November 8 ~ Remembrance Day

Sermon by Bishop Cindy Halmarson

Amos 5:18-24

Psalm 70

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Matthew 25:1-13

Everybody loves a wedding! When the invitation comes, we RSVP with anticipation. Plan what to wear, choose a gift, book the travel, and get to the church on time! We can’t wait for the special day.

Weddings in the time of Jesus were a little different. You never knew exactly when it would start. Instead, the bride’s attendants would gather and wait. They watched and waited because they never knew when the groom would arrive and the festivities would begin. Sometime during the day or the night a messenger would run the streets to announce the bridegroom’s coming. And then he would appear! If the bridesmaids weren’t ready, they could be left behind and miss the celebration. If you were a bridesmaid, you had to be ready, prepared to follow at a moment’s notice.

“Be prepared” is what the parable says, the parable of the Ten Bridesmaids. Be prepared, be alert, be on your toes!

We can see why such a message comes at this point in the gospel narratives. In Matthew’s gospel we are at Chapter 25. Getting close to the end, close to a crisis point in Jesus’ life, and the life of the disciples. Jesus has given the disciples hints and warnings along the way. He’s been celebrated by crowds, but also in conflict with religious authorities. His teachings are becoming more pointed, more apocalyptic. The signs are there. Crisis is coming.

What will happen to Jesus? And how will his followers react? What preparations can they make to be ready for what is to come? Will the disciples remain loyal when the crowds turn against him?

The time of trial is coming. And the parable of the bridesmaids is a warning and a message. Be prepared.

Be ready, is what the parable says today. You and I never know the hour when we will be asked to stand loyal to Christ. Any day, perhaps every day, is crisis.

Sometimes it’s the smallest thing. How we react when we see an injustice taking place, a kid bullied in the schoolyard, a neighbor going on about how newcomers are so advantaged, an outburst at church on Pride Parade Sunday. Are we prepared to speak or act on behalf of fairness and kindness and acceptance, all values that Jesus teaches?

Sometimes it’s the really big things. Drive by Parliament Hill and you can literally read the signs. Nuclear threat. Human rights. Climate crisis. Dehumanizing the workforce. Economic collapse. How ready is the church to understand and address all the modern-day crises that we face? Are we prepared to follow a gospel imperative that guides our opinions, our attitudes, our voting, our actions? Do we make life choices as loyal followers of the Prince of Peace, the Son of Righteousness, Emmanuel, God-With-Us?

The signs are all around us. And yet, how hard it is to shake ourselves awake and follow the way Jesus lays out before us. You never know the day or the hour unless you’re alert, unless you’re prepared.

Is there anything worse than to miss the moment? The parable says there isn’t. Nothing is more painful than to sense that the time is passed and it’s too late. You didn’t speak. You didn’t act. You can turn away and find all the excuses. You can shrug your shoulders and try to make light of it. But the memory of failure doesn’t fade. No one wants to be remembered as the one who missed the important moment.

The foolish five in the parable missed their moment. By the time they are ready, the door is shut.

The parable says more. It says that the crisis coming isn’t just ours. It’s not just how you and I act. It’s not just about our church or our country. It’s a matter for everything under God’s reign.

The early church believed they were living in the last act of a cosmic drama. Christ had come saying, “The reign of God is at hand”. After Jesus’ death and resurrection, his followers were sure that it was only a matter of time before God would ring down the curtain on this world, destroy evil, and establish the promised reign. The world would not whirl on forever but would come to a grand conclusion in God’s purpose.

Of course, that hasn’t happened, has it? The world goes on now as always, no worse, no better.

We wonder if the idea of a reign of God is just a superstition the Bible once believed which we’ve outgrown. So, we put the God talk in a box, save it for Sunday, keep it for the small things we can manage. Being kind. Making nice. No hurry to save the planet. No rush for peace in our time. Business as usual, we say. And we whistle by the graveyard of a big, final crisis. The end hasn’t come yet...

The early Christians shared those same doubts. Their world didn’t end as expected. Christ did not come conquering, and evil seemed inconsiderately stubborn. But then they remembered this parable and told it to each other. Because the parable reminded them that the earth turns by God’s time. Sun, moon and planets follow their set path. Human history unfolds as it does. And God is with us. We cannot ask the day or the hour, nor can we know. But we can be alert to God’s word every day. We can be open to the hints and signs. We can listen for the messengers who say the time is at hand. And we can be prepared to serve God come what may. That’s what the parable says. Be prepared.

But for what? For what do we make ready?

For joy! That’s what the parable holds before us, joy! Peace! Love under the reign of God! Everybody loves a wedding! Festive and glad! We don’t live our lives cringing before the threat of hellfire or cowering before the rap of a judge’s gavel. No, we make ready for a joyful celebration of love and life we would never want to miss! The Lord is coming, says the parable. Be alert, be faithful, prepare for the day. Something worth waiting for, isn’t it. And something worth living for.

May God make it so. Amen.