The End Is Near.
That’s an exciting way to begin a sermon. I use it somewhat tongue in check, not to indicate the imminence of Jesus’ return or the end of the world – though with the gospel reading for today, it would be understandable if you leapt to that conclusion. But the end is near – the end of the liturgical year. We are coming to the end of the church’s calendar and we will soon, with the beginning of the Advent season, begin a new year. But now, in these last few weeks before advent, the lectionary readings take a turn toward the eschatological – things related to death, judgement and the end.
I grew up in an Evangelical church, and for many evangelical Christians in America there is a peculiar fascination with all things eschatological. I grew up with those heightened apocalyptic expectations. I vividly recall being at the church building with my parents and not knowing where they were and being scared that I had missed the rapture – at least until I heard their voices again. I still remember dreams that I had as a young boy of volcanoes and blood falling from the sky, dreams that could rival the visions of John recorded in the book of Revelation.
As a young minister, I spent a lot of time studying the prophetic and apocalyptic books of the bible, reading commentaries on, watching documentaries on the various interpretations, and going conferences on the topic. I even spoke at a couple of conferences dealing the study of eschatology. I was fascinated with the subject.
But these days I’m less interested in apocalyptic speculation. Less interested, but not disinterested., I still am. The novels that I’ve written, especially my first, have a decided influence from the apocalyptic genre. My interest has waned but not disappeared completely. Meanwhile, the Christian community these days, at least in America, is fired up on the topic again. It seems to flare up with regularity every time there is renewed conflict in the Middle East. I see many of my friends on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) posting memes and messages about the soon expected coming of Jesus. When I listen to Christian radio, I hear them talking about the thrill of “living in these last days…” And, honesty, I find a lot of what they are saying and posting to be a little disturbing. I’m not sure I trust people whose religious faith is excited by the imminent expectation of the end of the world.
So I come to this parable of Jesus with mixed feelings. I like the topic and still find it fascinating. But I also find it wearisome. Tiring and thrilling at the same time. I’m difficult. I know.
“The Kingdom of Heaven will be like this: Ten wedding attendants took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom and the bride.” This is how Jesus’ parable recorded in Matthew 25: 1 – 13 begins. And already we have some difficulties to examine. The first thing we should note is that most English translations stop with “the bridegroom.” A few include a footnote to indicate that “other ancient authorities add and the bride.” The bride is missing from some manuscripts, “probably because the ‘bridegroom’ was understood as an allegorical reference to Christ, and the copyist could see no way of fitting the bride into the allegory (Johnson 556).”
First – this is a parable and not an allegory. Allegories need a specific referent. The novel Animal Farm by George Orwell is an allegory about the Russian Revolution of 1917. John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress is an allegory of the spiritual life from baptism through trials to heaven. Allegories need a specific referent. Parables do not. Parables don’t need a point by point comparison, this equals that, in order to be understood. They are simple stories that point beyond themselves to greater truths.
But the Church got stuck reading this particular parable as an allegory of Jesus as the Bridegroom and the sudden appearance of the bridegroom at midnight as the Parousia - the expected second coming of Christ, and eventually ‘the bride’ dropped out of the parable. For how could Jesus, the bridegroom, come with his bride, the church, at his second coming?
The allegorical interpretation was fleshed out, point by point, to make the foolish Virgins, or maidens a reference to Israel and the wise Virgins, or maidens to Gentile believers – further exacerbating the tensions between Jews and Christians over the years. (Jeremias 51 - 53) Interpreted thusly, the parable is used to encourage believers to not fall asleep – like the Jews, or other non-believers, so that we can be ready when Christ appears to receive his bride at the rapture or the second coming. (Never mind the fact that the story clearly says that all ten of the waiting virgins, both the foolish and the wise) fell asleep as they waited…)
Maybe the confusion is to be expected. After all Jesus said that he taught the people with parables so that they would not understand. His disciples asked why he taught the people using parables and Jesus said, “The reason I talk to them in parables sis that they look without seeing and listen with hearing or understanding. So in their case what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah is being fulfilled: Listen and listen, but never understand! Look and look, but never perceive! This people’s heart has grown coarse, their ears dulled, they have shut their eyes tight to avoid using their eyes to see, their ears to hear, their heart to understand…” Matthew 13: 10 - 15
But all of this is going astray. If we keep in mind that it’s a parable – and not an allegory – and that in the story the bridegroom is coming with his bride we can read it as an occasion of joy and festivities with shouts of rejoicing and mirth and the voices of the bridegroom and the bride proceeding through the city. (Jeremiah 7:34). It is an elaborate procession with the bridegroom and bride decked out as the King and Queen, carried on a palanquin of wood from Lebanon, with posts of silver and a canopy of gold. They are surrounded by their friends and families dressed as champions and swordsmen (Song of Solomon 3: 7-11)
Ten wedding attendants went out to wait for the procession, but the wedding party was delayed and the attendants fell asleep. But at midnight, the cry went up. “Look! The bridegroom! Go and meet him!”
The attendants snapped awake and readied themselves to go join the festivities. But five of them had come unprepared, with no extra oil. Their smoking, sputtering, smoldering wicks would not light. “Share some of your oil with us,” the foolish ones said to the others who’d wisely brought extra oil. But they replied, “There might not be enough for all of us. Run quickly to the oil merchant (the oil merchant is open at midnight?!) and buy some.
And while they were off buying more oil, the wedding party arrived and everyone went into the house for the feast. When the foolish attendants returned, with their lamps burning brightly now, they begged for the door to be opened so that they could join the party. But the bridegroom said to them. “I don’t know you,” and the door stayed closed.
There’s no need for fearful apocalyptic, eschatological expectations here. And definitely no need to slur and vilify people of the Jewish faith. The Kingdom of God is like this: those who are ready and prepared will enter and be welcomed to the party. Those who are not ready and prepared will remain unknown and outside the door.
Some might have difficulty with the seeming finality of that that “I do not know you.” But another teaching of Jesus recorded in the gospel of Matthew ends the same way. In chapter 7 Jesus told his disciples, “It is not anyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ who will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven. When the day comes many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophecy in your name, drive out demons in your name, work many miracles in your name?’ Then I shall tell them to their faces: I have never known you.” (Matthew 7: 21 – 23)
Many who think they belong, who are prophesying in his name, who are driving out demons, who are preaching sermons, who are waiting for the coming of Christ will find that they have missed the boat because they haven't been doing the will of the father.
A few days ago – November 7th- would have been the birthday of the French existentialist philosopher, journalist, and author, Albert Camus. In a quote that is attributed to him (but for which I cannot find the source) he said, “You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.” We won’t know the kingdom of God if we’re sitting around waiting for the kingdom of God. To know (and be known in) the kingdom of God is to hear the message of Christ and act on it. Do the will of God. Do the work of the Kingdom. Feed the hungry. Give drink to the thirsty. Welcome the stranger. Clothe the naked. Visit the sick and the imprisoned. (Matthew 25: 31 – 46)
The Kingdom of Heaven is like this: Some of those who are waiting to see it will miss it because they are not ready to see it. Listening and listening, they will not hear it. Looking and looking they will not see it. And when the cry goes up, they won’t get in the door because they haven’t understood. So watch and be ready. Do the will of the father.
Jeremias, Joachim. The Parables of Jesus. New York,
NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons. 1972. Print.
Johnson, Sherman E. “The Gospel According to St. Matthew: Exegesis.”
The Interpreter’s Bible Volume VII. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press. 1951.
Print.
No comments:
Post a Comment