But at midnight there was a cry, “Here is the Bridegroom! Come out to meet Him.” Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.” But the wise answered, saying, “Since there will be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.” And while they were going to buy, the Bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with Him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, “Lord, Lord, open to us.” But He answered, “Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.” Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
After last Sunday’s church service, with its reading and sermon and hymns about Jesus coming back again, the Stout children has some thoughts and questions.
One particular Stout child, Henry, asked if Jesus would come back soon, like today or tomorrow.
We said, “He could.”
He said, “I don’t know if I want that. I want to grow up.”
We likely know how he feels.
There are likely things about your life that you like right now.
There are memories of the past that you would like to keep.
There are things about your future that you are looking forward to – whether it will be things that happen to you or things that you are looking forward to happen to others you love.
Henry wants to grow up.
Kelly and I want to see Henry continue to grow up, as we do Solomon, Dorothea, Josephine and Lazarus.
There’s much to look forward to in what God has in store for all the children of the this congregation. Even as there is much to thank God for in the present and in the past.
So, we understand that thoughts, “I’m not sure I want Jesus to come back right now.”
Add to that the Christians anxiety for those outside the Christian faith.
The parable our Lord gives us today of the five wise virgins and the five foolish virgins bring this Spiritually in our hearts and minds.
If Jesus comes back now, we know many who would likely be in the foolish category.
Who are not watching.
Who don’t care about Jesus, the Church’s Groom.
We don’t want anyone to hear what we know to be some of the most haunting Words that we could ever hear from our Lord’s mouth – I do not know you.
We cannot believe for them.
We cannot care about Jesus for them.
We pray for them and we speak to them about how Jesus knows their sin and their death and devil, knows their guilt and shame, knows their doubts and selfishness and died for them and rose for them to make them children of God,
God wants to know them to Him as their true Father
and wants them to know that they are His true children.
God wants them to know that He sees them in Christ as holy, blameless, without spot or blemish.
God wants to know them and so He gives the world His Son, the very image of the invisible God,
and God gives them His Word and Spirit to call, gather, enlighten them (bring things to light, reveals Himself, reveals who they are and who He is) all to bring them to faith and they would know His voice as sheep know the voice of their Shepherd.
We want them to know that by our words and holy living.
But there’s a limit on what we can do.
The wise virgins could not give the foolish virgins their oil. The foolish had to go the place where they could get it themselves.
They cannot look to us as their ultimate help or hope for we are not their ultimate help or hope and it’s good for us to be reminded of that.
So, God be praised that Jesus has not yet appeared – for their sake. He is indeed waiting for some to be ready.
But any thought we Christians might have of, “I’m not sure I want Jesus to come back,” shows that we are still very confused Christians – we still have some foolishness left in us.
There are many names for Christian death, but one of the most profound names is that death is gain.
For me to live is Christ, but to die is gain (Philippians 1:21).
The end, for the Christian, is nothing but a gain.
Judgment Day is gain.
The end of the world is gain.
The end of our life is gain.
All things that we think we love here, we either won’t miss, or we will have more in abundance.
We fear and are not sure and are anxious because we think we are going to lose something we treasure.
But Jesus gives us this parable of the wise and foolish virgins not only as our warning, but especially for our comfort. All are looking forward to the wedding feast.
It’s going to be amazing!
The day of Christian weddings are a day of gain – the husband gains a wife and her family,
the wife gains a husband and his family,
and with that bond of one flesh between man and woman is the hope of the gain of children in the future.
We are waiting on the wedding feast!
Listen to what our antiphon from the Introit says we gain, it’s from Isaiah 35:10.
The ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads. They shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
We have been purchased, bought back, rescued by the price of the blood of the Son of God.
We are the ransomed of the Lord
Because Christ gained our sin and the wrath of God we deserved and lost His life,
and because the Lord and giver of Life gained His own life back in His own resurrection,
we have gained the righteousness and sanctification and wisdom of Christ.
We are wise Christ!
We have gained the status of children of God.
We belong now to God.
We always had. He created us, but sin, death, and the devil started to rip us away. But we are now redeemed and are going back to God.
We’re going home! We will return.
We’re going to be with our favorite Person in the world, Jesus! And all who belong to Him and His Father and His Holy Spirit.
Everlasting joy shall be upon our heads.
We’re going to go with singing, and we’re going to have joy that never ends.
We have all sorts of things weighing us down now, but then the thing that will be upon us will be joy and gladness and singing and dancing and glee and laughter – those things that lift up our hearts and make our hearts feel so great that it might be burst!
The things that we are looking forward to and reaching out for and waiting for, we will have – we shall obtain gladness and joy – we got it. He gave it us! It will finally all be there!
And the only thing that we will lose is sorrow and sighing. Joy will win the battle. Sorry and sighing shall flee away in retreat.
Death is gain.
The end is gain.
The world’s end is gain.
We are looking forward to the Bridegroom coming because He is our Bridegroom who loves us and made us His own.
That is our wisdom. Christ is our wisdom.
We do not have this wisdom by nature, but only receive it as the Holy Spirit calls us and enlightens and sanctifies us with the Word of God and gives us faith that we could not by our own reason of strength believe.
You need to keep receiving this wisdom lest you run out of oil and forget Who and what you are waiting for as He is delayed.
But He is not delayed in coming to be with you today and here.
He is not delayed in His warnings – Lord, Lord, open to us. But He answered, “Truly I say to you, I do not know you
Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!
And He is not delayed in His promises –
That He is the door. That you have entered through Him and found green pastures.
That you are His.
That He knows you and you know Him.
And there’s joy upon joy upon joy from being here with Him until that joy upon joy never ends being with Him and all who know Him forever.