Wise Virgins
Grace to you and
peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Ten virgins pure,
watching and waiting in the flickering light. Outwardly they were all clean and
undefiled. Nonetheless, these handmaidens of the Lord were overcome. Their
flesh was weak. They were seduced by sleep, enticed to slumber. Their eyes grew
heavy and they gave up, gave in. They quit fighting. They let the night have
its way with them. The oil’s light burned in vain while they satisfied their flesh
in slumber.
And then came the
midnight cry. It caught them unaware, their duties forgotten. The oil was gone.
They had forgotten to trim their lamps. And then the cry came, and then the
panic, and then the begging: “Give us some of yours!” But there was none to
spare. No one can believe for another. So out went the five fools into the
night, seeking to buy what can only be given. They returned empty-handed, too
late. The door was shut. Therefore, watch! Beware! Repent!
It is hard to stay
awake these sleepy days, as Peter and James and John know all too well. We
abide at the end of time. Temptation grows stronger deeper in the night. It
seems so futile to keep watch. We’ve waited already all our lives, and still He
has not come. There are pleasures all around, and no one seems to care if we
slip in a few winks or go off for a while, if we go and do those things that sinners
think to be their right. If we behave like the ancient men of Rome
or the modern men of New York or San Francisco or Amsterdam,
who would blame us? We are who we are. Must we really be so vigilant and suffer
through this night of days and months and years? Can’t we just have our fun and
then repent at the end? No. We cannot. That way leads to death. Now is the hour
of salvation. Even if Our Lord should continue to delay, no man knows when his
last hour will come. Repent before it is too late. Repent and watch.
And for the sake
of hope and confidence, notice this: all ten virgins fell asleep. All ten. All
ten were outwardly pure, yet all ten failed in their vigil. What made five wise
and five foolish? The wise still had oil. By the grace of God, despite their
weakness and self-pity, they never stopped believing that He would come. They
trimmed their lamps, and whatever little oil was left, it was enough. It was
multiplied like the widow’s oil in Zarephath. Their oil was given by God. For
if He desires to be greeted and ushered into the chamber by virgins pure, He
must create them. By grace, by what God supplied, five wise virgins were spared
the coming wrath and saved.
And so there is
hope even for us. You have not defiled yourself so gravely that you cannot be
cleansed. Your God has not forgotten you. He brought you here this day for a
purpose: to forgive you anew, to restore your purity, to recreate you
immaculate, strong in faith, undefiled, righteous and holy, and mostly wise. You
have the oil of faith, given in the waters of Holy Baptism. The world scoffs at
this true wisdom, but it comes from God: He is coming back.
He does all this
for and to you through His Word. By the Word He creates and restores. He called
you by Name in Holy Baptism. You were born in those waters from above and made
alive. He speaks these saving, cleansing words in the Scriptures, in the
absolution, in the preaching, in His Church. He feeds these Words made flesh to
you in the Holy Supper. He wants to be met on the last day with faith and
praise and rejoicing. His work outside the city gate will not be in vain. He
has not fallen asleep. He does not forget His promise. He still and always
loves you and makes you again virgin pure.
Concerning then
the time and the seasons, you have no need to know. Even Jesus doesn’t know.
All you need to know, the best and surest wisdom in all of creation, is that
the day is surely coming. It will come suddenly, unexpectedly, like a thief in
the night. God in His great love will steal you away from the darkness, death,
and chaos of this fallen world. He will pull you from your bed and trim your
lamp. You will again be pure and undefiled. You are not of the darkness or of
the night, no matter how sleepy and lazy you might feel. You are of the day.
You are of Jesus Christ.
So watch and wait.
Do not be afraid. Surely the day is drawing near. Even so, Lord Jesus, come
quickly! In the name of the Father and of the Son (†) and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen.
The
peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus always. Amen.
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