From the Pastor |
Amos 5:18-24 & Matthew 25:1-13
We are nearing the end of the Christian calendar… in just a few weeks we will begin a brand new year with the start of the Advent season… Endings and beginnings… it is no wonder our scriptures call us to be prepared… For, although on Christmas we celebrate how Christ came into the world over 2000 years ago… our faith assures us that Christ WILL come again. We need to be ready… Unfortunately, the Christian religion in America does not seem to do a lot to help us prepare… In many churches and communities, Christianity has become an “escapist” faith… offering an escape and a watered down hope for a promised perfection in eternity. They fail to engage with the surrounding community… fail to get involved in the fight for justice or the struggles of other people. “Personal salvation” is the stressed message. There is very little that is contributed to the world in the here and now. It is any wonder so many young people have moved away from what they refer to as “organized religion?” It is a tragedy and is very misguided. What we need is for our scriptures to recapture our hearts and minds… engaging us in a way that brings a change in us and a change in the world around us. I think today’s readings can do that. Our Gospel reading is the parable of the 10 bridesmaids. This parable is part of a greater discourse Jesus gives on the end times… it is the second of three stories whose moral is basically the same: be prepared. Now, by 21st century standards, this story seems a little strange, but customs were greatly different back in those days. Weddings were a BIG deal and they lasted for more than a few hours! And the whole town looked forward to the festivities. When the time came and the bridegroom and his soon to be father-in-law agreed on the dowry, the groom would come to lead the bride and the wedding party back to his father's house for the ceremony and reception. A town crier would herald the coming so people could be ready. Once the ceremony was over, there was no honeymoon. Instead the couple and their families would host a celebration that could last up to a week. It was a BIG DEAL! In the Parable… The 10 bridesmaids were the welcoming party… it was their lamps that would light the way to the celebration for the bridegroom and the bride. The lamps were small handheld lamps that burned oil. Due to their size they needed constant maintenance… trimming and adjusting the wick and the addition of more oil when it got low. In this particular case, half of them messed up. They didn't think to bring extra oil with them. Why? I don’t know… but when the bridegroom is much later in arriving than expected… they are forced to go out in search of more oil. By the time they return… they are too late. They missed their chance and have been locked out of the festivities. Now… all ten of these young ladies were called to participate. They each answered the call… and prepared to serve… the bridegroom was so late that they all fell asleep while waiting. The difference is that five of them were ready… they planned ahead. They brought extra oil… just in case. The other five didn’t. They assumed the bridegroom would be on time As I said before… This parable has the basic moral of the story being that we shouldn’t wait. We never know when the Lord will return and we need to always be ready. Like the Scouts… we need to “Be Prepared!” But how… how do we do that? How do we make sure we are prepared? Well… Jesus’ warning to keep alert and ready connects really well with the reading from Amos. In fact… all the prophets deliver a vision of what God intends human life to become. They speak of the lion lying down with the lamb… of soldiers beating their swords into plowshares… of children living without fear… a vision that includes no illness, or hunger, or crying anymore. And Amos is no exception. However, today he offers a harsh word about the Day of the Lord. The Day of the Lord was believed to be a day of deliverance. The people of Israel believed that YHWH was committed to their safety. They remembered God’s mighty deeds and readily expected God’s help to come in the future. But Amos asks, why should you desire this day? It is not going to be what you expect at all… it will be a day of darkness, not the anticipated brightness of God’s appearing. He paints a vivid picture of a man who escapes one danger after another only to be taken down when he finally thought he was safe. According to Amos… the relationship between God and the Israelites is already greatly damaged. Damaged to the point that God speaks harshly saying “I hate… your religious festivals… Even though you bring me… I will not accept them… I will have no regard for them.” The Prophet provides God’s word to the people of Israel… challenging them in their complacency, and comfort. The Day of the Lord is viewed by the prophet Amos as a time to be watchful of, and a reason to embrace justice and mercy, so the prophet must destroy the false expectations of the people in order to help them recognize the gifts God has already given them. Then they could participate more fully in the means of their salvation. The problem is not that they are not worshipping correctly… or well enough… they are not worshipping other gods… NO! The problem is their blatant disregard for justice and righteousness; and without Israel’s commitment to these things, there can be no relationship with God. What does this all mean for us? Well… It all comes down to our faith. When we look closely at the parable Jesus told… we can clearly see this. The 10 girls symbolize the followers of Christ who were waiting for the bridegroom, Jesus, to return. The lamps represent the life of each follower which shines the “light” to the world. The oil represents the faith which fuels each follower's life. Those Matthew deemed as “foolish” are those who did not replenish their faith; those whose ‘light’ has dimmed or gone out. Preparation means so much more that declaring yourself to be a “Christian.” It is not about preparing yourself to one day enter heaven. This leads to apathy and complacency. We need to live the hope our faith brings… here and now… every day of our lives. Preparation is a constant and growing relationship with Christ through prayer and study of the scriptures… but it also requires action. Our praise, our worship, our singing, our sacraments… however beautiful and heartfelt… must be accompanied by the work of justice in community. Or they are empty and meaningless. We cannot have a good and right relationship with God without working for justice and righteousness. For as Amos reminds us… What pleases God is to have justice pour from our lives like waters, and righteousness from our work, like an ever-flowing stream. This parable is a reminder that Christ has promised to return and set the world to right. We need to be alert and watchful… ready for that day. But when combined with other scriptures, such as the reading from Amos… we clearly see that we need to be alert and ready every day… not just for some time in the future… because otherwise we will miss God’s presence and activity in our lives today. As we embrace our faith and hope for the future we are called to live differently now… working with compassion for justice in our communities. So let us pause for a moment: what areas of our lives, our community, our world, are thirsting for waters of Justice and Righteousness? As we look toward the coming of the Lord… past, present and in the future… let hope and faith fill us and inspire us to answer the challenge to continuously renew our faith… living it out in the world today. In this way we are able to contribute to the manifestation of God’s kingdom in the place where we are… working in ways that reflect Christ to the world around us… making us agents of grace, healing, and salvation to hurting, hopeless people. So, let me ask you: Are you prepared? I pray that we are able to keep our lamps and hearts filled with faith and hope so that justice and righteousness may flow from our lives to the lives of others. Amen.
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Yeon Shin
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