Last Sunday of the Church Year
November 26, 2023 Matthew 25:1-13
Preparing for the Unknown
v.13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
Dear friends in Christ, the Boy and Girl Scouts have a motto: Be Prepared – which means you are always in a state of readiness in mind and body to do your duty – having disciplined oneself to be obedient, and thought out beforehand any situation that might occur, so you know the right thing to do at the right moment and are willing to do it, as well as making oneself strong and active and able to do the right thing at the right moment, and do it, no matter how extreme the situation may be. That’s a good motto. There is certainly nothing wrong with being prepared. In fact, this is exactly what Jesus is telling us in our text this day. This parable comes in one of Jesus’ final public teaching sessions on Tuesday of Holy Week. He knows what is ahead—He knows what He will soon face—the terrible judgement of God for all sin. And so He tells a series of parables concerning the Last Day, when He will come again – to Judge the living and the dead as the Mighty Judge of all, which is where our text comes in. Of course, there are all sorts of theories out there concerning the end of the world – it seems that every year Hollywood manages to come up with another story about the end of the world, which seems to bring in the masses—people like 2 to be scared, don't they? To this day, there are many who try to pinpoint the exact date and time when Christ will return – for example, the end times' prediction relating to supposed "blood moons" or super planets coming to crash into the earth—yet, we are still here. All these End Times prophecies continue to be wrong. For Jesus Himself tells us quite plainly that no one, “knows neither the day nor the hour.” He says in Matthew 24 and Mark 13, “concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” Yet, even though, or rather, BECAUSE, no one knows the day nor the hour, Jesus urges all to keep watch and to be prepared. Now, have you ever tried keeping watch for something and struggled to maintain your focus while waiting for a long, long....long time? It’s enough to drive one crazy. Five minutes seems like five hours and so on and so on. It’s like the old saying that a watched kettle never boils – it just takes forever. And so our minds wander from one thing to the next. In speaking of His coming on the Last Day, Jesus likens it to a wedding feast, which He often does. This is what it will be like...THEN, Jesus says. And He speaks of the bridal party – 10 virgins – who are waiting for the bridegroom to come. You see, back in Jesus’ day weddings were far different than they are now. After attending to the bride for most of the day, the attendants (the virgins) would then proceed to the edge of town to be on the lookout for the groom. You see, 3 unlike today where everything revolves around the bride, back then it was the groom who called all the shots – the wedding party couldn’t start until he arrived. Usually, this would have been around 6 in the evening. So, the virgins would take out their little hand held oil lamps in order to light the way. These lamps didn’t hold much oil, but that was OK because the groom would be there shortly after dark and they would all proceed to the bride’s house to pick her up and then go to the party. And please note here that all the virgins—all 10—are invited—both wise and foolish—they all have a place at the wedding banquet—they all have a spot with their name engraved on it. All their lamps are lit—everything is ready. Unfortunately, the groom is delayed. 6 o’clock rolls around and he is nowhere in sight...7 o’clock—still waiting...by 8 o’clock they are all dead on their feet (having been up since before dawn)...and by 9 o’clock they are all asleep. Then it happens! Out of the blue the cry goes up that the bridegroom approaches at long last! What time is it? It’s midnight! The most unreasonable time for a wedding to take place—but, nevertheless He comes. That’s when the virgins discover to their horror that their lamps have been burning all night and their oil has run out. Now the wise brought out their extra oil (which they carried along even though it seemed rather foolish to do so—why would they ever need so much oil?) and their lamps are fine–they are prepared for the unexpected. The 4 foolish virgins, however, are out of luck—no oil left—and where might they buy some at this time of night? They quickly hurry off to try and find some more, but once they return the groom has already come and gone and the door to the wedding hall is shut tight. They knock and pound on the door furiously shouting to be let in—after all, they were in the wedding party! They have invitations and a place reserved inside. But from the other side of the door, the groom replies to their pleas to open with the terribly sad words, “Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.” Watch. Be prepared. Wise. Foolish. How are we to make sense of all this? First of all, it is important to remember that Jesus says this is what the kingdom of heaven will be like...Then... not now. This is a picture of the future judgement. Secondly, throughout Scripture, wise and foolish are often used to describe believers and unbelievers. Indeed, Psalm 111:10 simply says, “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Jesus’ Second coming is rather an important event in human history, wouldn’t you say? And yet, how foolishly we treat His approach. People in the world and the church forsake His Word, ignore it, thinking they have much time to prepare—but they know not the hour nor the day. That is the way of unbelief. It foolishly figures to have time, and lots of it – think they have God all figured out—giving them at least another day—only to discover on the Last Day that they had it all wrong. 5 Indeed, we see in this parable that oil represents faith that has been nurtured by the grace of God in Word and Sacrament—and shines forth brightly in the good works of the saints. Those who try to “buy” it are in for a big surprise. Trying to get into the kingdom of heaven by buying it with their own works and righteousness apart from faith is a foolish thing to do – for they will only receive the cold words of Jesus—I do not know you. So many people try to be like the Scouts, prepared by the things that they do—which works well for the Scouts and the rest of the world in terms of the things of this life—but is actually harmful when talking about the next life. For, as sinful human beings, we cannot prepare to meet Jesus at His second coming—we could not care less. Rather, we must be prepared by the Lord Jesus Himself to enter in His kingdom. In Ephesians 5, another place where the kingdom of heaven is pictured as a bride waiting for her husband, Paul says, “Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word, so that He might present the church to Himself in splendour, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” Through the means of grace God has worked faith in our hearts—filling us up to the brim with the oil of gladness in the Saviour—who lived, suffered, died, and rose again for us. We are prepared by the One who was prepared for us. 6 Prepared as a sacrifice for our sin. He was laid out as a sheep for the slaughter—so that He might take our sin into His flesh and die for it on the cross—being raised again to new and everlasting life three days later in triumph. Therefore, as Christians, His people, filled with His righteousness and light, we are fully and completely prepared for His coming. We have nothing to fear, but can rest in peace, knowing that He holds us in His merciful hands. For through faith in Him we have been granted entrance into the eternal wedding feast where we will rejoice in our Saviour God for all time. Though it seems to the world that we are foolish, getting up early on Sunday mornings, giving of our time, talents, and treasures to One who apparently does not come and will seemingly never get here, yet to all who call upon Him in faith—those who have been baptized into His name—prepared by eating His body and blood in bread and wine—confessing our sins and receiving His forgiveness through our pastors—God says we are wise. Wise unto salvation, prepared by the Lamb of God who has come to take away the sin of the world. The Gospel is the wisdom of God for the salvation of all who believe. And it is here in His church that He prepares us with His Word and Sacrament, cleansing us from all sin, marking us as His own, clothing us in the garment of His grace and purity, receiving life and light eternal. So, beloved, fear not the unknown time and appearing of our Lord Jesus’ Second Coming. He has filled your hearts with the bright flame of faith in Jesus worked by the Holy Spirit–thus you are well prepared to meet Him whenever He returns. Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus. Amen.
November 26, 2023 Matthew 25:1-13
Preparing for the Unknown
v.13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
Dear friends in Christ, the Boy and Girl Scouts have a motto: Be Prepared – which means you are always in a state of readiness in mind and body to do your duty – having disciplined oneself to be obedient, and thought out beforehand any situation that might occur, so you know the right thing to do at the right moment and are willing to do it, as well as making oneself strong and active and able to do the right thing at the right moment, and do it, no matter how extreme the situation may be. That’s a good motto. There is certainly nothing wrong with being prepared. In fact, this is exactly what Jesus is telling us in our text this day. This parable comes in one of Jesus’ final public teaching sessions on Tuesday of Holy Week. He knows what is ahead—He knows what He will soon face—the terrible judgement of God for all sin. And so He tells a series of parables concerning the Last Day, when He will come again – to Judge the living and the dead as the Mighty Judge of all, which is where our text comes in. Of course, there are all sorts of theories out there concerning the end of the world – it seems that every year Hollywood manages to come up with another story about the end of the world, which seems to bring in the masses—people like 2 to be scared, don't they? To this day, there are many who try to pinpoint the exact date and time when Christ will return – for example, the end times' prediction relating to supposed "blood moons" or super planets coming to crash into the earth—yet, we are still here. All these End Times prophecies continue to be wrong. For Jesus Himself tells us quite plainly that no one, “knows neither the day nor the hour.” He says in Matthew 24 and Mark 13, “concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” Yet, even though, or rather, BECAUSE, no one knows the day nor the hour, Jesus urges all to keep watch and to be prepared. Now, have you ever tried keeping watch for something and struggled to maintain your focus while waiting for a long, long....long time? It’s enough to drive one crazy. Five minutes seems like five hours and so on and so on. It’s like the old saying that a watched kettle never boils – it just takes forever. And so our minds wander from one thing to the next. In speaking of His coming on the Last Day, Jesus likens it to a wedding feast, which He often does. This is what it will be like...THEN, Jesus says. And He speaks of the bridal party – 10 virgins – who are waiting for the bridegroom to come. You see, back in Jesus’ day weddings were far different than they are now. After attending to the bride for most of the day, the attendants (the virgins) would then proceed to the edge of town to be on the lookout for the groom. You see, 3 unlike today where everything revolves around the bride, back then it was the groom who called all the shots – the wedding party couldn’t start until he arrived. Usually, this would have been around 6 in the evening. So, the virgins would take out their little hand held oil lamps in order to light the way. These lamps didn’t hold much oil, but that was OK because the groom would be there shortly after dark and they would all proceed to the bride’s house to pick her up and then go to the party. And please note here that all the virgins—all 10—are invited—both wise and foolish—they all have a place at the wedding banquet—they all have a spot with their name engraved on it. All their lamps are lit—everything is ready. Unfortunately, the groom is delayed. 6 o’clock rolls around and he is nowhere in sight...7 o’clock—still waiting...by 8 o’clock they are all dead on their feet (having been up since before dawn)...and by 9 o’clock they are all asleep. Then it happens! Out of the blue the cry goes up that the bridegroom approaches at long last! What time is it? It’s midnight! The most unreasonable time for a wedding to take place—but, nevertheless He comes. That’s when the virgins discover to their horror that their lamps have been burning all night and their oil has run out. Now the wise brought out their extra oil (which they carried along even though it seemed rather foolish to do so—why would they ever need so much oil?) and their lamps are fine–they are prepared for the unexpected. The 4 foolish virgins, however, are out of luck—no oil left—and where might they buy some at this time of night? They quickly hurry off to try and find some more, but once they return the groom has already come and gone and the door to the wedding hall is shut tight. They knock and pound on the door furiously shouting to be let in—after all, they were in the wedding party! They have invitations and a place reserved inside. But from the other side of the door, the groom replies to their pleas to open with the terribly sad words, “Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.” Watch. Be prepared. Wise. Foolish. How are we to make sense of all this? First of all, it is important to remember that Jesus says this is what the kingdom of heaven will be like...Then... not now. This is a picture of the future judgement. Secondly, throughout Scripture, wise and foolish are often used to describe believers and unbelievers. Indeed, Psalm 111:10 simply says, “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Jesus’ Second coming is rather an important event in human history, wouldn’t you say? And yet, how foolishly we treat His approach. People in the world and the church forsake His Word, ignore it, thinking they have much time to prepare—but they know not the hour nor the day. That is the way of unbelief. It foolishly figures to have time, and lots of it – think they have God all figured out—giving them at least another day—only to discover on the Last Day that they had it all wrong. 5 Indeed, we see in this parable that oil represents faith that has been nurtured by the grace of God in Word and Sacrament—and shines forth brightly in the good works of the saints. Those who try to “buy” it are in for a big surprise. Trying to get into the kingdom of heaven by buying it with their own works and righteousness apart from faith is a foolish thing to do – for they will only receive the cold words of Jesus—I do not know you. So many people try to be like the Scouts, prepared by the things that they do—which works well for the Scouts and the rest of the world in terms of the things of this life—but is actually harmful when talking about the next life. For, as sinful human beings, we cannot prepare to meet Jesus at His second coming—we could not care less. Rather, we must be prepared by the Lord Jesus Himself to enter in His kingdom. In Ephesians 5, another place where the kingdom of heaven is pictured as a bride waiting for her husband, Paul says, “Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word, so that He might present the church to Himself in splendour, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” Through the means of grace God has worked faith in our hearts—filling us up to the brim with the oil of gladness in the Saviour—who lived, suffered, died, and rose again for us. We are prepared by the One who was prepared for us. 6 Prepared as a sacrifice for our sin. He was laid out as a sheep for the slaughter—so that He might take our sin into His flesh and die for it on the cross—being raised again to new and everlasting life three days later in triumph. Therefore, as Christians, His people, filled with His righteousness and light, we are fully and completely prepared for His coming. We have nothing to fear, but can rest in peace, knowing that He holds us in His merciful hands. For through faith in Him we have been granted entrance into the eternal wedding feast where we will rejoice in our Saviour God for all time. Though it seems to the world that we are foolish, getting up early on Sunday mornings, giving of our time, talents, and treasures to One who apparently does not come and will seemingly never get here, yet to all who call upon Him in faith—those who have been baptized into His name—prepared by eating His body and blood in bread and wine—confessing our sins and receiving His forgiveness through our pastors—God says we are wise. Wise unto salvation, prepared by the Lamb of God who has come to take away the sin of the world. The Gospel is the wisdom of God for the salvation of all who believe. And it is here in His church that He prepares us with His Word and Sacrament, cleansing us from all sin, marking us as His own, clothing us in the garment of His grace and purity, receiving life and light eternal. So, beloved, fear not the unknown time and appearing of our Lord Jesus’ Second Coming. He has filled your hearts with the bright flame of faith in Jesus worked by the Holy Spirit–thus you are well prepared to meet Him whenever He returns. Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus. Amen.