November 10, 2002
A sermon by Rev. Dr. John K. Luoma
I’ve never counted. I would guess I’ve done more than two hundred weddings, maybe as many as three hundred. I’ve learned one thing for sure: Every bride wants her wedding to be perfect. Maybe better put, she wants that day to go as well as possible. And that’s a reasonable expectation. It is my job and everybody else in the wedding party’s job to work toward that end.
But occasionally someone does not take that responsibility seriously. I can remember a couple of occasions when someone neglected to pin down the runner at the front of the church. So, when the processional music begins and the ushers come down to unroll it by grabbing the ribbons on each side, they find that it won’t unroll. And so the whole service is delayed as someone has to come forward and do that job with the whole congregation watching.
Or there have been those occasions when the groomsmen choose to act like fraternity boys and think that the wedding is about playing as many pranks on the groom as they possibly can. You know what I’m talking about, e.g. they will write something on the soles of the groom’s shoes so that when he kneels down at the blessing everyone sees the words “help” written on them.
Here’s the point: When you are given a duty to perform at a wedding, you are called to do it to the best of your ability. If your duty is to pin down the aisle runner, you do that to the best of your ability. If you don’t, you inconvenience and maybe even bring embarrassment to the bride and groom you have promised to help. And if you are given a job as important as being the best man, you do that to the best of your ability. You don’t do things to heighten the anxiety of the groom, you do everything you can to help him.
In our Gospel story today the ten bridesmaids had a very important job. Not a terribly difficult job, but a very important job. Late in the evening, when the groom came to collect his bride, there would be shouts of joy. At that point the bridesmaids were to light their torches and lead the bride and groom and the wedding party in a joyous parade to the home of the bridegroom’s father.
Now that doesn’t sound like a difficult job does it? Nevertheless, five of the bridesmaids were not ready. They were not prepared. They did not have sufficient oil. It doesn’t say why they weren’t prepared. It doesn’t give us their excuses. It does say that they asked the other bridesmaids to share their oil. And they tell them to go off to the dealers and buy their own. Now, they weren’t being selfish. The simple truth is that one of those torches would only burn for fifteen minutes, i.e. long enough to light the way for the wedding party to the father’s home. Had they shared the oil, they never would have made it. The torches would have gone out before they arrived and left everyone in the darkness. Can you imagine what an insult that would have been to the wedding party? It would have been an announcement to the bride and groom that they didn’t care enough about them to fulfill the simple duty of lighting the way for the wedding procession.
What does this story say to us? It says that one day Jesus, the bridegroom, will come to collect his beloved, the church, and lead them to the home of the Father. We might think of this in at least three ways. It can refer to the coming of the kingdom of God at the end of time. Or we can think of it as the end of our individual life. Or we can think of it as those moments in life that Jesus gives us to serve him.
And, so, this is the question: Am I prepared to receive my Lord? Is Jesus my Lord and Savior? Am I part of the Body of Christ, one of his beloved? Have I repented and received the love and forgiveness that God offers in Jesus Christ? There is no other way into the home of the Father.
But the question goes much deeper than whether I’ve accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior. It is also a question about how I am living my life right now. Because the truth is that I meet Christ many times every day in the people and situations that I encounter. And how do I respond in those situations? We are talking about stewardship here. Stewardship means seizing the opportunities that are put before me to serve Jesus.
There’s a true story that comes from the tragedy known as the sinking of the Titanic. A frightened woman found her place in a lifeboat that was about to be lowered into the water, but she suddenly thought of something she needed and asked permission to go and collect it. She was told that there were three minutes before the boat would be lowered into the water. If she wasn’t back by then she would be left behind.
She quickly ran across the deck of the boat which was already slanting at a dangerous angle. She ran through the gambling room where the money lay ankle deep because it had rolled off the tables. She went into her stateroom and brushed aside her expensive jewelry in order to reach three oranges on a shelf just above her dressing table. Then, she quickly found her way back to the lifeboat and got in.
Just thirty minutes earlier she would have chosen the money or the jewelry rather than the oranges which would help sustain her as they were cast adrift. But death had boarded the Titanic and one blast of its breath transformed her values. Instantaneously relatively worthless things became priceless and what once seemed priceless became worthless. Three oranges became more valuable than a crate of diamonds.
This is the Gospel message: One day Christ will come. One day death will come. Are we prepared? Is Jesus our Lord and Savior? Have our values been transformed by the love of God in Jesus? Our job description is simple: We are called to take advantage of the opportunities that come to us every day as opportunities to serve him, as opportunities to be good stewards. Being good stewards means serving those who need us. But we can’t serve if we selfishly spend all our time on ourselves. “Being good stewards” means giving to those in need and giving to promote the good news about Jesus. And if we spend everything on ourselves or save everything for ourselves, we have nothing to give away for these purposes. “Being good stewards” means focusing our lives on the word of God so that we know how to lives our lives and can help others to do the same. But we can’t do that if we allow all the other activities of life to push aside the word of God.
The bridegroom has come. Have you accepted him as your Lord and Savior? He comes every day in numerous ways and asks us to serve and give and fellowship with him. Do we take advantage of those opportunities or are we unprepared?
copyright 2001 by Rev. Dr. John K. Luoma