Proper 27 -- Amos 5: 18-24; Psalm
70; I Thessalonians 4: 13–18; Matthew 25: 1-13
A homily by Fr. Gene
Tucker, given at The
Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Springfield, Illinois, on Sunday, November 9, 2014.
“SO THAT WHEN THE BRIDEGROOM COMES….”
(Homily texts: Amos 5: 18 – 24, I Thessalonians 4: 13 – 18
& Matthew 25: 1 - 13)
“Receive
the light of Christ, so that when the bridegroom comes, you may go out to meet
him.”
These words
are spoken as part of our baptismal liturgy, when the newly baptized person is
given a candle which has been lit from the Christ (Pascal) Candle. Oftentimes, families will keep these special
candles as a way of remembering the occasion.
“Receive
the light of Christ, so that when the bridegroom comes, you may go out to meet
him.” This phrase is obviously a
reference to Jesus’ Parable of the Ten Virgins, our gospel reading for this
morning. The Lord’s parable is all about
being prepared, being ready, to receive the Lord whenever and wherever He is
encountered.
All three
of our Scripture readings this morning, Amos, First Thessalonians and Matthew,
prefigure Advent themes, themes which call us to get ready, to expect the two
comings of the Lord: His first coming in
His birth in Bethlehem and His second coming at the end of all things. Our
Collect for this day also captures the theme as it says, “Grant that, having
this hope (the hope of the Lord’s coming), we may purify ourselves as he is pure;
that, when he comes again with power and great glory, we may be made like him
in his eternal and glorious kingdom….”
“Receive
the light of Christ, so that when the bridegroom comes, you may go out to meet
him.” Entering the waters of baptism
involves two things: 1. Putting away our
old nature and our old ways of doing things; and 2. Putting on a new nature, a
nature that seeks after the things of God.
Putting away our old nature and cultivating this new nature is an
ongoing process as we make our way through life. At the root of this process is the realization
that we should be uncomfortable with our self-centered and selfish ways of
doing things, and we should seek out the Lord and look for the ways we
encounter Him in our new life in Christ.
This
process calls us to realize just how comfortable and self-satisfied we can
become, absent the Lord’s working in our lives.
Listen the eighth century BC prophet Amos’ voice: “Alas for you who desire the day of the Lord!
Why do you want the day of the Lord?...I
hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn
assemblies. Even though you offer me
your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the
offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon. Take away from me the noise of your songs; I
will not listen to the melody of your harps.”
Amos rails
against the comfortable, self-satisfied lifestyle of the ancient Israelites,
who were a people who conducted rich and elaborate rituals in their worship,
but who lived deceitful lifestyles, cheating the poor and the downtrodden.
“Receive
the light of Christ,” and let the light of God shine on the darkened corners of
our hearts.
And yet,
the light of Christ carries with it a message of hope, of rejoicing. Notice the imagery of Jesus’ parable as He
spins out the tale of the ten bridesmaids who were to be a part of a wedding
celebration. (I suspect that weddings in
Jesus’ day were one of the very few occasions when people could get together
and have cause to celebrate.) There was
an air of expectancy connected with weddings.
“Receive
the light of Christ, so that when the bridegroom comes, you may go out to meet
him….” Receiving the light of Christ
arouses in us a state of expectation. It
should also provoke in us a state of readiness, a state of preparation to meet
the Lord whenever and wherever He is to be encountered.
Expecting
the Lord’s arrival causes us to look beyond ourselves, to see the “big picture”
of God’s purposes in the world, and to see His final purposes for the
world. Getting the early Christians in
Thessalonica to see that “big picture” seems to be St. Paul’s aim as he reminds
these early believers of the Lord’s coming again. God’s “big picture” involves the coming of
Jesus Christ in His birth in Bethlehem, by which the light of God comes into
the world to enlighten and guide us. But
St. Paul takes careful steps to inform the Thessalonians about the other part
of God’s ‘big picture”, pointing to the time when the Lord will return. Again, in these two events, we come back to
the two major themes of Advent.
As we
receive the light of Christ in order to be ready to out to meet Him, we can
draw comfort from the fact that our encounter with Christ will be a source of
supreme comfort, and a cause for rejoicing…..after all, God has accepted us,
and has invited us into a close and intimate relationship with Him, a
relationship that begins at baptism. At
the same time, the Lord seeks to wake us up, in order that we might see the
things in our lives with which we are too comfortable. Then, with God’s help, we might be able set
aside any and all things that would not allow us to be ready for that
encounter.
AMEN.
