God Will Meet You There...

On November 9, I had the beautiful opportunity to worship with the community at Azalea Baptist Church in Norfolk, Virginia.  This is (mostly) the manuscript from that sermon..

Matthew 25: 1-12 

Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. 11 Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’

Bridesmaids.  David’s Bridal has earned a pretty penny from me.  From the last three weddings in the last few years, with two more in the next 8 months, I, for one, understand how those bridesmaids could’ve been tired.  With all the planning that's involved, I really can’t blame all ten of them for falling asleep on the job (please know that they're worth every minute and every dollar spent!). And to be honest, they probably should have made sure at least one of the bridesmaids was with the groom, right? To make sure he was staying on time…then none of this would have happened.

From my New Testament class where we’re studying Jesus and the Gospels, I learn that this parable is unique to Matthew. Certain features of the wedding it describes seem realistic, while others are strange. In ancient Palestinian weddings the marriage feast was at night; the groom was met with lamps, and he wasn't actually supposed to be on time. Others seem a little off; these bridesmaids assumed that the oil shop would be open, and it seems that the groom was supposed to be late, but not midnight late.

There are the foolish maids and the wise maids.  One of my biggest questions is "is this really how we define a wise person, as someone who only takes care of herself"? Is this the kind of story we want people to identify with us church folk; people who preach the wisdom of stockpiling, because we believe that if people are in need, it's their own fault? Can you imagine reading this with someone of no faith? I can’t imagine that this parable would bring them to church.  Though a big question, it’s probably not the hit of the parable.

And of course, the parable doesn't say whether the bridesmaids had any oil at home. It doesn't tell us if the wise ones were hoarding it or the foolish ones hadn't had time to get to the store yet. It doesn't tell us what they had in their savings accounts or how generous they were with their goods. For all we know, the wise bridesmaids were down to their very last flask of oil, and the foolish bridesmaids were sitting on barrels of the stuff; the parable doesn't tell us. Its only concern is what they brought with them when they left the house. It doesn't say a word about motives or extenuating circumstances or reasons why five women might conceivably have left their oil flasks at home. And that's significant, I think. Maybe this is not a story about how much oil you have. Maybe this is a story about the kind of oil you carry with you (and how you find that oil). And the parable is very clear: all ten bridesmaids had lamps, but five of them were foolish and five of them were wise. The wise ones brought flasks of oil with their lamps when it was time to wait for the groom. The foolish ones showed up with lamps and nothing to keep them going. And when your lamp goes out, you may have gallons of oil sitting at home; but it's not going to do you any good there.

So what does that look like, the kind of oil you carry with you? What does that look like?

Maybe it depends on the kind of oil we're talking about.  I want you to envision that I have an oil lamp with me.  As I light the lamp, you remember that you are “the light of the world.” We watch the lamp burn. But because there was only a tiny bit of oil in that lamp, it only burns for a few moments. What happens when the oil runs out? Well, the lamplight goes out, and you have nothing to give. And a pastor with no oil, a Christian with no oil, you can't be the light of the world for anybody, no matter how much they want to.

Friends and family, what fills you up spiritually when you run dry? What replenishes your oil? Where do you find God, and how can you make sure that you get enough of that oil for your lamp, so that God can fill you up again? Because you will run dry. And when you do, you can't be a light for anybody. Remember the safety speech we hear on airplanes? "In the event of an emergency, oxygen masks will drop from the ceiling; please be sure to secure your own oxygen mask first before assisting others."

It seems fairly simple.  When your gas light comes on, you are going to run out of gas. If a two-year-old doesn't get a nap, she is going to crash. When you haven't had a conversation with your spouse in three weeks that hasn't revolved around carpooling logistics or what's for dinner, your marriage is getting dry. If you have worked eighty-hour weeks for longer than you care to know, your relationships are going to suffer. It's not really something any of us can avoid. There are some kinds of fuel that just are not negotiable; and if you eat junk food for twenty years, your body is going to let you know about it.

There are also some kinds of oil you can't borrow from anyone else. Teenagers learn this, at a certain point; you can borrow someone's homework and get by on the assignment, but you can't borrow the hours they put in studying for the test. There are some kinds of preparation we can only do for ourselves. You can't borrow someone else's peace of mind or their passion for God. You can't say to your friend, "You have such a happy marriage, don't you? Could you give me some of that?" It doesn't work. You have to find it yourself. You have to figure out what fills you up, spiritually, and then make sure you have some to carry with you, every single minute of the day, because that's how often you'll need it.

And here's the thing: you will run out. Time will run out. The hour gets late, everyone gets sleepy. We all doze, we all put it off, saying, "One of these days, I'm going to quit working so hard and I'll put in that quality time with my kids." "One of these days, I'm going to take up painting again; I've always wanted to do it." "One of these days, I'm going to stop writing checks and really get involved down at the shelter." We all doze. We all put it off. And then the shout goes up: "He's coming!" It's time. And one of these days is today, and it's over, and you never did bring your flask of oil.

I think that's one of the hardest things about this parable. The time will come when you have to draw on the oil you have, right there, on your body, in your flask. And it isn't going to come from your pension savings, and it isn't going to come from your good intentions and your long range plans; it's going to come from what fuels you spiritually right now. It's going to come from where you see God, today. And where is that? Well, Jesus tells us, 

I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was naked, and you clothed me. I was a stranger, and you welcomed me. I was in prison, and you visited me. I was sick, and you comforted me. (Matthew 25)

Driving down to Norfolk last night, I turned on NPR in hopes of a re-run of Wait, Wait.  Instead, I got an hour of TedTalks.  Worth it.  Rebecca Onie, intern at the Greater Boston Legal Services, spent her first nine months speaking to her clients, the patients who were being evicted from their homes because they couldn't afford their medication.  She felt like whatever help she was trying to give was just a little too late.  They came to her when they were already deep in their crisis.  It was hard to help when it was too late.  In 1995, with the okay from the Doctors and her supervisor, she walked into the Boston Medical Center pediatrics clinic and observed/spoke with the patients at that clinic.  She would speak with the Doctors and ask them: "If you had unlimited resources, what's the one thing you would give your patients?"  They would always say:

"Every day we have patients that come into the clinic -- child has an ear infection, I prescribe antibiotics. But the real issue is there's no food at home. The real issue is that child is living with 12 other people in a two-bedroom apartment. And I don't even ask about those issues because there's nothing I can do. I have 13 minutes with each patient. Patients are piling up in the clinic waiting room. I have no idea where the nearest food pantry is. And I don't even have any help."

Even today, that clinic has two social workers for 24,000 patients.  Health Leads was born through the conversation Onie was having.  This organization provided "a simple model where doctors and nurses can prescribe nutritious food, heat in the winter and other basic resources for their patients the same way they prescribe medication. Patients then take their prescriptions to our desk in the clinic waiting room where we have a core of well-trained college student advocates who work side by side with these families to connect them out to the existing landscape of community resources." 

This organization has changed lives (feel free to read a lot more about her TedTalk here).  It's in these moments that we find Jesus. That's where we get filled up. That's where we gather the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. All of those things.. they're not books that we can check out of the library, and it's not a cup of sugar we can borrow from our neighbor next door. All of those things that are just there for us to gather, we never were ready to do it.

I think those church folk who use this parable as a way to scare us all straight are missing the point. You don't fill your lamp because you're afraid you're going to get locked out of the Kingdom of Heaven. You don't stockpile oil because then you can turn everyone else away and that's so much fun. No, you just stop at the filling station and fill your flask and take it with you, because you can't wait to meet the groom. You fill it out of joy. That's the only price of oil, when you think about it: the desire to meet Jesus when he comes.

As we live out our faith in an imperfect, troubled world, this parable can motivate us to take action in response to injustices while we can still make a difference. In this parable, Matthew retains the urgency of the return of Christ in his community, while acknowledging that it is not necessarily immediate. Christians have the responsibility to continue in good deeds in the extended present, in the knowledge that the time will come when they lose the opportunity to make a difference. We are constantly failing at this.  The maidens in this parable fail by inactivity. They presume a gracious future without preparing for it by active discipleships. This, I think, is the definition of foolish for Matthew.

I find myself in this story. I’ve probably been each of this parable’s characters. You probably have been too.  I’ve been the foolish one whose lamps have run out. I’ve been the wise one who feared sharing and losing what I had. I’ve been the groom who refused to let people in.  Where do you see yourself in this story? 

If you find yourself feeling like the foolish bridesmaids, remember to wait in the darkness. Don’t run from it. It is a holy place and God will meet you there.

So if you find yourself feeling like the wise bridesmaids, remember to share what you have, even if it scares you. Don’t trade temporary comfort for lasting community. The chance to give of yourself is a holy place and God will meet you there.

So if you find yourself feeling like the groom, remember to open wide the door to the banquet feast. Don’t let hurt feelings and fear insulate you from others. Welcoming those who have made mistakes and who walk in darkness is a holy place. God will meet you there.  May it be so.  Amen. 

October

I always enjoy spending time with my favorite red heads! Lady Marion, Mattie, and I got to spend the morning in our pajamas and  see "Planes 2"..

Preaching has been a newfound calling.. I take every opportunity to preach and worship with others! Farmville Baptist is a beautiful community... Grateful to share life with them!

Boy do I love my best friends, Caitie and Dane. I also love their dog and being Aunty Judy during her mommy and daddy's engagement pictures! It was a good day indeed.

After months of planning, my best friend, Julie got married. It was a beautiful day of love and holy moments! Blessed to know such lovely, lovely couples.

Ending the month with my favorite sacred time of self-care. You can read more about Creative Clergy on my Otium Sanctum post.