Oak Chapel United Methodist Church

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We concluded our study of the Lord’s Prayer last week. I hope that God spoke to you in that series and that you pray His prayer at least a little bit differently now.

With Advent coming in 3 weeks, I decided not to begin a new sermon series, but to return to the lectionary readings. (Recall that the Revised Common Lectionary is a 3-year cycle of readings in the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Psalms. It’s used by all Christian traditions. If you went to a Catholic mass today, you could hear a sermon on the very same scriptures that I’m about to preach on.) Well, as God would have it, the lectionary readings for the next 3 weeks are a mini-series all in their own! Each week, we’ll be taking a look at 1 of the 3 parables that make up Matthew 25. Today, we start with what’s commonly referred to as “The Parable of the Bridesmaids.” Please listen carefully as I read it. See if anything about the story perhaps disturbs you.

[Read Matthew 25:1-13, NIV]

Well, what do you think of that story? Did you find any part of this parable hard to comprehend or even a bit disturbing?

Does it bother you that 5 women with oil couldn’t share a little with those who ran short? Why couldn’t those without oil for their lamps simply walk along beside those whose lamps were still burning? And, how does it settle with you that, having finally gotten the oil they needed, those 5 were still turned away from the banquet?!

“Truly I tell you, I do not know you,” the groom said. Does that sound like grace to you?!
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An ancient marriage tradition, one that dates back to the Hellenistic period, the time of the Romanized Greeks of Jesus’ day, included a “Lighting” ceremony. The Holy Fire of Hestia, the goddess of fire, would come from the Hearth of the Bride’s home … to the Hearth of the Groom’s home. Like the Olympic flame, the fire would be transferred from its old to its new home. And, like the Olympics, the Bride’s mother or a bridesmaid would bring the fire to the service using a torch … or a lamp. ...Do you think they would have brought extra oil with them, just in case the groom got lost on the way to the wedding?!

Today we maintain a similar tradition, using a wedding candle that we place on the altar for the marriage ceremony. The service begins with the mother of the bride and the mother of the groom each lighting a candle on either side of a much larger, center candle. Later in the ceremony, the large candle is lit by the bride and the groom from these two smaller side candles.

The symbolism of these traditions is rich. They depict an outward symbol of a coming together of two hearts, two spirits, two lives, two loves. The deep fire of love that each has carried for the other is symbolized as being made complete in the union of the one flame. Truly beautiful!
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Now, there’s also another tradition … an old saying … that describes a woman who’s in love … but hasn’t yet gotten her man. It is said that “she bears a torch for him.” …Sometimes she bears a torch for her love as he is off at war, or at sea. She waits on her love to return. Sometimes her torch is symbolized by the light of a lighthouse. The woman guards the light each night, making sure it doesn’t go out, waiting for her man to see it and be guided home to her.

And sometimes a young lady holds a torch for a man who is close by … but who hasn’t yet noticed her. In this case, the guy doesn’t seem to be as interested in her as she is in him. She pines for her love, waiting for him to discover her.

Now, how many stories like these have we heard of or seen in the movies? Some tell of a beautiful woman who longs for the love that seems to evade her. She fixes her hair up, meticulously applies makeup, puts on a beautiful dress, and goes where the man is. If he doesn’t notice her, she tries a different hair style, darker rouge … and, with Hollywood anyway, a lower cut dress.

But, believe it or not, with some guys that doesn’t work. Some guys truly are looking for more from a woman than what’s just on the exterior. In some cases the woman understands this. She stops simply worrying about how she looks and what she assumes he desires. Instead, she takes time to get to know what the man she seeks really likes. She tries to find out about his interests. She gets wise on what he really looks for in a person … and in a woman. And then, she begins to practice those things. ...If she really cares about him and really wants him, a woman continues to learn about the one for whom she carries a torch. She does what he really desires … until he finally can’t help but notice her … and fall in love with her.

Even in the movies, the foolish woman, whose thoughts and actions are only skin deep, rarely gets the man she desires. If she does get a chance to talk to him, he usually sees right through her. And the encounter goes no where. In those instances where the foolish woman does get the man, it’s almost never what she dreamed of, nor does it last long. It’s typically only skin deep!

Yet, the wise woman researches, learns, talks to others that know the man she desires, and tries her best to be the person he desires … inside and outside. The wise woman attempts to accumulate oil to fuel the fire of her deep love for the one she carries a torch. The one who perseveres like this is usually the one who ends up with the love … that lasts forever!
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Isn’t this what the parable is trying to teach us? Notice that: all the women in this story are virgins; all are qualified bridesmaids. They all show up with lamps. On the outside, they all look the same! And, even the wise bridesmaids fall asleep. Natural tendencies are not an issue! The differentiator, the issue … is only how deep the oil runs, how well fueled the fire is … how prepared the bridesmaids are ... inside! How well they really know the one for whom they carry a torch.
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A nun who was with Mother Teresa when she started her ministry to the poor, was once asked, “What was Mother Teresa like?” The Sister said, “She was on fire with God's love. This,” the Sister said, “is the legacy that Mother Teresa leaves with us --- to be on fire with God's love - this is the torch we are [all] to carry!”

To be on fire with God’s love is to have a love that is well fueled. It’s not just a girlish infatuation. It’s not a giddy desire that just flirts around. It’s a love that constantly pursues. It’s a love that doesn’t think it can wait ‘til the last minute. It’s a love that respects the intelligence and the integrity of the other. It’s a love that knows what it’s after … and desires it for a life-time. It’s a love that does its homework and that acts in ways that attract the very heart and mind of the other. It’s a love that runs deep --- in both the mind and the heart.

To be on fire with God’s love is to really know God and to seek to constantly do what God desires.
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Well, the groom in this parable is, of obviously, Jesus. Who or what is the bride? The Bride is The Church! And who then are the bridesmaids? Yes, the bridesmaids are you and me --- the members of The Church … men and women. The torch we bring to the groom is the light of The Church! It’s the light of Christ that enters and leaves this sanctuary each week.

Yet, it’s not just bring the physical in the fire of our altar candles. We are each to carry a torch for Jesus. We are to be prepared at any moment to deliver it from this, our church, to the throne-room of God. …We are to be prepared at any moment to deliver the light of Christ from our hearts … to the heart of Christ.
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Paul Gowen has faithfully filled these candles on our altar with oil in preparation for the coming of Christ into our service … assuring that the flame won’t go out while we wait upon the Lord. Paul’s been doing this at Oak Chapel for some 11 years. He does it in deep love and service to God … as he awaits the second coming of Jesus ... however long it takes. He does it for Jesus, he does it for you, and he does it for himself.
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So, scripture's clear --- there’s going to be a judgment day! And all the bridesmaids will be there at the door to the banquet hall. And we’ll all look very much alike … on the outside. But, Jesus will judge our hearts … the intentions behind what we look like and what we do. Jesus will look to see how full of oil our flasks are … and how deep the flame of our love goes. It will be about what we’ve done to learn about him, to serve him and to share about him. We’ll need to keep in mind that to some he will say, “Truly, I don’t know you!”
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Next week, we’ll look at “The Parable of the Talents.” And the following week, we’ll look at the 3rd parable, the parable of “The Separating of the Sheep and the Goats.” But, for this week, for today, as we come to the Lord’s Table, as we remember all that God has done for us in Christ Jesus, let us reflect on ourselves as bridesmaids. Let’s reflect on the fact that God desires all to be at the banquet table and gives all 70x7 opportunities to fill our flasks with oil … but, that soon our time for opportunities will end… Let us come remembering the words of Mother Teresa, “We are not called to do great things in life, but to do all things with great love.”

Jesus did all with the greatest of love. Let us come earnestly asking ourselves, “For whom or for what do we carry a torch this day?” Let us come to fill our flasks with oil and that others might come to the same.