- Psalmody: Jeremiah 29:11b, 12a, c, 14b; Psalm 85:1; Psalm 44:7-8; Psalm 147:14; Psalm 130:1–2a; Mark 11:24
- Lection: Isaiah 65:17–25; 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11; Matthew 25:1–13
In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The faithful, watchful Christian eye is set upon the Last Day, for in it we know that the King will come and call all His servants to settle accounts. The Christian eye fears this not, because it has been restored to eternal sight through faith in the long-awaited Bridegroom Who, at His own all-exacting expense, has paid the debt we owe. He has given faith to His Church, washed us by His Spirit and His Word, and donned upon us pure white robes of righteousness; a righteousness which we have now as we wait for His delayed coming just as the 10 virgins went out to meet the bridegroom in the parable. Watch therefore, for you, dear virgin of Christ’s Holy Church, know neither the day nor the hour in which the Bridegroom, the Son of Man, is coming.
We must be warned in this way, to be watchful, because the Redeemer of our souls is good to be watched for and we are in need of diligence in our watching lest we be caught in faithlessness of the night. The Lord Jesus shall come again to judge both the living and the dead. He shall come to judge both foolish and wise virgin alike. And while we wait for the shall to turn into watchmen on the heights crying in the moment, singing at His coming for us to awake, to arise, we therefore must be watchful. We have a watchful wait to endure, a wait that demands patience, perseverance, and most of all, faith. We shall grow short in patience, wondering, even calling out at times Return, O LORD! How long? Yet, it is the Lord Who is longsuffering, ever patient with us, always giving what we need to be even more patient. We shall falter in our perseverance, for we are weak, tired, and daily bent toward sin and slumber on our watch. Yet, it is the Lord Who is from everlasting to everlasting. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: He that keepeth thee will not slumber. The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in From this time forth, and even for evermore. That is sure promise to which we cling by faith when our patience shortens, when our perseverance wains, because we cannot go out to meet the Bridegroom on the Last Day without faith. We are not kept without faith, which means it must be preserved, nurtured, tended to at all costs as a most precious flame as we wait, even as we grow impatient; even as we falter on our watch.
The fact that there are 10 virgins tells us that the parable is an admonition for Christ’s Church to be watchful for the Last Day when He will come to take His Bride into the Marriage Hall of Lamb’s High Feast. We are warned because as we 10 await, all will appear to be ready, for what difference could be seen among these virgins? They are alike in modesty, in gathering together, in having lamps, in giving appearance of awaiting the Bridegroom, and in acting like they believe that He will truly come. Thus, among us, there are those who act like Christians, who are seen and believed to be good people, to have good hearts, to talk like Christians, and to believe themselves to be ready for Christ’s return and fit to enter into the eternal marriage hall with Him. But Jesus warns of a difference; a difference that already has the 10 divided into five who were wise and five who were foolish. The five were wise, not by saying the right things or giving the right impression outwardly, but because they took oil in their vessels with their lamps, where the others were foolish because they did not; the foolish have no concern for the oil of true, heartfelt faith in this life, erroneously thinking that there will be time to get serious about such matters in the End.
The wise look after their faith while it is still day, to tend to righteous matters in preparation for the night when no one can work. The virgin Church tends to her faith by allowing the Holy Spirit to have His way with us now; for Him to fill our vessels by His means of grace, His Word, His Sacrament, freely given in the Church, His own creation; for Him to direct and rule our lives here, for He is equally gracious with the Father and the Son in His dealings with us, so that Christian marks exist not only on the outside, but that the heart itself is shown to be true when it is drowned and raised to burn brightly with ample oil of faith. The wise virgin prepares for the night ahead so that the Bridegroom’s coming catches us not unawares.
So, for Him, like them, we wait. All ten fail in their watchfulness though, not only the foolish, but also the wise, showing the weakness in which we all still wait. The Church is pure in Christ, yet still with great fault and neglect as we all dwell in the fallen flesh. Yes, even the faithful with well-prepared oil look to cares, pleasures, and riches more than we keep the eye open for our Lord. Concern for the things of this world are closer to our hearts than how we seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness. The coldness of the night air of this age seeps in quite strongly chilling our hearts and making our watchfulness all the more difficult, which is a fact that can also be fuel for the living heart not to succumb but to stand firm, to keep watch, to ensure that most of all faith is tended to, so that out of the weakness of our sleep, the midnight call shall still be joyous and ready for.
And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ The wise refuse because they are not able. The wise shall possess the faith that is needed at the Bridegroom’s arrival; personal faith that cannot suffice for another; cannot be shared for the sake, for the light of another. Faith must dwell in each heart and cannot be poured from one into another.
And while the foolish went to buy oil, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. So shall it be on the Last Day when it will become hauntingly clear and final to those who did not tend to true faith in the current day that it will be too late when the eternal doors are closed. Those doors shall be that impassable chasm between the congregation of the righteous in the marriage feast and those on the outside who hear the words “Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.” The Bridegroom knows only His own who are united with Him by true faith. Unbelievers and faithless pretenders will have no claim upon Him at His return and it shall then be too late to do anything about it. The time of grace will draw to a close.
Watch therefore, for so shall be the terrible fate of those caught without oil, without true faith. Yet for those whose faith shines brightly by the One Who feeds it here, the feast shall be joyous. In the wedding hall awaits the culmination of all for which the faithful long. The hard-pressed patience shall be shown worth every drop of sweat, every tear, every sacrifice, every fast, every prayer, every discipline, every song lifted in replenishing gesture. The fruit of Christian perseverance shall be bountiful, never to rot nor to be threatened with slumber, sloth, and sin again. Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming; a day and hour that shall be that of weeping and gnashing of teeth for many, but for those with the oil of faith ready to shine brightly on the way to the eternal wedding hall of bliss, we shall be startled awake by the call with great joy and exultation. Watch therefore for the time will come when our Bridegroom, our Savior, our everlasting King shall be delayed no longer. Oh what bliss awaits Christ’s faithful ones!
In ✠ Jesus’ Name. Amen.
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