat but a proclamation of the good but challenging
news that God’s lamp which lights this world burns only with the oil of our
lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment