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“Wake! Awake!”
Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Philip Nicolai, the author of the hymn we just sang, was a Lutheran pastor in Germany a little more than 400 years ago. As he looked out the window of his study, he could see the parish graveyard. In the previous six months, he had buried well over a thousand of his church members because of the plague. The graveyard was filled with his flock—with God’s flock. As he looked out that window, the words of the Gospel reading for this day rang in his ears and in his mind. He put pen to paper and he wrote what is one of the greatest hymns the Church has ever possessed: “Wachet auf!” “Wake, awake!”
Truly the days were evil. In addition to the plague, war and bloodshed, sickness, death, and despair were all around. Things were getting so bad, it seemed like the earth was trying to swallow them up. Does that sound at all like our day? But in the midst of all the pain and suffering, there still was hope, and Nicolai clung to that hope with his whole being. Nicolai knew, as all faithful Christians know: in God, there is always hope.
And that was why, looking out over the graveyard, he could write, “‘Oh, where are ye, ye virgins wise? The Bridegroom comes, awake! Your lamps with gladness take! Alleluia! With bridal care yourselves prepare to meet the Bridegroom, who is near.’” These are the words the watchmen, the faithful preachers of the Word, have cried out in every generation. The troubles and struggles of this life are nothing when compared to God’s riches in Christ. Even death itself doesn’t matter.
But that is not understood by the foolish virgins in the Gospel reading nor the foolish people of every generation. They thought they could trim their lamps with the oil of faith later. Jesus, the Bridegroom, couldn’t possibly come in the middle of the night. That would make no sense. Surely He would come when it was convenient for them.
They were foolish. They believed they could control the Bridegroom. They thought they might even be able to read the mind of God Himself. But they couldn’t, and, as a result, they were left out of the eternal banquet feast. That’s what happens when you try to play games with God, when you ignore His warnings. God operates on His own time and in His own way.
The wise virgins understood this, as the faithful always have. They understood that the most important thing was faith. They understood that they would not be admitted to the wedding feast without the oil of faith, and that oil must be constantly replenished. If, on the last day, they came up empty, things would go very badly for them. They made sure they had oil; that was their only priority.
Let us say it plainly: There is but one way to be admitted to the great banquet feast in heaven, and that is by faith in Jesus Christ alone. There is but one way in which that faith is given, and that is through God’s Word and Holy Sacraments. And there is but one place where those gifts are available: in the Church. At the end of your life, what is really going to matter? Is faith in Christ the most important thing in your life? Or is faith something you put on the shelf and bring out when company is coming?
Trouble and affliction help put a lot of things into focus. We see and know well just how fragile life is. As we prayed in the Introit, “O Lord, make me know my end, and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am.” Life is fleeting, dear brothers and sisters in Christ. Life is fragile, and our only hope for life and salvation lies in Jesus Christ.
If we pretend that the things of faith do not matter, or that everything is just fine apart from Christ and the Gospel, then we do ourselves great spiritual harm. Many in this world act as if death will never come. Many pretend that only the things of this time and place truly matter. But this is not so. In a very real sense, the Christian faith begins where all other religions end: at death and the grave. Our hope is not in this world, but in the future glory that Christ gives His children in the resurrection from the dead. To be sure, we have glimpses of that glory now, but they are only glimpses; they aren’t, by any means, the whole story.
So, how do you know if you are ready for the end? If you look at yourself in the light of God’s Law, you know that you are not. But the whole point is that Christ calls us to look only at Him. The oil for the lamps was so that they could see the Bridegroom when He came. Christ wants us to call upon Him in every trouble, to look to Him for all good gifts and blessings, to know that it is His voice that will call us from the grave on that great Day of His return. That was how the wise virgins in the Gospel were ready. They were so ready, in fact, that they could rest peacefully while they waited. And that is what you are doing by being here today. This is your Sabbath rest, your time to be refreshed and refilled.
Because of the great work of Jesus on the cross and His promise to return for you, you may look at the rest of your life with hope. No matter what life throws in your way, nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus. We know that Christ is coming soon. We have heard His Word of promise, and we believe and trust in him. “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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