Proper 27, Year A, 2011

Matthew 25:1-13

The Rev. Ronald N. Johnson

Today, in Matthew’s Gospel, we return to the parables of the Kingdom.  In the story today, Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of God can be compared to ten bridesmaids waiting, with burning lamps for the arrival of the bridegroom.  This was the traditional way of greeting the bridegroom as he came to the place of the wedding.  Jesus said that only half of the waiting bridesmaids were ready.  Their lamps were filled with oil.  The other five, Jesus said, were foolish.  They were not prepared and when the bridegroom did come, their lamps were going out.  They were not ready for the wedding. 

Now this is where the story gets interesting.  The five without oil seemed to expect that those who were prepared would cover their shortcomings.  But, this was not to be.  The foolish ones were left standing in the dark, shut out of the wedding. 

What does this mean?  How do we unpack this parable?  How is the Kingdom of God like bridesmaids with faulty lamps?  Let me explain it this way. The bridegroom in the parable is Jesus.  The wedding represents the coming of God’s Kingdom.  If you want to be a part of the Kingdom, if you want to live eternally with God, then you have to be ready to meet your maker.  No one can do this for you. 

Like it or not, Christianity requires us to think about final things.  Nothing removes us from the reality that the day comes when we must die.  All of the plans, all of the intentions that are incomplete on the day of death are forever incomplete. We are either ready to meet Jesus or we are not.  Decisions must be made now.  Do we accept Jesus as our Lord?  That is the point of the parable this morning.  Are we ready to meet Jesus?  We know the time is coming, but as Jesus reminds us, in this parable, we know neither the day nor the hour.

This is really and I think I’ve said enough, except that I cannot leave it here with the possibility that some of you might think that this means salvation depends on merit.  There is, in some Christian circles, a concept of God as a sort of divine bookkeeper. The argument is that at our birth God enters our name into the heavenly ledger, using a double-entry accrual system, if you will.  In this thinking, from the moment of birth until the instant of death, God makes entries in our account.  If on the day of reckoning the good is better than the bad, we gain entry into heaven.  The concept sounds fair, it is logical and it is one of the most ancient heresies of the Church.  It is the heresy known as Pelagianism which held that salvation is based on personal and earned merit.   The Church teaches differently, because Bible tells us differently.   In John’s gospel we learn that God loves us so much that he sent his Son, and that if we believe in him we will have eternal life.  John continues to tell us that Jesus did not come to condemn us, but to save us.

Now, I’m not talking about universal salvation, nor am I preaching cheap grace.  I am not suggesting abdication of Christian responsibility.  What I am saying to you is that while leading a virtuous and Christian life is pleases God and he clearly expects it, and will judge us accordingly, salvation is God’s free gift to those who love and serve him and it is given to us through the merit of his Son, Jesus Christ.  Jesus atoned for our failures and took the ramification of our sin to the Cross.  Through his Sacrifice we are the recipients of God’s grace.

There is nothing for us to earn. The cost of salvation was paid long ago on a cross outside the gates of the city of Jerusalem.  Trust in Jesus, put your life in his hands and you will have eternal life with him.  When we receive the grace and experience his love, we should want to respond in kind and live out the life that God calls us to. But let us never, ever think that we must earn for ourselves what God has given us in Jesus.  Amen.