St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Wesley Chapel, FL
Preacher: The Rev. Adrienne R. Hymes
Proper 27/Year A: November 12, 2023
Matthew 25:1-13
Last week, I heard a story about a parent being denied the baptism of their second child in the church. As the story goes, the parent had been brought up in the church, but had fallen away for years, only to return to have their first child baptized. The parent was educated by the priest about baptism and the responsibility entrusted to them, and to the Godparents, to see that the child is brought up in the Christian faith and life. At the baptism, the parent, and sponsors, vowed to take on the responsibility of preparing the soul of the child, throughout their lives, with the words, “I will, with God’s help.” After the baptism, the family was never seen again. A few years later, the parent had a second child that they wished to have baptized. This time, the priest denied the baptism stating that the parent had made promises at the time of the first baptism, that they had no intention to keep.
Now, we have all heard at least one story about a stinging denial or rejection by a religious institution when it comes to the sacraments. When I heard this particular story, I initially gasped. And then, I thought about the priest’s boldness, and truth-telling, in calling out the parent who wanted to get the second child “done” as clergy often hear baptism described. How can one make promises to prepare and nurture the soul of another if they do not do it for themselves?
I was forced to examine my own commitment to keeping my promises made in the Baptismal Covenant in my daily life in Christ. While not explicitly stated in our gospel passage today, the gospel writer emphasizes personal responsibility and the consequences of failed responsibility. Making promises to God, and not keeping them, has consequences.
Our passage in the 25th chapter of Matthew, reminds the reader of this. While we are not yet in Advent—the language is heavy with the themes of “the end” (the eschaton) and being awake in preparation for the unknown hour of Jesus’ return to judge the world. This passage is meant to challenge us and force self-examination. We find Jesus privately teaching his disciples on the Mount of Olives (24:3) about what the kingdom of heaven will be like using the parable of the 10 bridesmaids.
There were 10 bridesmaids, five described as foolish, and the remaining five as wise. All had the responsibility of meeting the bridegroom with a procession of light in the darkness—whenever he arrived. The bridegroom, for some unknown reason, was delayed. All of the bridesmaids fell asleep, and all were awakened by the bridegroom’s arrival at midnight. All got up and trimmed their lamps. The wise bridesmaids came prepared with extra oil “just in case.”
The foolish maids brought only enough oil for the expected arrival of the bridegroom, and had not prepared for a delay, demanding more oil in order to keep their lamps lit. The maids in need of oil to keep their lamps lit assumed that they could use oil from the abundance of the wise bridesmaids’ supply, but they were denied and told to go to the dealers to buy their own (v. 9). The foolish maids went off to buy oil, and when they came back with the necessary supply, they found that the wise bridesmaids, who were ready when the bridegroom arrived, were already with him at the wedding banquet behind a shut door.
“Lord, lord, open to us,” they cried. And, the bridegroom replied, “Truly I tell you, I do not know you” (v.12). It was too late. The door was shut and there were consequences for the foolish bridesmaids’ lack of preparedness, which resulted in their inability to serve as they had promised.
The bridegroom’s lack of recognition of the bridesmaids was a stinging denial, ultimately barring their entry into the banquet. “Truly…I do not know you,” echoes Jesus’ admonition in Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” Just as the bridegroom denied the entry of the unprepared bridesmaids into the banquet, our Savior will also deny those who follow him, resting on empty promises to do the will of God. Jesus concluded his teaching with the imperative to his disciples, “Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour” (v.13).
What is this parable trying to teach us, the 21st century disciples of Jesus, who wait, with expectant hope, the second coming of our Lord? We are to take away from this passage that we must commit to being spiritually vigilant in preparing our souls for the coming of our Lord. One way to hold oneself accountable to serving the will of God in the “now” is to spend time with the Ten Commandments and the Baptismal Covenant as sources for guidance and self-examination.
What does it mean to say that you believe in the Triune God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit? How are you doing in showing up to church for regular worship? In times of sin and falling away from God, are you committed to repent and return to the Lord? Do you freely and joyfully share the good news of God in Christ? Do you seek to love your neighbor as yourself? What about striving for justice and peace among all people, while respecting the dignity of every human being?
Matthew’s gospel captures Jesus’ summary of what we, as his spiritually-awake disciples are purposed to do. We are to “…Make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” teaching them to obey everything that Jesus has commanded. When we affirm our commitment to the promises of the Baptismal Covenant with the words, “I will, with God’s help,” we must do so with the intention of keeping, and embodying, them as we show up in this world.
Preparedness of the spirit is both about being vigilant in serving the will of God in the “now” and for the “not yet,” so that we may enjoy the messianic banquet in the future fully-realized kingdom of God. Preparedness of the spirit requires serving the will of God in this meantime, in which we live, so that at the end time, we may see our Lord face to face and he will indeed recognize us as good and faithful servants. To focus only on the meantime, and not on the end time, or vice-versa, is unquestionably foolish.
Are we going about our lives as baptized Christians, oblivious to our personal responsibility of keeping our promises to follow the will of God? Have we assumed that the burden of our own spiritual preparedness is the responsibility of others? Can we encourage each other to ward off weariness, as we wait, in this merciless, broken, temporal world of thick suffering, injustice and war, as we cry, “How long, Jesus, Lord, come soon.”
Let us commit to ourselves, and to one another, to make promises to God that we intend to keep. Let us stay spiritually ready, so that no member of the body of Christ has to scramble to get ready for we know neither the day nor the hour of Christ’s return. God is faithful to His promises. The question for his children is whether or not we will be, too. Amen.
