25:1 "Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their
lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.
25:2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.
25:3 When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them;
25:4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.
25:5 As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept.
25:6 But at midnight there was a shout, 'Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out
to meet him.'
25:7 Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps.
25:8 The foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are
going out.'
25:9 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.'
25:10 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.
25:11 Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, 'Lord, lord, open to us.'
25:12 But he replied, 'Truly I tell you, I do not know you.'
25:13 Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
Ready or not here I come!
-The wise and the otherwise
-Anyone who wants to make a good beginning must keep the end in view.
-Which virgin was the mother of Jesus? The virgin Mary or the King James virgin?
-We must get beyond good intentions.
-There’s good and bad news. The good news is that Jesus came. The bad news? He’s really ticked off!
-You can’t hold back the dawn. Clarence Hall
-The greatest difference in people is in what they anticipate. Kenneth Lamb
- "Where there is no vision the people perish." Prov.29:18
- Someday we will meet someone who cares nothing about position, riches, glory, etc. and then we will know just how poor we really are...just how empty our lamps have become.
History - The Olive was a native to Asia Minor and spread from Iran, Syria and Palestine to the rest of the Mediterranean basin 5,000 years ago. It is among the oldest known cultivated trees in the world - being grown before the written language was invented. It was being grown on Crete by 3,000 BC and may have been the source of the wealth of the Minoan kingdom. The Phoenicians spread the olive to the Mediterranean shores of Africa and Southern Europe. The olive culture was spread to the early Greeks and Romans. As the Romans extended their domain they brought the olive with them. In the past several hundred years the olive has spread to North and South America, Japan, New Zealand and Australia.
Mythology - Athens is named for the Goddess Athena who brought the olive to the Greeks as a gift. Zeus had promised to give Attica to the god or goddess who made the most useful invention. Athena's gift of the olive, useful for light, heat, food, medicine and perfume was picked as a more peaceful invention than Poseidon's horse - touted as a rapid and powerful instrument of war. Athena planted the original olive tree on a rocky hill which we know today as the Acropolis. The olive tree which grows there today is said to have come from the roots of the original tree.
Mark in WI
I try not to get to focused on the coming or my end. I find those who focus on the rapture extenstively seem to ignore the mission of today. (personal experience here) I am going to concentrate on the oil in the lamp and the fact that it is important to keep it full every min not just when someone starts to predict the end of the world. The line that interests me too, is the one where those with the oil, won't give some away because they won't have enough. This seems to contradict the sharing of faith. Nancy-Wi
Although it is only Monday, I seem to find my focus on the lack of preparation of the 5 and the lack of preparation of most of the Jewish people. I'll probably look at the one who shouts as John the Baptist, and spend some time on the historical accuracy of the story. I particularly like William Barclay's commentary. I intend to use this negative example as a springboard for some "how to's" on living life as preparation for eternity. Pastor Rick in FL
I'm just beginning to mull over the text...the theme of preparation obviously stands out...how can we be prepared for what is to come...and what difference does it make right here and now? There is also the theme of wakefulness, which is connected to preparation...having a sense of readiness. But I think there is more to it than that. Interesting that all the girls fell asleep, both wise and foolish. The admonision is not to be prepared, but keep awake. That would imply that both wise and foolish had not fully been ready.
I am also thinking about the light of the lamps...could it represent the light of Christ. If so, then all 10 had the light at one point, but the light grew dim for those who did not feed it with more oil. Could this text be less about the church vs. the world, and more about the constancy of faith among followers of Christ? Who is really ready for the bridegroom to come?
Just some ramblings..
Meredith in FL
I've always thought of the bridegroom's statement, "I do not know you" to mean that the "foolish" bridesmaids didn't do anything to make themselves known to him. They would have been, presumably, the bride's friends in an arranged marriage, wouldn't they? How would the groom know them unless they somehow made themselves known? I like Nancy's observation that the spiritually wise have a supply of oil continually, and don't go scrambling for it at the last minute.
Although I don't wish to ignore the eschatological theme, I also want to be aware of Jesus' telling us not to worry about when the Son of Man will come again. To be truly spiritually mature, we are prepared all the time, not creating a crisis of impending doom (that message that some seem to perpetuate that this is the last minute) that may or may not be there just to get people to respond.
Sally in GA
Wow! Great thoughts from all angles! DGinNYC, no, I don't think you're "stretching it" at all regarding this passage and stewardship. At the core of true stewardship (management of the resources God shares with us), is not how the budget is shaping up for next year, but what shape our FAITH is in. What people give says so much about their faith-life and relationship with Jesus. Are they relying on him (I should say, are "we"!) or on themselves/ourselves? Are we grateful for God's gifts or just focusing on what we still want? I do think the oil can represent faith and that those whose faith is really "burning" bright will find the most joy and excitement not only upon meeting the Bridegroom when he does come, but also even in the waiting (remember the excitement of waiting for Christmas when you were young?).
Whether or not we're prepared, the Bridegroom wlll come, and he will even come for US, but how significant and joyous that is to us, how "rich" and "profound" an event, will have much to do with our relationship with him. (If my distant cousin visits, whom I never keep in touch with, it's not nearly as exciting as when my best friend visits, whom I spend hours emailing and talking on the phone with and know her heart inside and out).
Oh how I wish we had a choir that could sing "Keep Your Lamps...Trimmed and Burning...Keep Your Lamps...Trimmed and Burning..."! (anyone know that spiritual?)
All (enough) for now. :)
Heidi in MN
The Second Coming will happen. Jesus promised it, Paul and John and James reminded the churches about it. Jesus wants us to be ready for it. And readiness is an active process. It’s like preparing for a wedding celebration. We are preparing not for the worst of times but for the best of times. Christ’s return will be glorious for those who believe and are faithful to Him. It is an event we should anticipate with excitement. And it is an event that we need to stand ready for as we actively live out our faith and our discipleship.
I like what Thomas Long said, “the wise ones in the church are those who are prepared for the delay; who hold on to the faith deep into the night; who, even though they see no bridegroom coming, still serve and hope and pray and wait for the promised victory of God.” Jesus said it best at the conclusion of Matthew 24 “But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:13).
Pastor John in CT
John in CT,
I think I hear what you are saying. Yes, Jesus will come again! I think we do need to keep that before ourselves and those to whom we preach. However,we do have to be very careful not to have people live their lives according to Christian principles lest they get caught not doing so. We live the way we live because we are convinced that it is the right thing to do--that we are called to pattern our lives after Jesus Christ. Over emphasizing the end times can sound too much like worrying about getting caught with a hand in the cookie jar. The Parousia is in fact being ushered in and as Christians we live in that tension of the present and what is to be BECAUSE it is what we are called to do. lp in CO
Apropos the contributor commenting on the "idiocy", presumably of the election results, and these Sunday texts, perhaps we can speak to method rather than contents. After all, Americans are a practical people, which is nothing to sneeze at. Seems we make "to do" lists very easily. Any brides magazine gives a check list to prepare for the wedding. If Jesus is saying prepare- how about a check list to prepare our hearts...something on the order of a list of what the prophets (Amos, for ex.)are saying...AEA
"I do not know you." Getting to "know" another takes
commitment and desire. I like what one wrote about the excitement of seeing a distant cousin vs a best friend that one had kept in touch with "knowing her heart, inside and out." This passage implies a relationship of some sort between the bridegroom and the bridesmaids. During the waiting the relationship that continues to be nurtured and committed results in a meeting that is joyous and celebratory. Discipleship is a spiritual journey with so many twists, turns and possibilities. The oil of the Spirit keeps our paths lit with its' light, we walk in the light not the darkness. That light acts not only for us to see clearly and to reveal the path ahead but as a beacon for others to reach the path. Yes, waiting is a difficult thing for us all but if we seek to nurture that continuing relationship we are not waiting in a vaccum but waiting as we grow and mature, ripen so to speak, ready to see the face of the one we know and who knows us when he arrives in all his glory. The Hebrew "Know" means an intimate connection as in the union of a man and a woman...That special intimacy is what we seek as we seek to "know" God. L in Atlanta
Another nugget:. Poem, "Free" ”To laugh is to risk appearing the fool. To weep is to risk appearing sentimental. To reach out for another is to risk involvement.To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self. To place your ideas, your dreams, before a crowd is to risk their loss. To love is to risk not being loved in return. To live is to risk dying. To hope is to risk despair. To try is to risk failure. But risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, and is nothing. They may avoid suffering and sorrow, but they cannot learn, feel, change, grow, live. Chained by their attitudes, they are a slave, they have forfeited their freedom. Only a person who risks is free.” Source unknown Lindy
It seems to me that Martin Buber in "Between man and man" offers us a link between Joshua and Matthew with this quote:
"If community is not an all-embracing relation then it is perverted into semblance and self-deceit. .... One who does not let his faith be fulfilled in the uncurtaild measure of the life he lives ... is trying to curtail the fulfilment of God’s rule of the world. .... I experience what God desires of me for this hour - so far as I do experience it - not earlier than in the hour. But even then it is not given me to experience it except by answering before God for this hour as my hour. .... I give the word of my answer by accomplishing among the actions possible that which seems to be devoted insight to be the right one. My group cannot relieve me of this responsibility. God tenders me the situation in which I have to answer; but I have not to expect that he should tender me anything of my answer. Certainly in my answering I am give into the power of his grace .... "
Is not this the issue for those who continue to live with their household gods and those who didn't bring enough oil for their lamps - they were not ready or prepared at the time of the invitation to enter community (with YHWH and the Bridegroom).
tom in ga
