Sermon - Trinity XXVII 2018 - Matthew 25: 1-13

What kinds of things keep you awake at night? Lately it’s been Gideon, my 7 month old son who keeps me awake. But at other times, various concerns and worries keep me from sleeping. Some people have a hard time sleeping due to pain, insomnia, or breathing. I’m sure you’ve all had things keep you awake at night. So typically, if you’re awake at night, it means that there’s something wrong. 

But if you’re sleeping well at night, usually that means things are at least mostly fine. If you can sleep, it means you’re not worried too much, you’re not in much danger, and you’re at least a little comfortable. That is when the Lord will come! “For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.”

When we talk about the end of the world and the final coming of the Lord, more often than not it’s because things are going quite terrible and we want God to come again. But that’s not how the final days are described before Christ returns. Rather, Christ will come when we’re sleeping through the night, when we think we have peace and security. As such, we will never expect God to come because when He does we’re going to be comfortable and enjoying this sinful world. Therefore, prepare your hearts with faith and rejoice, for the joyful return of our Savior is near! 

Prepare your heart with faith. This is the message Christ declares in His parable of the Ten Virgins. “The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.”

There are ten virgins, ten attendants of the bride simply awaiting the arrival of the bridegroom. Ten is a complete number, as such the ten virgins are all people; some of them are wise and some of them are foolish. Now, who would you like to identify with? The fools or the wise? Obviously, I would hope, you desire to be like the wise. 

But what is the difference between the wise and the foolish? Is it that the wise stayed awake at night? No, they didn’t stay awake actually, “As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept.” In the final days all people will be comfortable and believe that there’s peace and security, even us faithful Christians will fail to stay awake because we will be too comfortable. The difference then between the wise and foolish, is that “the wise took flasks of oil” and the foolish “took no oil with them.” 

The wise were prepared to wait and they were ready for a long delay which is why they brought extra oil in their lamps; they still had faith even when times were comfortable. The foolish were not prepared to wait, and so when their Lord tarried, they weren’t ready; their faith was lost when they became comfy.

The same could most certainly happen to any of us. The delay is long, and the days are becoming quite comfortable for many of us. We live here in the heartland of America, things are pretty good. The economy is improving, interest rates are on the rise, unemployment is very low, it’s been generations since we’ve fought a war on American soil with invading armies on our steps. It’s easy to sleep at night. Because it’s so easy to sleep, faith in God has become less desirable. The oil is running low.

“But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’”

When our Bridegroom returns there’s no more time to prepare your heart and believe. The time for faith will have past. It’s too late to ask the wise for their oil, they have only enough for themselves. It will be too late for those who aren’t prepared, for those without faith, to come to church, to come to the Word, to seek the fellowship of the faithful. 

But while the Bridegroom delays He gives you the time to repent of your slothfulness and go to the oil dealers and buy some oil. God is giving you time right now to make amends. He’s giving you the time right now to prepare your heart. He’s giving you time right now to believe and be ready for His coming.

Don’t be foolish, don’t wait until it’s too late. Don’t wait until you’ve fallen asleep. Jesus’ words are for all of us, if you think you’re wise enough and don’t need to prepare for Christ’s coming, then you reveal your own conceited heart and ignorance. Don’t delay to make amends with the person you’ve hurt, don’t delay to forgive those who trespass against you, don’t delay to study the scriptures, don’t delay to receive the sacrament, don’t delay. 

You don’t have to wait until morning comes to visit the dealers of faith. Wake, awake, for night is flying! The dealers of faith, the means of grace are here and present for you. God’s Word, His holy absolution, His glorious baptism, His blessed sacrament, these are the dealers of faith and promise to fill your flask until your cup runs over. 

Come, buy without price, for your payment has already been paid by the Bridegroom. You won’t owe a thing, you don’t need to wash the dishes in the back after you eat, for the Bridegroom has already paid the great price. It wasn’t cheap. He spilled His own blood, He gave His own life, He laid it all down so that here in this marketplace of faith you could come and receive without cost. So don’t delay, come and drink deeply of these waters of faith, fill up your flask there’s more than enough to go around; we’re not running out. 

Then do rejoice for the bridegroom is soon to come! Certainly for those without the oil of faith that hour will be long and dark. To them it will seem like “sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.” To them “the door is shut.” They will come and say “Lord, Lord, open to us.” But the Bridegroom will look at them in judgement and declare: “Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.”

But for us that final hour will be more joyful than any before! There may be fierce labor pains, but after the pain of labor has passed a newborn babe is laid upon the breast of his mother, alive! With tears she looks at her child with love and joy and excitement, for here in her arms she holds a new life. 

For us the time of waiting will have passed, and with newfound joy we will forget the long night as our Bridegroom calls us to enter into His heavenly wedding banquet feast. We “are not in darkness” but we “are all children of light, children of the day.” We don’t need to fear the Last Day, we don’t need to fear the judgement of God, we don’t need to dread His coming in the slightest. Our judgment and condemnation has already been mete out upon Jesus. All that awaits us is joy beyond joy.

Listen to God’s promise of that day: “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness.” You who have been ransomed from foolish sin will enter into this new earth and come to Zion with singing, “everlasting joy shall be upon your heads!” Your allotment in heaven will be gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away, forgotten for good. 

“God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with Him.” That is the joy and immense jubilation that awaits you dear Christian after this long night of weeping. “The Bridegroom comes, awake! Your lamps with gladness take! Alleluia! With bridal care yourselves prepare to meet the Bridegroom who is near.