Another
parable, another wedding banquet.
as
I mentioned last week, the paperwork for the wedding was done, and at a later
time the groom would go and get the bride from her family residence and bring
him back to his family; and there was a party.
The
bridesmaids would be friends of the bride, unmarried, so possibly a bit younger
than the bride. The bridesmaids would be waiting for the bride and groom to
join the party. But in this story, the groom comes on his own. The implication is
that Christ is returning for his bride, the church.
There
are a few stories in the gospels about ‘the end times’, and how we need to be
ready when Jesus returns to earth.
This
parable can be understood as being about the end times, Jesus return is
delayed, and we need to be ready and not lose faith.
I
have some concerns about this understanding of the parable – for one, what does
it tell us about the Kingdom of heaven? be ready or get locked out?
What
about the girls with oil not sharing with this without oil?
Is
Jesus really running that late!
Jesus
the good shepherd who left 99 to find the one lost sheep locks out half the
Bridesmaids and refuses to answer the door?
But,
What
if
-
it isn't about oil, but about being there
- it is about being, and waiting, in the darkness
, for Jesus is the light,
-
instead of searching for our own solutions, we wait for Jesus?
-
it is about having our own spiritual life, so we are ready to serve when needed.
Here
is a story from a colleague:
A
few years ago, to help out another pastor who had to be out of town that day, I
officiated at a wedding at a very nice hotel. The hotel scheduled a wedding in
the same room every two hours.
The
bride and groom were concerned because the bride’s family had a history of
somebody or another being late for everything—always running behind. And, sure
enough, the wedding rehearsal ran way behind because people were late.
..
But
the bride and groom had a plan for the wedding day. They asked everybody to
show up an hour early. And it worked.
Until
the Father of the Bride (Yes the Father of the Bride) . . . went home to get
something that somebody in the wedding party had forgotten.
He
ran into bad traffic—and wasn’t back when the wedding was supposed to start.
The hotel’s wedding coordinator insisted that the wedding had to start on time
so that we would be out of the room in time for the next wedding.
When
I joked that I’d never been to a wedding that started on time (I said it with a
smile, but I think it was true), the wedding coordinator looked at me and said
VERY seriously, “then you’ve never been to a wedding HERE.”
We
managed to stall a little longer, but at about quarter after the wedding
coordinator insisted the wedding start. And, with the Father of the Bride stuck
in traffic, the Bride’s uncle walked her up the aisle.
The
problem wasn’t that some member of the bridal party left something at home,
because the wedding went on without it. The problem was that the Father of the
Bride left, and didn’t get to walk his daughter up the aisle.
The
Bridesmaid’s problem wasn’t that they ran out of oil. The problem was that they
LEFT.
[from
Jay Egenes – narrative lectionary Facebook group]
…..
The
bridesmaids left to find oil; but the role of the bridesmaid was to be there to
welcome and celebrate with the bride and groom.
The
bridesmaids forgot their purpose, forgot WHO they were waiting for, distracted
by the discussion about oil and lamps.
What
is our role, what is our purpose as people of God?
What
distracts us from our purpose?
……………………
I am
thinking about how these parables flip common wisdom on its head. We can spend
our time in being prepared for every eventuality, making sure we get paid the
correct amount, etc; yet the kingdom is not like that. The kingdom is strange
and so different to our reality .
I read
something yesterday on this parable about sitting in the darkness.
I wonder
if sometimes instead of trying to find our own light, we need to sit in the
(dim) light that others provide while we wait for healing/ daybreak and Jesus
to be light in our lives.
All
the parables we have heard so far during Lent, encourage us to rethink our
basic values.
While
we are told that we should get away with whatever we can; the kingdom value is
offering forgiveness in response to our own forgiveness.
While
we are told that different people are worth different amounts, a CEO gets many
times the wages of a cleaner, and some people have too much work and some not
enough; but in the kingdom everyone has work and everyone receives enough to
live.
While
we are told that we should make sure we have friends in the right places, and
that revenge is sweet; the kingdom of heaven is a kingdom of peace, where all
are valued.
A kingdom
of grace and generosity and peace. a kingdom built on relationship.
let us
pray:
Prayer
of the Day
You do
not want us
to be
ignorant of your
dreams
and hopes for us,
God of
holiness,
so you
speak to us in parables,
so we
might pay careful attention
to
your words;
you
tell us stories about
our
grandparents in the faith,
so we
might become mentors
to our
grandchildren, and theirs.
Filling
us with the holy oil
of
generosity and grace,
you
make us ready to welcome
Jesus
Christ into our lives,
and to
open our hearts
to
those who are in need.
On
this day, we choose to serve you,
God in
Community, Holy in One,
….
