The Wise and Foolish Virgins, He Qi
“People Get Ready”
November 9, 2014
Proper 27 A
Homily preached at Trinity Episcopal Church
Ashland, Oregon
8:00 a.m. spoken Mass
The ten
virgins or bridesmaids, otherwise called the Parable of the Closed Door, is a
story rich in images, echoes, and memory triggers:
“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be
like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise.”
“No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the
bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may
see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. [Mt 5:15-16]
You are the salt of the
earth; but if the salt has lost its taste [lit. "become foolish"], how can its saltiness be restored? It
is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. [Mt
5:13]
Everyone then who hears
these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise person who built their house on rock. … And everyone who
hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish person who built their house
on sand. [Mt 7:24-27]
But then there is this: “But if you think that you are wise in
this age, you should become fools so that you may become wise. For the
wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.”
“The foolish ones took their lamps but did not
take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their
lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and
fell asleep.”
In
the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus came back from agonized prayer to find his closest
disciples all sleeping: “So, could you not stay awake with me one hour?”
At midnight the cry rang out: “Here’s the
bridegroom! Come out to meet him!” Then
all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the
wise, “Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.”
A smoldering
wick he will not snuff out —
“No,” they replied, “there may not be enough for
both us and you.”
Give
to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow
from you —
“Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some
for yourselves.”
Jesus
answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the
poor.”
But while they were on their way to buy the oil,
the bridegroom arrived.
In
the city of God, they will not need the light of a lamp, for the Lord God will
give them light.
The virgins who were ready went in with him to
the wedding banquet.
But
many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first. –
And the door was shut.
“Woe
to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door to
kingdom of heaven peoples’ faces.
Later the others also came. “Sir! Sir!” they
said. “Open the door for us!”
But he replied, “I tell you the truth, I don’t
know you.”
If
a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be
answered.
(Most of these images were developed by Episcopal Priest
David Henson: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davidhenson/2014/11/the-breaking-of-the-bridesmaids-how-scripture-undermines-a-parable/#ixzz3IOZPjGCC)
When I was growing up in a Mormon family, this parable was a major
part of how I was taught to live as a Christian. The wise virgins were good, the foolish,
bad. The oil couldn’t be shared because
it was a symbol for spiritual preparation, what we called “having a
testimony.” I wanted to be wise. I knew I needed to stay a virgin, at least
till I was married. I needed to work
hard to convince myself of the truth of the faith: pray, serve in church
callings, follow the commandments. That
way, I’d have the Holy Ghost in my heart, would know the Gospel was true,
and no matter what trials and
temptations came my way, I’d have the strength to endure to the end, be a wise
virgin, and in the end party with Jesus.
I think that summarizes how most of us grew up with this parable,
at least in some sense. I think it
probably captures how St. Matthew in his Gospel understood it: it is an allegory on spiritual preparation,
with a major emphasis on good works.
And, as far as it goes, that is a good message: while you’re able, do as much as you can to
do good deeds and service, pray, resist temptation, and pray. That way, you’ll be stronger when bad times come.
But I wonder if this somewhat conventional morality and
works-based spirituality is all there is to the matter of preparation. You can’t really praise those wise virgins
for being so stingy with their oil. And
you have to wonder about the bridegroom: why can’t he cut these poor girls some
slack and let them in: he, after all, was the one who was late, not them.
The Wise and Foolish Virgins, Sadao Watanabe
Most scholars think that this parable as it is told does not go
back to the historical Jesus. It doesn’t
have the surprise ending, the edgy point of comparison, the simplicity that we
have come to recognize in the parables that clearly come from our Lord in his
life. It is hard to tell what parable of Jesus lies
behind this story in Matthew.
Whatever its form, in the life of Jesus, such a story would not
have been about what we call the second coming of Jesus. It would have been about how people reacted
to Jesus’ announcing of the Kingdom of God.
It is about decision, not preparation.
That closed door at the end of the story on Jesus’ lips is a symbol
saying “Don’t wait until it’s too late.”
As far as preparation goes, I personally think that those wise
ones need to share their oil and their light.
Acts of mercy and kindness are ways that the spirit reveals God.
The foolish ones need to stay put even with lamps sputtering out,
rather than leave in search of oil. Dry
times will come in our spiritual lives, be sure of that. But be equally sure that leaving and
wandering in the night on the off chance of finding a store that is open that
might, just might, sell you new batteries, is not a good strategy for dealing
with dryness and depleted spiritual life.
Hanging in there and redoubling efforts might be a smarter choice.
I also think that if we are talking about spiritual preparation,
the groom in this story needs to be a little more generous and hospitable for an
event that he is late for. The key is
the phrase “I don’t recognize you; I don’t even know who you are. “
In my same Mormon youth, I was told a story about what it means to
be known by God. It came from the diary
of a Mormon pioneer to the South of Utah, the so-called “Dixie Mission,” name
Joseph Millet. In his diary, he tells of
an experience of helping a neighbor that happened in 1871:
“…one of my children came in and said that Brother Newton Hall’s folks were out of bread. Had none that day. I put … our flour in sack to send up to [them]. Just then, [he] came in. Says I, “…[H]ow are you out for flour?” “Brother Millet, we have none.” “Well, … there is some in that sack. I have divided and was going to send it to you. Your children told mine that you were out.” Brother Hall began to cry. Said he had tried others. Could not get any. Went to the cedars and prayed … and the Lord told him to go to Joseph Millett. “Well, … you needn’t bring this back if the Lord sent you for it. You don’t owe me for it.” You can’t tell me how it made me feel to know that the Lord knew there was such a person as Joseph Millett.” (as recounted in Eugene England. "Great Books or True Religion," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 9:4 [Winter 1974] 36-49).
I was once told that something I had done was a direct answer to
someone’s prayer. I suspect that all of you have had similar
experiences. God knows us and loves us
all. We realize this great truth more
and more as we act as God’s hands in the word, loving, and serving, and
sacrificing ourselves for others. It’s
all about faith, trust, hanging in there, loving others, and never giving
up.
Curtis
Mayfield’s song, “People get ready” says it all:
People get ready, there's a train comin'
You don't need no baggage, you just get on board
All you need is faith to hear the diesels hummin'
You don't need no ticket you just thank the Lord
… There ain't no room for the hopeless sinnerwho would hurt anyone just to save his own
Have pity on those whose chances grow thinner
For there is no hiding place from the King on his throne.
I pray
that all of us can come to know in our hearts that God knows us and loves
us. Such knowledge is the best
preparation of all.
In the
name of Christ, Amen.
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