November 9, 2014: May God’s words alone be spoken, may God’s words alone be heard. Amen.
Welcome to Advent. Now, I know what you are thinking – what? It isn’t Advent. The choir and Bill don’t need to panic…we aren’t any closer to Christmas Eve than we were a moment ago. But, nevertheless, we are in Advent – or at least, we used to celebrate Advent beginning this Sunday. According to The Advent Project, a group of liturgical scholars, “In its origin, the season of Advent was nearly seven weeks. […] a four-week Advent in Rome [wasn’t introduced until ]… the seventh century, but [it]…was not widely adopted in other Western churches until the twelfth or thirteenth century. [And while] the Orthodox still observe a longer Advent, …by the time of the 16th-century Western reformations, few [in the Western church] remembered that Advent had once been longer…” And if you think about it, a seven week Advent makes good sense in the calendar of the church. Advent is the beginning of the church year, a time when we anticipate the coming of Christ into the world – the second time, and the first time. Then we move into Epiphany, where we come to understand who Christ is, Lent when we begin the walk to Jerusalem with him, Holy Week as we stand in the shadow of the cross, Easter as we celebrate the joy of the resurrection, Pentecost – the time of the Holy Spirit at work in the world in us and through us, and finally All Saints, where we celebrate those who came before us, who walked the path of Christ. And of course we are now on the millionth day after Pentecost.
On a side note – the celebration of Christ the King is actually a late comer to the liturgical calendar, starting in 1925, and not universally celebrated. Thanksgiving, for its part, while a wonderful holiday, is not a Christian holiday – people of all faiths celebrate it in this country.
Still, how would anyone know that this used to be Advent, save for someone liturgical geek like myself saying so? One look at our gospel readings for the next few weeks tells us that it is. We know that, even in our four week Advent, we begin with the second coming of Christ, a time of the reign of God. Well, our lectionary actually takes that turn this Sunday. Today until the third Sunday of our present four week Advent, the gospel takes an omnious tone. First, Jesus begins to tell everyone, using parables, that those who are not prepared, are not doing the work of God, they will be split off from the those who do. There is no noticeable difference between the in group and the out group on the outside, but their actions or inactions determine their fate. This week it is the bridesmaids, next week the slaves given talents to manage, the following about those who care for the poor, the marginalized, the outcast, and those who don’t. On Advent 1, Jesus warns us about the day of his second coming, saying “In those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.” Sounds like a great time, right? I wonder why there aren’t carols about this. Advent 2 brings John the Baptist warning us to be prepared for the coming of Christ – the first time, at his birth. Finally on Advent 3 the tone lightens up to the story of the annunciation.
So, what does all this mean? Are the stores right to put up Christmas decorations right after Halloween – well let’s not go there. But, I have to say that I don’t really mind that at all. And here is why…it has a lot to do with the message of this really strange gospel.
In this parable, Jesus likens the kingdom of heaven to a wedding. There were 10 bridesmaids – talk about your crazy big wedding. Anyway, he tells us that 5 were wise, and 5 were foolish. That is the only distinction – there was no way to know from outward appearance, just by their actions. And, even their actions were all basically the same, right? All of them went to meet the groom (and presumably the bride – as would be customary at that time), all fell asleep waiting for the groom who was really, really late. All woke to go out to meet him when he came near. The only difference was that some had oil remaining because they brought extra, and others had lamps that were going out because they did not bring enough oil.
There are a whole lot of issues I have with this parable, beginning with the groom. I mean, folks like to talk about Bridezillas, but seriously. This groom reminds me a bit of a story a friend shared with me about a woman, who after waiting more than an hour and a half for her date, decided she had been stood up. She changed from her best dinner dress into her pajamas and slippers, fixed herself snack and resigned herself to an evening of TV. No sooner had she flopped down in front of the TV than her doorbell rang. There stood her date. He took one look at her and gasped, “I’m two hours late … and you’re still not ready?” If it was just the groom, and not the bride with him, then this marriage is in for some mighty big trouble.
But seriously, the idea that the Kingdom of Heaven would be about not sharing what you have with others or shutting people out is a bit hard to swallow, right? So, is the point that we should all be good boy scouts and girl scouts – always be prepared? Well, that has been the general sense of this story, and it is understandable too.
When this gospel was written, the author was living in a post-temple world. The temple of Jerusalem – the central foundation of the entire Jewish faith – had been destroyed a second time. Many thought that this was the signal that the paraousia – the return of Christ – was imminent. They expected it would happen immediately, and we see that in St. Paul’s writings. In his letter to the church in Thessalonika, the oldest of any New Testament scripture, and part of which we heard today, St. Paul is dealing with people who are concerned that some people have literally died waiting for Christ’s return. What will happen to them? They are anxious. St. Paul assures them that whether Christ returns in our lifetime, or at a later date, everyone – dead or alive – will be brought into communion with him. He did not, by the way, ever intimate this crazy notion of what is now called the rapture, leading to loads of “Left Behind” propaganda. No one is left behind.
And that, my friends, is what bothers me about this gospel. I have to say that none of these characters are people I want to emulate. The foolish bridesmaids don’t humbly ask to borrow some oil, but rather demand it of the others. The wise ones apparently never heard Jesus talking about sharing what you have with those in need (a parable we hear in two weeks). And for the groom’s part – what gives? He was late and the cause of all the problems in the first place, and now, when those other ones have gone out to try to get what is needed, they are refused entry to the party? Really?
But let’s look at this story from a different angle. Taking it in the context of the other stories we will hear in the next two weeks, and remembering what was happening at the time of its composition, let’s look at the last line. After the parable, after all this talk about oil, Jesus says “Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” Wait…shouldn’t that be “Be prepared” not “Keep awake?” Even the “wise” bridesmaids slept, so…huh?
What if we look at this as a tale, like the ones to follow in this Advent period, that is about just how similar we all are – we have all been the wise and the foolish and even the late. And, we sometimes are distracted by the glitter of parties and our own desires, but fail to see – really see something fundamental to who we are. In other words – what happened when everyone was asleep?
Sleep is important, it is restorative, but when we sleep, our eyes are closed – we cannot see what is around us. While we rest, the world does not stop turning. I remember one of my seminary professors, the Rev. Patrick Malloy who teaches liturgy, saying that WWJD – What would Jesus do? – seen all over these days on bumper stickers, hats, jewelry – it’s all wrong! It isn’t WWJD, it’s WIJD. What IS Jesus doing. This whole idea of waiting for the return of Christ isn’t a call to sit by while our lamp oil burns. It is about recognizing what Jesus calls us to do in the parables to follow. In next week’s gospel lesson, the slave who hid away the talents so that they could be safe wasn’t praised by Christ, but the ones who risked losing it all to increase profit was considered wise. And two weeks from now is the gospel we all understand – that when we feed the hungry and clothe the poor, we do this for Christ himself. The bridesmaids who burned their oil could easily be the ones who risked the talents, and the bridesmaids who brought extra but did not share, are the goats of the other lesson.
The message of this week’s gospel isn’t about hoarding what we have, but recognizing that we have enough, no matter how low the oil may be. It is having the faith of the Jewish people at the time of the rededication of the 2nd temple, the one destroyed before the writing of this gospel. At that rededication, the light that had only oil for one night lasted for 8. That is what the Hanukkah celebrates. This could not have been lost on the Jewish audience of Matthew. Why did the foolish ones feel a need for more oil, or the wise ones bring extra, when it would be provided. Their eyes were closed to the way God works in the world. Their hopes set on some future arrival when right there – Jesus was already lighting up the place! The people of Jesus’ day were so focused on a long awaited Messiah they couldn’t see the one standing right in front of them! This isn’t about oil – no oil needed when the light of the world is in your midst. It is about understanding our own mystery of faith – Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.
Christ was, IS, and is to come all at the same time. We are not called to sleep, but to be awake, to take our light into the world knowing that the oil of the Holy Spirit will enflame the light of Christ that each of us bear into the world. We don’t have to do it all by ourselves. We aren’t meant to hoard, or to shut out, or to worry about how we will do the work, but to trust that we are good enough, to let go and allow the Spirit to guide us, to stay awake and see the Jesus that is with us here, now, and always. He’s not late to the party!
See, the question to ask is…was the kingdom of heaven inside of those exclusionary doors, the ones with the late groom and selfish bridesmaids? Or, were the ones left outside foolish for wanting to get in, rather than taking their light out into the darkness to share with the world in the model of Christ. Maybe the kingdom of heaven Jesus is describing is what lay outside the walls of that wedding feast…and the foolish bridesmaids were too focused on the doors, not to see it.
“Here’s the deal: Jesus [is here] today, and it’s possible we [are] so asleep that we [don’t] notice… Jesus [is] here today. Jesus was here yesterday. And Jesus is going to be here tomorrow. So where will we find him? If we’re awake and alert, we’ll find Jesus in the prisons, along the highways, in our schools, in our neighborhoods, at the food bank, in the soup kitchen, at the office, in the hospital, and so on. ”[1]
In Advent, we wait in hope, but as we wait, we are not to sleep. We are to prepare ourselves, to seek Christ, and to bring the light of Christ to others. Don’t be caught off-guard by thinking this Advent stuff happens after Thanksgiving. The truth is, whether it is four weeks or seven weeks liturgically, we are always in Advent. We are a people who wait in hope, with eyes wide open, and our lamps of Christ’s love ready to share with the world.
And that is why I really don’t mind it when stores start Christmas early. Sometimes, I like to listen to Advent and Christmas music for months on end. Why? Because, as we learn in this story, Jesus is always born anew in us, we can never sleep and tie Jesus in a neat little bow that we bring out in our crèches at Advent. One of my favorite Advent hymns is O Come, O Come Emmanuel, and it is based on the more ancient O Antiphons of Advent, of which there are…you guessed it – seven! The verses in the more modern hymn closely resembles those of the seven O antiphons, though in a different order, and the one that is first in those ancient chants is about Wisdom. Our hymn puts it this way:
“O come, Thou Wisdom from on high, And order all things, far and nigh; To us the path of knowledge show, And cause us in her ways to go.”
In many ways, whether we celebrate a four or seven week Advent, it really doesn’t matter…so long as we are always expectant, always waiting in hope, always carrying the light of Christ within us, walking the path of Wisdom into a dark and hungry world.
Amen.
[1] [The sermon as written may not be as delivered on any given Sunday]The Rev. Diana Wilcox
Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge
November 2, 2014
Pent 22 – Proper 27 – Year A – Track 1
1st Reading – Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25
Psalm 78:1-7
2nd Reading – 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Gospel – Matthew 25:1-13
