Did you know that in dream interpretation theory we are every single person and thing in our dreams? That by considering how the scene of the dream plays out from the perspective of each person and each object in the dream (from the leading character to the lamp to the end table) we discover more and more about ourselves and the “stuff” we happen to be dealing with at that moment.
If we enter the study of our dreams with an open mind, we can really learn a lot.
It’s hard and fruitful work.
Parables are a lot like dreams—we must crack them open to enter them…and if we’re honest, we can discover bits of ourselves in each and every character…Of course after a couple of months of parables from Matthew’s Gospel I’d understand if you all were just a bit sick and tired of working so darn hard to make heads or tails out of these stories.
The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids, formally known as the Parable of the Ten Virgins---you can elicit your own social commentary from THAT change----is a pretty harsh bit of prose; the bridesmaids are split into two distinct groups---wise and foolish.
I don’t know about you, but I rotate between wise and foolish hourly!
We are both wise and foolish, we are both sheep and goats, we are both wheat and chaff.
But, and here is the point----God doesn’t decide which group we’re in…
WE DO.
It’s easy to hear these readings in the march toward Advent as angry and violent challenges to our very faith. For generations, preachers have used this reading, and others like it, to scare to beejebbers out of people.
And that’s wrong. These readings aren’t about God rejecting us, these readings are about us, rejecting God.
This reading, and the many others like it we’ll hear for the next few weeks, aren’t telling us that we better straighten up and fly right or else we’ll be tossed out of the kingdom into the outer darkness where there is much wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Instead, these readings give us a glimpse into the heartbreak of Jesus at our inability to live life as true and real and full believers.
You see, Jesus’ time on earth was short and he worked hard to get his message that God loves us all, no exceptions, to fruition. He assumed that we would grab ahold of his message and never let go. That we would work tirelessly to bring God’s kingdom to reign here on earth by loving everyone, no exceptions….by fighting injustice, prejudice and hate…by feeding the hungry, by standing up for the very young, the very old, the very different and the very lost.
This is the work of Christ, work that we are to undertake at all times and in all circumstances…no exceptions.
Jesus the man walked the earth to model this behavior for us.
Jesus had been clear. Or so he thought.
Jesus had been fervent. Or so he thought.
Jesus had been compelling. Or so he thought.
But at this stage of Matthew’s Gospel, as Jesus is facing crucifixion, he’s not at all sure that his message has penetrated.
Has he been heard?
Will his message last?
Can his followers do it?
These questions must have haunted Jesus as he faced the final days of his earthly life.
So he got a little snarky.
Who can blame him?
He was waiting for his followers to step up and step in.
He’s still waiting.
My friends, the kingdom of God here on earth isn’t ushered in by chariots of fire.
It’s ushered in by us—by you and by me.
It’s up to us to claim the message of God given to us through Jesus Christ and make it our own.
God doesn’t force God’s kingdom upon the world. The world—you and me--- create God’s kingdom here on earth.
And the time is now.
This is what all this talk about not “knowing the day nor the hour is all about”---we don’t. We don’t know anything except right now. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. This afternoon not’s guaranteed, the next hour’s not guaranteed.
What would our world look like if we lived as if this was it; if we lived in a state of constant alertness—of perpetual open-ness to the Spirit’s movement?
What would our world look like if we turned all that we are and all that we have over to God, praying for God’s guidance every single moment of every single day?
Now hear me out, I’m not saying that we lay back and say, “God will take care of it all,” I mean joining God in creating heaven right here on earth. Creating a world where justice flows like a river and the dignity of every single human being is respected. I mean doing the work Jesus showed us, I mean doing the work Jesus left for us to do. I mean getting busy with THAT work, right now.
We can do it.
We really can.
But we need to do it NOW.
I challenge each and everyone of you to commit, right here and right now, to pray, each and every day, for the courage to do God’s will in all that you do and for the Wisdom to know what is God’s will and what, in fact is our will. How you do this is up to you, but what would our little corner of the world look like if, each and every day we began the day by saying: “God, help me to see you in all whom I encounter today, help me to be your instrument in this world.”
You see, bringing the Kingdom of God to fruition on earth isn’t a job for a select few, it’s a job for the select many…it’s a job for the select all…because, the fact of the matter is this:
God doesn’t decide whether we are in or out.
God doesn’t decide if we are wise or foolish.
We do.
Some days we’re foolish, some days we’re wise but every day, every single day of our lives, we are the beloved Children of God, guaranteed a seat at the heavenly banquet. The question isn’t whether we’re in or out, the question is whether we’re willing to stay.
Amen.
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