Christmas In July: The King is
Coming!
Pastor Mathew Magera – 7/24/16 – Sermon 177
St. Thomas Lutheran Church, Trufant, MI
To God be the Glory!
Grace and peace to you from
God our Father, from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Did you know there are only
153 days left until Christmas? That means our shopping days are running out. I
like to plan ahead when it comes to Christmas shopping but it is often that it
gets put aside and I am wandering around at the last minute trying to figure
something out. If only I had started planning earlier, I wouldn't be in such a
rush. I think many people feel that way when it comes to Christmas. We know the
day is coming but there are so many other things to do that we put it off until
the last minute and if we end up waiting too long items are sold out, the
shipping takes longer than you want it to, somebody else got the gift you want
to get, and so on. It takes a lot to prepare for Christmas and sometimes the
joy of the celebration is overpowered by the stress of preparation. The longer
we wait to prepare, the more difficult it becomes to get ready. We can say this
about a lot more than just Christmas though. Weddings, for example, need a lot
of advanced preparation. Are you planning on going to college? That takes a lot
of advanced preparation. Having a baby? It's probably not a good idea to wait
until the last minute to start preparing for that. Getting your taxes done by
April 15th? It's probably not best to start thinking about them on April 10th.
There are so many things in our busy lives these days that require us to think
so far in advance that we almost can't believe how far out we really need to
plan for. For example, one of these years I hope to be able to go down to
Kentucky to see Thunder over Louisville, likely the best fireworks show in the
country. Now, I would probably not shell out money for the best viewing area
for this show, but it is said that tickets for this special area sell out at
least 10 years in advance. Ten years!
Preparation is the theme in
our parable today. The King is coming. Are you ready? Like most parables, this
one of the ten bridesmaids calls to mind a number of questions. Where is the
bride? We have bridesmaids and a groom, but the bride for the wedding is nowhere
to be found. Why did the wise ones bring extra oil along with them? What made
them do that? Then, why did they refuse to share with the others? This doesn't
seem like a very Christ-like thing to do. If this parable represents the coming
of Jesus, why wasn't there a risk taken for the sake of the five foolish
bridesmaids? I mean, Jesus tells us elsewhere that if someone asks for your
coat that you should give them your shirt too. A generous person might say it
is better to have five half full lamps than to have five dead ones. But that
doesn't happen. Why?
Backing up, if we consider
what Jesus is talking about in the content surrounding this parable, Jesus is
teaching about the end of the world and the signs of the end of the age. He
makes it clear to us that, one day, there will be an end to all things as we
know it but he is also clear that none of us, nor Jesus himself, know when this
will take place. We will clearly know when it happens as it happens but until
that time, we will not see it coming and we will not be able to prepare for it.
So, when Jesus tells this
parable about a wedding party and the coming of the groom he is talking about
the end of the world when he will come back as the groom of the Church just as
he promised when he ascended into heaven. The actions of the parable might lead
us to read it in such a way that our focus is on the ten women, the five who
were brought into the party and the five that were refused admission. Why is
there such a vast percentage of those left behind? 50%? By reading it this way,
we might ask ourselves where are we in this ordeal, worried that we might
possibly be the foolish who are left behind because of our unpreparedness. And,
why do we worry about this? Perhaps because we might have plenty of experience being
unprepared.
I hate being unprepared. I
do not like surprises. This goes as a statement of fact and a warning to some
of you sneaky people out there. Birthday parties, traffic jams, flight delays,
if it causes me some kind of surprise, I am challenged by it. I don’t like
surprises because I can’t prepare for them. I can’t plan on them. You’re
probably thinking, well, yeah, that’s the nature of a surprise. On the
contrary, I like feeling prepared. I like having a plan. I enjoy seeing
appointments on the calendar seeing that my time is being used in an organized
way. It doesn’t mean it will always work out that way, but if I had my way, it
would. But, much of life is surrounded by feelings of unpreparedness.
Just this past week, seven
of us were down in the small town of Caldwell, Ohio. We were learning about
disaster relief and helping out the HARP Mission with their service projects in
the area. If there is a feeling I dislike with a passion it is waking up in the
morning and not knowing what is going to happen that day. Unfortunately, I was
plagued with this feeling while we were on this trip. Our plan changed
constantly. It could have been a new project that came up that required
immediate assistance. It could have been that we lacked the tools or supplies
needed to complete a job. We depended on the supplies at the warehouse and all
of those supplies are donations and some might be out of the area helping
disaster teams around the country. It could have also been just the heat of the
day because it was sure hot and heat exhaustion was real. We just could not be
prepared for each day. Don't you like the feeling of being prepared? How often
are we really prepared, though?
Walk into a hospital where
two parents are rejoicing in the birth of their newborn child when the doctor
comes in and utters the words, "there seems to be a problem." How can
those new parents possibly be prepared for something like that? While I was on
internship, I presided over the funeral of a woman who died at the youthful age
of 106 after being on hospice care for almost two yeras. While her death was anticipated,
how can the family be prepared for that eventual day when it takes place? How
are we prepared for the death of any loved one, anticipated or unexpected? Have
you ever heard the words, "There's nothing more we can do"? Have you
ever heard the words, "It's over, I'm leaving"? Have you ever heard
the words, “You’ve lost everything”? Have you ever felt prepared for that? If
we can't be prepared for these, how is it possible to be prepared for Jesus'
coming? We might certainly be left only to be those foolish bridesmaids who did
not have any extra oil, begging to be let in only to be turned away into
darkness.
What might benefit us at
this point is re-reading the parable. If we consider Jesus talking to us not
about the end result of five wise who enter the wedding party and five who are
left out, but rather about the timeframe itself we might see the heart of
Jesus' message. Yes, Jesus is telling us the end is coming. Yes, Jesus is
telling us it could happen tomorrow and that we should act with a certain
urgency to build the kingdom. But, also, yes, Jesus is telling us it could be
quite a long wait and that we should act with a certain care to everything
around us. Jesus is teaching us to focus on our work here, right now. He is
teaching us about the oil.
Yes, a relationship might be
broken. Yes, that news from the doctor may signal the coming end of life. Yes,
our lives may be interrupted by tragedy and surprise but that cannot stop us
from living each moment as it comes with our eyes not on the end itself but on
the journey. While we cannot be prepared for certain things when they come, and
while we cannot be prepared for Jesus' coming again, we can take it one day at
a time with the assurance that Jesus is coming because he promised that he
would. When he comes, along with that promise comes the promise that the sick
will be made well, that the dead will be raised, that our tears will be turned
to joy. We know Jesus is close at hand whether the end happens now or beyond
our lifetime. The foolish bridesmaids were only concerned with the near future.
The wise were ready for the long haul, prepared if the groom would show up in 5
minutes or five days. If we are not prepared for the long haul, our faith can
die out under the pressure of the moment. So, when they are asked by the
foolish to share their oil, we might see why it is impossible for them to do
so, for their oil represents their life, their outlook for the groom. If their
oil were to be shared, their outlook would change and they would become like
the foolish who were already short term focused. We cannot shift our focus lest
we be unprepared, surrounded by the darkness.
With all that is happening
in our world today, terrorism, disease, broken relationships, everything
indicates to us that the only direction our world is headed is down. While we
do anticipate our world's condition will get worse before Jesus comes again, we
cannot let our attention be turned away from our task to prepare for the coming
of God's Kingdom and for our king right now. While we might be tempted to withdraw,
to hide from that which might destroy us, to let stress and worry overcome us, we
cannot let these temptations hinder our ability to share the love of God and be
proactive in our fight to bring God's peace upon and within this world.
So, the very thing that
might make us apprehensive about this parable, the unknown time of the end, actually
becomes a sign of God's grace that Jesus is coming and that while we cannot
know the day or the hour just as he does not, we can be assured of his
closeness and his promise that in our unpreparedness to handle all of the
unexpected in our lifetime, He strengthens us with that promise, our oil, to be
the light of Christ until he comes again. And in the meantime, in the time
between us showing up and waiting for the groom and the time that he arrives, we
bear witness to that light because only through our faith in Him can we be
ready for the journey and focused on a world in need of his touch. Only through
our faith in Him can we be prepared for the surprises that will come our way.
Let's have the horizon in mind, but let our focus be on today and, God willing,
tomorrow. There may be 153 days until we celebrate the birth of Jesus, but let
us today allow Christ to come into our hearts and the hearts of those around us
and celebrate his coming there, for each heart in which Jesus is received, is a
Christmas we can celebrate each day. Keep the oil burning for the groom is at
hand. The King is coming! To God be the glory, now and always. Amen.