A few weeks back our Gospel lesson was a parable about a wedding feast given by a king for his son and his bride. In this morning’s text from Matthew 25 Jesus again chooses a wedding as He compares the reign of heaven to 10 Virgins who were waiting the arrival of the Bridegroom in order to celebrate the wedding feast with Him and His Bride.
In order to understand this parable better, let us look again more closely at the marriage customs of the Jewish people. Courtship and marriage were quite a bit different from our culture of today. First of all, most marriages were arranged and were seen as contracts between families. Although courtship and marriage based on “love” or “attraction” as we understand it was not the norm, it did happen. Even if they loved each other first, a man and woman would still need to follow the marriage contract process involving the parents and witnesses. Once the marriage contract was sealed it was binding upon both parties throughout the betrothal period. Betrothal is referring to a binding pledge of marriage. Quite often when the marriage contract was signed, the couple would drink wine from a common cup to seal the marriage covenant and to signify the joy of their new life together. However, there was a period of time that had to take place between the betrothal and the actual consummation and celebration. During this time there would be not yet be any intimate physical interaction between the husband and wife to be. The husband was to be building or preparing a house for himself and his bride. The bride was to be preparing and gathering all the things that she would need to set up house in her new home.
On the actual wedding day, the bridegroom would dress in wedding garments, and the bridegroom, escorted by his friends, would then set out for the house of his bride. The bride would have had someone keeping watch so that when the bridegroom’s arrival was near, a shout would ring out and then the bride, accompanied by her attendants and family would come out to meet him. The entire procession would then return together to the home of the groom and his new bride and they would all together celebrate a wedding feast for a week or as long as the groom could afford it.
With this in mind, I think we can already hear and understand texts for today in a clearer sense.
The 10 virgins in the parable for today are part of the wedding party waiting for the arrival of the bridegroom to take his bride to himself. The bridegroom is delayed. He doesn’t come as soon as everyone expected, and so we are told they all became drowsy and slept. It was not the sleeping that caused any of them to be condemned. It was for the lack of preparation in not bringing extra oil for their lamps that the 5 foolish virgins were excluded from the celebration at the groom’s home.
The Bridegroom came at a time when He was least expected, that is, at night. That is why is the oil for the lamp is significant. There were no streetlights, no flashlights or cell phones to light the path to the groom or to the groom’s house. Instead, they had a simple lamp with a simple wick for the flame to burn the olive oil. The foolish virgins did not expect that the bridegroom would come at night, but the wise were ready in case he delayed. Therefore, they were ready and prepared when he did arrive. They did have oil enough to light the way in support of the bride to meet him and to accompany bride and groom to their new home to the feast prepared beforehand. The foolish ones were not prepared, they did not have oil enough, they begged for oil from the wise, but the wise knew that if they shared their oil, none of them would have had enough. Therefore, in vain, the 5 foolish left to buy oil and in so doing, missed the procession with the bride, missed the arrival of the groom, and therefore the groom did not know them when they came to his door.
The bridegroom represents Christ Jesus when He returns at the last day to claim His bride, the Church, and bring her to His heavenly home which He has prepared. When all things are ready, He will return. As we near the end of the liturgical church year, we focus on His return, but the Bridegroom, Jesus Christ, could come back at any time. Right now, next week, next year, or many years from now. The key is to be prepared. Be ready. Jesus Himself said, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” We may leave this world on the Last Day when the Lord returns or we may leave this world through the gate of death. Be prepared either way. The point is that there will be a time to leave this world behind and this event is very likely to be a surprise – an event that has little or no warning – an event that can be a disaster if we are not ready. That readiness is represented in today’s text by the oil. The prudent and wise virgins were ready with extra oil, the foolish virgins in the text were not ready and ran out.
What is this oil? This oil is faith. It is trust in the promises of God in Jesus Christ. This oil we cannot produce ourselves. Rather this oil of faith and gladness is refilled and replenished by the Word of God and His Sacraments. This is how we prepare: by attending and receiving God’s gifts of Word and Sacraments.
It is only by attending to the place where the Lord promises to give His grace that the oil in our lamps can keep burning. It is only by the miracle of His Holy Spirit working through His Word of Law and Gospel that our container, our bodies and minds may continue to be filled with repentance and faith as we watch and wait.
The good news is that the Bridegroom has paid the bride price. Jesus Christ has redeemed His bride from her slavery to sin by dying upon the cross and rising again. He has ascended into heaven and is preparing a place for all believers in Him. It may seem like He is being delayed. We may be tempted to join the world and begin to relax our watchfulness and our attendance to His gifts.
The world has no knowledge of the Bridegroom; they are in darkness with no oil and no lamp. We mustn’t follow their lead and be consumed by the darkness of unbelief and be caught unprepared.
This is the sadness and terrifying nature of these end time parables. As Amos said in today’s OT text: “The day of the Lord is darkness, and not light, it is gloom with no brightness in it.” It is sad and dark because the bridegroom wishes to save all people, but in the end, many will be turned away by their own foolish rejection of the bridegroom. The day of the Lord will come and many will be caught unaware without faith. Many who were baptized, who were brought up in the church, yet allowed their faith to grow cold and be extinguished by not being wise in God’s Word. They attended to things of this world, setting as priority themselves, their sports teams, their sleep, their man-made gods. These are they who knew better, who were called, but were foolish and ran out of oil.
Let us repent of our own passivity, of our own sleepy lazy attendance to God’s Word. While there is time here, there is hope. The Lord is gracious in His delay to judge the living and the dead. There is hope in the bridegroom. He has died to pay the price of your foolish sinfulness. He has redeemed you as members of His precious bride: the Church. You are baptized and in confession and absolution you have been washed again of your sin and have the bridal celebration clothes of your Lord and Savior covering you, washed clean in His blood. He has shaken you awake with the voice of His thunderous Law, but comforts with the oil of gladness and mercy that as you are here, He is serving you. He is filling your lamp, strengthening your faith by His Holy Spirit. You are forgiven for Jesus Christ’s sake.
Behold your Bridegroom gives unto you His promise of the joy that is yours now and is yet to come in His eternal feast. It is sealed with His blood and you drink the common cup poured for you at the cross here at His Holy supper. Here He comes to you, drinks with you, as you drink and eat of the promise that He will come again. This He does to keep you in remembrance of Him in forgiveness, preparing you as you wait with all believers that day of His final return.
On that day and in that hour, it will be terrible for those unprepared and unbelieving. Let us pray for them, and tell them of the truth of Jesus Christ while it is yet day light. Let us also pray that we may wait and watch faithfully, finding comfort and hope in His grace, in His love, and mercy filling our lamps, preparing us for His final arrival. Keep looking to the cross and the empty tomb. Be comforted in the love of the Bridegroom and the promise He has made you by His Word and in your baptism. We have hope, we know that Jesus has died and risen again, and when the Bridegroom comes, He will bring with Him all those who have already preceded us in the sleep of death but reawakened by Him for life. When the trumpet sounds, the dead in Christ will be raised and then we who are alive will come out to meet our Bridegroom in the clouds in the air. So that we all with one voice and One Church will go in joyful procession to the eternal home prepared by Jesus Christ to celebrate forever His victory over sin, death, and the devil. There we will always be with our loving Bridegroom, the Lord our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Pr. Aaron Kangas