“FAITH: THE LAMP BY WHICH WE GREET THE LORD”
A sermon by The Rev. Gene Tucker, given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, IL; Sunday, November 9th, 2008
“Watch, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
Today’s Gospel text contains this disturbing sentence with which the parable of the ten bridesmaids[1] closes, “Watch, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
As is typical of Matthew’s Gospel account, he wants us to be absolutely sure we get the meaning and the application of Jesus’ parable, heard today, that is, the Parable of the Wise and the Foolish Maidens.
OK, well enough. But the question arises, “Watch for what?”
For the answer to that question (and also the context of today’s parable), we must back up into chapter 24, where we discover that Jesus is talking about the coming of the Son of Man, that is, himself.
OK, so now we can understand that the context of today’s parable has to do with the waiting and the watching that the early Church (represented by the 10 maidens) is undertaking as it watches for Jesus’ return. It is a concern that St. Paul addresses in the I Thessalonians reading we hear today.
We might pause for just a moment to remind ourselves that the early Church was quite concerned with the matter of Jesus’ return to earth to reclaim those who had come to faith in Him. St. Paul’s writings (see I Corinthians chapter 15 for another passage on this topic) contain a number of references to it. The Fourth Gospel also records Jesus’ words as He says, “I am going away, but then I will come back to you.”[2]
So, Jesus has some specific instructions for these early believers: Watch! Be prepared!
Let’s look, then, a bit more closely at this parable we have before us this day: Three things stand out about it, and all three are typical of Matthew’s concerns:
- The good and the bad stand side-by-side: If the 10 maidens represent the Church, then the Church is composed of those who are doing the work God has given them to do, being prepared for whatever may come. But others are not, not at all. Moreover, there’s little indication of “who’s who”, not until the time of reckoning comes. Matthew has treated this subject before, as he records Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the tares.[3]
- The final “sorting out” is coming: The bridegroom’s approach spells the end of uncertainty about the true identity of the members of the Church. A consistent theme throughout Matthew’s Gospel account, we see it again here as we hear Jesus say, “The door was shut,” while the five foolish maidens come, seeking entrance, only to hear the bridegroom say, “Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.”
- “Walking the walk”, day-by-day, in the meantime: If Matthew has the “big picture” in view (that is, the final day of reckoning), then he also has the everyday “business” of being a believer in view, as well. The Hebrew word for this daily “walk” with God is halach. It is a key part of the Jewish understanding of our relating to God.
It is to this issue of our daily walk that we now turn.
And specifically, we turn to the image of the lamps the maidens carry.
Interestingly enough, Jesus does not use the image of a wedding garment (as He did in Matthew 22: 1 – 14) to show the preparedness of the maidens. Here, He uses the image of the oil lamps.
The oil lamps have two components that Jesus specifically identifies in His parable: the wicks (which need trimming as they are put into use) and the oil which fuels them.
Let’s unpack the image of these two components a bit, drawing conclusions from them:
- Oil: The Old Testament often uses oil as a symbol for the good deeds of God’s people. In Old Testament imagery, this oil is the fuel for the daily walk with God, consisting of deeds of kindness, generosity, and righteousness.
- Wicks: I remember my Danish grandmother trimming the wicks on the kerosene lamps that were an essential part of the emergency equipment every household needed to have in the rural farm country where the electricity could go off at any time. She was good at trimming those wicks! You see, wicks need trimming regularly as they see use. So Jesus’ image of the trimming of the wicks represents the regular sharpening and honing of our lamps of faith, which are the means by which we will recognize Him when He comes again.
Finally, let’s work with the image of the lamp, its oil and the regular trimming of its wicks, for a moment:
Jesus clearly wants us to understand that we can’t be sitting around, looking into the heavens, waiting for His return in the clouds. Apparently, as we read through I Thessalonians, this was a clear problem for the early Church there in Thessalonica: many people refused to work, or to “be about the business of the Kingdom of God” by sitting around, waiting for Jesus’ return. A cursory look at Christian history will reveal periods of time when many Christian people did just the same thing…Groups and leaders have arisen from time to time, claiming to know just when Jesus would return. (Guess they forgot to read the end of today’s parable, and especially Jesus’ statement, “you know neither the day nor the hour.”)
We have work to do!
We have deeds of kindness, acts of mercy and generosity to put our hands and our hearts into. That’s the “oil” of bringing the kingdom into reality.
Then, too, as we act on our faith, fueling our walk with God with the oil of righteous acts, we will need to sharpen the wicks of our lamps in order that the light given off may be bright.
You see, with regular use, our faith needs maintenance. We need to sharpen our skills that our light might shine brightly into the world around us.
To do so, we sharpen our skills by regular attendance at worship, Sunday-by-Sunday. We hone our knowledge of the Holy Scriptures by regular and deep study. We trim away any excess material that might accrete to our faith walk by acknowledging our sins and our weaknesses, which dim the light of Christ.
One last thought: doing all of these things: deeds of righteousness, acts of mercy, regular worship, consistent Bible study, allowing God to trim away anything that would hinder our walk with Him, all of these things keep the light God has given us shining brightly. For in the final analysis, it is this light which will allow us to see Christ when He comes again.
AMEN.
[1] The Greek word which is sometimes rendered as “bridesmaids” or “maidens” literally means “virgins”. For the purposes of this sermon, I will use “maidens”, which is how the Revised Standard Version (RSV) translates the Greek word.
[2] Paraphrased from John 14.
[3] See Matthew 14: 24 – 30.
