sermon excerpts: "Be Prepared" (Mt. 25: 1-13)

The wise bridesmaids could be faulted for not being more generous and charitable to their foolish counterparts. After all, what is a little bit of oil between friends? Oil is a multi-purpose product: not only in cooking and lighting but also in the anointing of leaders and priests. The act of anointing is one of setting a person aside for a specific role or duty. Despite my call as a minister of Word, Sacrament and Pastoral Care, I take great care to explain to people that I do not live other people’s faith for them.

We cannot fulfill someone else’s call, we cannot believe another person’s beliefs, and we cannot live someone else’s faith. Scholars tend to explain that in this parable, oil, like faith, cannot be borrowed from someone else. It’s an all-or-nothing kind of deal; either you have it or you don’t.

Returning to the selfish, and wise bridesmaids: perhaps they calculated that there wasn’t enough oil to light the path for the whole procession if they gave some oil away. In this case, having 5 lights for the entire journey was preferred to having 10 lights for half of it. The fault of the foolish bridesmaids is not their failure to plan for the arrival of the groom, but their failure to plan for his delay. Make whatever jokes you want about men being late for their own weddings, or foolish bridesmaids being left in the dark, the story ends with one group being left out and excluded because of their own inaction.

While the parable ends with this rather abrupt and judgmental note, I would extend the story beyond that night. There is no indication that for the foolish bridesmaids, this was the one and only chance to enjoy a fancy reception. There will certainly be another wedding party another time. The true sin would be not learning from their mistake.

If we consider our own lives, we find that God appears many times. There are many opportunities to express our faith, to do the right thing. It never is a one-and-done deal. We find life is filled with second and third chances. Because if God is present in every situation, then each moment represents a time to choose faithfully, to prepare and to trust in our preparation.

Yes, the foolish bridesmaids dropped the ball on this one. They are soundly rejected by the bridesgroom at the reception and left in the dark. They will not make this mistake again. Next time, they will be the wise bridesmaids. They may even bring enough extra oil so that everyone would be ready. Or they may tell the others to be sure that they have enough.

And I find it hard to embrace the lesson about “keep awake” when earlier in the parable all of the bridesmaids, wise ones too, got drowsy and fell asleep. The Greek could just as easily be translated as “be prepared” which would actually let us get on with living our life while we await the inevitabilities to come. Be prepared. It’s the motto of the Scouts Movement. Be ready to learn.