Missing your chance to shine

This week's verses are Matthew 25:1-13:

“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of the virgins were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish ones took their lamps, they did not take extra olive oil with them. But the wise ones took flasks of olive oil with their lamps. When the bridegroom was delayed a long time, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is here! Come out to meet him.’ Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’ ‘No,’ they replied. ‘There won’t be enough for you and for us. Go instead to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ But while they had gone to buy it, the bridegroom arrived, and those who were ready went inside with him to the wedding banquet. Then the door was shut. Later, the other virgins came too, saying, ‘Lord, lord! Let us in!’ But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I do not know you!’ Therefore stay alert, because you do not know the day or the hour.

 

In this story that Jesus is telling us, everyone was waiting to be united with their future match. They lived in a land without clocks, a land where time was told by looking at the sun and the shadows it left on the ground. So there are a lot of stories about waiting, because life was not planned down to tiny minute segments and stuffed into pocket calendars, like it is today.

Weddings would take months to prepare back in Jesus' time, same as in ours. But in those days, the bridegroom-to-be would have to build a room or a house to prepare a place for his new bride. There was no eloping to Vegas. It was real work!

Of these eligible people, who had every reason to expect a bright future for themselves, only half got ready and prepared themselves. The other half did not. We don't know whether they didn't think ahead, or whether they just decided to wait. Life gets busy, you know?

Everyone falls asleep. Both the foolish and the wise.

Suddenly, the decisive moment happens! The bridegroom is about to arrive and invite them in to their new life. The people who planned were able to consummate their new relationship and live happily ever after. But the rest were sent away as strangers in the darkness. Game over.

"I tell you the truth, I do not know you." This is true, but we don't want to believe it. The bridegroom has shown himself willing to pour himself into making a new life for his beloved. And now he is confronted with the stark reality that he wasn't trusted, that they never thought he was serious, that it wasn't important to them like it was important to him.

Sure, they went through the motions. They showed up. They had a lamp, just like the other people had lamps. But when it came time, there was nothing inside. And instead of "finally, what we have been waiting for," it was "oh, this is happening. Now what?"

What can you say to someone like that? They're not with you. They act like they are, but inside they're really not. And for that to happen after all the time you spent together, what else can you say but "I honestly don't know you."

The decisive moment is unexpected and sudden, in the moment, but at the same time, it's also expected and able to be planned for. The point of the story is that these people should have known better. They knew the routine. And what's more, they should have been excited and impatient. There was no excuse not to be ready.

The result for them is to be shut out of the future. Locked outside in the dark as permanent strangers. This is a culture where a woman's best chance at success and happiness was to marry well, and here the foolish fiancees have missed the best chance they would ever have. Forever. They are effectively now in hell. Eternal damnation and suffering. Crushing loneliness.

What Jesus is describing is also our Christian walk. Just like last week, these are all people who are waiting for their Lord to return. It isn't church versus world. It's a breakdown of the people of the church. Some expect to be united in the end and are preparing themselves, and others are just along for the ride.

The wise among us will make sure we have what it takes to endure, to shine till the end. The foolish among us will not think much about that day, and will wait and see what happens. Do we have the dedication of the love-struck, or are we just spiritual gold-diggers waiting for our payoff with as little investment as possible?

Both the wise and the foolish show up every Sunday. Both the wise and the foolish look good on the outside. But which do you think are the ones whose lamps have oil? Who are the ones who have invested up front, who have told themselves "By God I will not miss out."

Be prepared, because you don't know when the decisive moment will come. Be alert and ready to shine. Our Lord is good for his word.