Psalm 112 – Adapted from the International Commission on English in the Liturgy
1Praise the Lord! Happy are those who love God, and delight in God’s Word.
2There children shall be blest, strong, and upright in the land.
3Their households thrive; their integrity endures testing.
4A light shines on them in darkness – the God of mercy and justice.
5The good lend freely and deal fairly.
6They do not stumble; their justice shall be remembered.
7Bad news holds no power over them, but their hearts trust God.
8Steady and fearless, they triumph over evil.
9They support the poor; their integrity endures testing; their strength brings them honor.
10But hatred devours the wicked. They grind their teeth as their hope turns to ashes.
Happy are those who love God, and delight in God’s Word. Praise the Lord!
Matthew 25:1-13– New Revised Standard Version
1“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this: ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; 4but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. 6But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. 8The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9But 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.’ 10And 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. 11Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ 13Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
Psalm 112 and Matthew 25:1-13
11/12/2017 – First U.M.C. of Saginaw
“On Being Prepared”
Rev. Amy Terhune
A week ago today, a gunman walked into a church in Southerland Springs, Texas, and opened fire, hoping – I guess – to do harm to the family of his ex-wife. In the end, 26 people were dead, including the pastor’s own teenage daughter and several individuals ranging in age from about five to mid-nineties. Our hearts break for thatchurch, for that community and its people. Our hearts also tremble a little – at least mine does. It’s human, I suppose, to ask what if. And you can bet that the channels of communication on a denominational level have been abuzz with all this. My colleagues are asking: what is the faithful response? Should we be more intentional about working to ban assault weapons and other rapid-fire devices designed solely for killing a lot people. That’s a good start. Should we be advocating for better mental health care? And what about our churches? Nobody is in favor of locking our doors, for we are called to be in ministry to our community and to welcome the stranger and the seeker among us.I was reminded this week that for the earliest Christians, going to worship was one of the most dangerous things they did. They could be arrested, robbed, fined, stripped of their homes or businesses, and even tortured or killed. Being a Christian did not start out as a safe thing. It certainly wasn’t for the faint-hearted. Remembering that love overcomes fear, we continue embrace our Christ-like mission to be Christ’s hands in the world and to provide a haven of blessing and peace for those who need it here.
But we’re not without our questions. And there’s something to be said for being prepared. How does one prepare for the unthinkable. I don’t know the answer for that, but I’m going to explore it. I’m heading to Lansing on Thursdasy, January 11 with several colleagues for a workshop offered by the Michigan State Police on safety in houses of worship. We’ll work together to think this through practically, theologically, pastorally, missionally. And then I’ll bring what I learn back here to work with the staff, the trustees and the ushers on a plan. It’s seems like the most logical approach. And it seems like the most faithful one. Afterall, Jesus never actually tells his followers to fly by the seat of their pants. He instructs us to count the cost, to assess our situations, to be ready to defend our faith and our hope. Even those who hope to fly by the Spirit prepare their hearts and minds to be open and receptive to the Spirit’s leading. In our scripture lesson this morning, Jesus hopes to make us ponder the concept of readiness as well. But he’s not talking about a safety plan. He’s got something more fundamental in mind, and he wants to know: are we ready?
Well, in order to answer that question, we must first ask this: Ready for what? How can we assess our readiness if we don’t know what we’re getting ready for? Fair enough. So what are we supposed to be ready for? The answer is at once both very simple and very complex.
The simple answer is that we’re supposed to be ready for the return of Christ. We need to be ready because Scripture tells us that he will return. The complexity in that lies in the fact that for many—both preachers and congregants alike—the whole subject of Christ’s return is very uncomfortable and disconcerting one.
So let’s begin with a couple of brief thoughts about Jesus’ Second Coming, since it is not a very popular topic to preach on. For one thing, we must understand that Christ’s return is not something to fear. God’s grace is always available to us. His return is good news. God loves us so much, that he is not willing to leave humanity in the state its presently in forever. He sees the suffering, the pain, the sin, the grief., the fear. And he’s made us a promise: this isn’t the way it was supposed to be, this isn’t all there is, this isn’t the way it is always going to be. Take note: He’s still working, and He will return.
We must also understand that the early church though that Jesus would be back any moment now—right away. When He didn’t appear as soon as they expected, they had to begin to talk about how to live in the meantime. 2000 years later, we have the opposite problem. Mainstream Christianity says almost nothing about Christ’s return, out of concern, I suppose, that we’ll be lumped into the same category as a bunch of crazies drinking koolaide on the mountaintop. And if we do take time to talk about it, we’ve tended to lose all sense of urgency or immediaciacy. The truth is that we don’t know God’s plan, so we can’t begin to guess when God is going to say “Time’s up!” It could be in another 2000 years. But it could be today, or tomorrow, or next week. Jesus makes it clear that not even he knows the day or the hour. Hence, the need to be ready. And that takes us back to our lesson for today.
“Right at the beginning of the parable of the ten bridesmaids, Jesus tells us that five of them were foolish, and five of them were wise. The reason why he tells us this from the outset is that we cannot tell just by looking at them. All ten have come to the wedding; all ten have their lamps aglow with expectation; all ten, presumably, have on bridesmaids’ gowns. We would never guess from appearances that half are wise and half foolish.” [from ‘The Gospel of Matthew’ by M. Eugene Boring, The New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. VIII, (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995) pg 451.] Moreover, their behavior does not immediately distinguish them. All ten of them fall asleep! We only sort the wise from the foolish when we discover who is ready for a possible delay.
Now, remember that weddings back in Jesus’ day were very different than they are in today’s world. Today, we send out invitations—the wedding will be Saturday, such-and-such a date, at three o’clock in the afternoon. And everybody shows up at that time. Not so in Palestine—even today. Whenever the groom and the bride’s parents get themselves on the same page, and make the necessary legal and financial exchanges and the rabbi is located, then the wedding happens. So one had best be ready, because one never knows when everything will fall into place. To us, that sounds ludicrous. How could someone spend days waiting around for things to happen? All I can say is that the culture was very different, and weddings were a somewhat fluid event. Often, the wedding ceremony itself would be private—something witnessed only by the bride and groom’s immediate family—and often, it happened after sundown, which for Jews, marked the beginning of a new day. The bride and groom would then walk to the groom’s home, where a lavish feast would be spread that would last seven days. But since there were no streetlights, the bride and groom depended upon the wedding party to be watching and waiting—ready to light the way to the feast.
The parallels should be obvious. As Christians, our job is to always be ready to let our light shine. That’s how we stay ready for Jesus. We stay focused on what matters, and what Christ has called us to do in our lives. If we look at the lesson for this morning, it gives us some significant pointers for living in readiness and letting our light shine.
The first is to be watchful. All ten of our darling bridesmaids fell asleep in the story this morning. So when the time came to move, they had to scramble. There are always going to be times when we have to scramble, but it’s not good policy, and it’s certain not a solid foundaiton for ministry. To be awake, watchful, ready and waiting is to be sensitive to the possibility that God may be on the move.
But what does it look like. Well, think about this: On Tuesday, we’re going to host a free meal here at the church. We do it on the 2nd Tuesday of every month. When I arrived, I was told we offer that meal for two reasons: First, because there are hungry people in Saginaw that need to eat – people right in our own neighborhoods, people in houses that look like ours, driving cars that look like ours, who hide the fact that they’re struggling to make ends meet. You never know who’s hungry. Secondly, we offer a meal because there are lonely people in Saginaw that need people to eat with. Most of us have had to eat alone from time to time, but to eat alone night after night after night is emotionally and spiritually exhausting. There are those who come every month for whom that may be the only meal they share with another all month long.
Now, what does any of that have to do with being watchful and prepared to serve? Simply this. It takes human energy and time to make that meal. We need folks prepared to cook, feed, clean, donate, and help out. But we also need folks watchful for ministry possibilities. How many of us are prepared to get up, pick up our plate and our drink, leave our friends and the people we know, and go sit down beside someone who is sitting alone? You never know what may be born of those interactions? Do we keep an eye out, an open heart? Both the cooking and the companionship are ministries. We need people prepared, prayerful, watchful, enlightened, ready to be in ministry with the hungry and with the lonely.
At it’s heart, ministry is about seizing the opportunities that come at us – it’s about being in the right place and the right time, availble to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. We watch, we listen, we’re ready and waiting, because God’s call sometimes comes in unlikely guises.
Wealso need to be prepared. What distinguishes the wise from the foolish is not their drowsiness or their lanterns. It was whether or not they’ve got enough oil to feed their lamps. Part of me was reluctant to use this text on Stewardhips Sunday, because I balk at the notion that there’s not enough. We follow a God of abundance. The world tells us that resources are scarce. Yet God tells us that God can multiply the simplest gifts. But if you look at the text for this morning, the problem isn’t really that there’s no oil to be had. The problem is that the oil’s not on hand when the crucial moment comes. The foolish bridesmaids are not ready to shine. If this parable teaches us anything, it’s that “there are some things in life that cannot be borrowed. You and I cannot live on someone else's oil. You and I cannot function without our own power source. We can help one another in so many ways, but at some point we are on our own.
“This is especially true when it comes to faith. The road of the religious pilgrimage is a narrow one and can only be walked two at a time, you and God… Faith is the most intensely personal experience we will ever have in life. Others can help us toward it. They can encourage us. They can pray for us. They can bring us up in the way we should go, but in the end, we must embrace it ourselves. No one can do that for us. When we’re facing hard times, only God can give us the power and energy to persevere, and he only dishes it out on a personal basis. But if we haven’t taken the time to nurture that relationship, how can the power flow? The five foolish maidens in this story were foolish because they thought that they could rely upon the resources of others to get them through. What they discovered was that there are some things in life that cannot be borrowed. [2 ¶sadapted from “The Tragedy of an Unprepared Life” by Brett Blair and staff,
What is true for our personal faith life is also true for us as a church. We here at First UMC have a unique calling. We can’t wait for the denomination to tell us how to move ahead, and we can’t go taking programs from other church or from other times in our own history and expect them to flourish. We can be inspired, encouraged, and educated by others, but our ministry is our own, and it is unique to this time and place. We need to be in prayer. We need to be in dialogue. And we need to be prepared.
Finally, we can be hopeful as we anticipate a bright future. Like bridesmaids at a wedding, we rejoice as we share in the promised future of love and relationship and new life. Let me move us towards a close with a story, of sorts. Right about this time of year, maybe fourteen or fifteen years ago, I had an experience one evening. My head was pounding, my chest began to ache with pain, my left arm and my left side of my face went numb. My legs turned wobly. I couldn’t breath. I thought I was having a heart attack. My husband took me to the ER, where they proceeded to run an entire battery of tests. After several hours, the doctor came back to the room where we were waiting. There was absolutely nothing wrong with me. They could not find a single thing to indicate that there were any problems. When I followed up with my regular physician, he began to talk to me about stress and anxiety, and how to manage those things as both my family and my career grew. In the time since then, I have learned to recognize the signs in my own body that anxiety is brooding. That’s when I know I’ve let my prayer life slip, my devotional and spiritual practices fall away. That’s when I know I’ve lost perspective, and it’s time to right the ship.
On an institutional level, I see a church wringing it’s hands with worry as they look at declining numbers and aging populations. There’s pain, numbness, shortness of breath. They call it pragmatic and responsible when they start talking about changing trends and reversing losses. But from my perspective, it’s anxiety. It means we’ve let the health and wellness of our essential selves slip. We’ve forgotton who we are and what we’re called to be about. It’s not about numbers and programs. It’s not about budgets and bills. We exist to introduce people to Jesus Christ. We exist to light the way for those looking to bind up their lives in Christ’s life—a marriage, a union, a relationship, a great love. And in doing that, we imitate Jesus. We feed, we house, we help. We pray, we worship, we witness to the light within our own souls. We welcome everyone, we judge no one, we love unconditionally. We work to make our world better. And we live in hope.
Please understand: unless we dream it, nothing will happen. If we’re not prepared to hope, and to talk about what gives us hope, and to truly listen to each other – not just so that we can respond to what another says, but so that we can truly understant where another is coming from – then why are we here? Hope is the ultimate attitude of readiness. It is the faithful act of opening our hearts to God’s next thing. Today is not about safety plans or budgets or paying the bills. Today is about energy and light and vision. Saginaw First United Methodist Church has afuture—a power-filled one. Among us, we have more than enough resources. Among us, we have what God needs to change lives, touch hearts, and introduce others to the love, light, and grace of Jesus Christ. We have more than enough.