This past Sunday I had the joyous privilege of preaching on the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins (St. Matthew 25:1-13), the traditional Holy Gospel among Lutherans for the last Sunday of the Church Year. It is a magnificent Word of the Lord, profoundly savored in the Hymn of the Day, the “King of the Chorales,” Philipp Nicolai’s glorious “Wake, Awake, for Night Is Flying” (LSB 516). We also sang Johann Walter’s beautiful hymn, “The Bridegroom Soon Will Call Us” (LSB 514), the final stanza of which is surely one of my all-time favorites.
With His Parable, the Lord admonishes one and all to be alert and ready, watching and waiting for His appearing, when He shall come as the Bridegroom to lead home His Bride, the Church. That is indeed a timely Word and warning, as that great and final Day is drawing near, closer to us now than when we first believed. For those who are prepared and ready by faith in Christ Jesus, it will be a day of Redemption and Salvation (St. Luke 21:28; Romans 13:11). For those who are unprepared, it will be day of wrath and woe (Zephaniah 1:14-15; Revelation 6:12-17).
The contrast as presented in the Parable is one of wisdom vs. foolishness, a familiar distinction from many and various places throughout the Holy Scriptures. In general, we know that the fear of the Lord is the foundation, heart, and center of all true wisdom (Proverbs 9:10; Psalm 111:10). But our dear Lord catechizes us in some additional contours of this living and active wisdom, as He describes and distinguishes the wise and foolish virgins (or bridesmaids) in this Holy Gospel. There are a number of those points worth ruminating on as we watch and wait upon the Lord.
First of all, being alert and ready for the coming of the Bridegroom does not mean keeping yourself awake and working 24/7, pulling constant all-nighters, never resting but always going, going, going. That is evident from the fact that both the wise and the foolish grow drowsy and fall asleep. So, too, there is both waking and sleeping in the rhythm of this life, a Sabbath rest that remains for the people of God, and finally your death and departure from this mortal coil.
The key to watching and waiting on the Lord with wisdom is in having the necessary oil for your lamp. That is the point on which the Parable hinges. The lamp itself is best understood as your body and life in this world – your mouth and hands and feet, your words and actions – whereby you are to glorify the Bridegroom and let your light so shine before your neighbors round about. But the lamp is useless apart from the oil, which is what actually fuels the lamp, burns, and gives light. And that oil is the Word and Spirit of Christ Jesus, His Gospel of forgiveness, His free gift of life and salvation, generously poured out for you through the Ministry of His Means of Grace.
You fill your lamp with oil – you are well stocked and well prepared with the oil you need to let your lamp burn brightly – by hearing and receiving the Gospel in Word and Sacrament from “the dealers” whom Christ our Lord has called, ordained, and sent to administer His gifts in His Name and stead. And while it is incumbent upon every Christian to confess the faith and speak the Gospel, it is especially the ministers of Christ who are entrusted with the stewardship of these Mysteries; which is why evangelism often begins with sharing the Word with your neighbor, but then it continues by bringing your neighbor to church and introducing him or her to your pastor.
And that brings me to another significant aspect of the Parable: Both the wise and the foolish are in groups. They are not described as isolated individuals but in groups. There is a community of wisdom, and there is a community of foolishness. And it is simply a fact that the company you keep – the crowd that you follow and hang out with – has a great deal of influence on your faith and life in this world, whether it be marked by wisdom or by foolishness. So it is fundamental that the Christian faith and life are nourished and sustained within the Holy Communion of the Church, the Body and Bride of Christ Jesus. Be among those who share His Wisdom together.
The life that you live within the fellowship of your congregation now echoes the fellowship that you share with the whole Kingdom of God by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. Accordingly, in the way that you approach and receive the Lord’s Supper here and now within His Church on earth, so do you anticipate the Wedding Feast of the Lamb, of which the Sacrament of the Altar is a blessed Foretaste. There are we gathered with saints and angels and all the host of heaven, all hearts, minds, eyes, and ears focused on Christ Jesus at the center, the Lamb upon His Throne.
He is the One who calls you to Himself in love, who comes to you in love by the Ministry of His Gospel, in order to bring you home in love as a dear member of His Holy Bride. It is His Lamp, His Body and Life, which burns so brightly with His perfect Faith and holy Love, whereby He enlightens you and lights your way. And as He was well-prepared and ready when His Father called, and as He perfectly fulfilled His duty when that Day and that Hour came upon Him, so does His Word and Holy Spirit fill you and clothe you, within and without, with His Wisdom.