Running on Empty

Matthew 25:1-13
“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.²Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.³When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them;⁴but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.⁵As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept.⁶But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’⁷Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps.⁸The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’⁹But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’¹⁰And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut.¹¹Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’¹²But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’¹³Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

 

“I’m getting married in the morning. Ding, dong the bells are gonna chime! Pull out the stopper, and let’s have whopper. But get me to the church…(Sing with me!) Get me to the church. So get me to the church…ON TIME! Bravo! Give yourselves a hand!

One thing that all of my friends, and most acquaintances know about me is my flair for the dramatic. In fact, one of my life’s goals in high school was to become a professional actor. I loved the theatre…and still do for that matter. One of my favorite musicals is “My Fair Lady.” And one of my favorite musical numbers in that show was “Get Me to the Church on Time." Today’s gospel text reminds me of that song—and as I read it more closely I imagined 5 of these 10 bridesmaids singing that song on their way to the wedding.

But after further reflection, and a little study of early wedding practices in Palestine, I realized that even if, by some odd chance, these bridesmaids had been singing—I’m sure it wasn’t this song after all. The fact is, that in Palestinian villages weddings were at night, and the bridegroom could show up unexpectedly. All he had to do was send a runner ahead to shout, "Behold the bridegroom is coming," and the waiting bridal party had to be ready. In this case the clock was tolling twelve ~ midnight. “Here I come ready or not” he shouted ~ and then the door to the church was shut!

So what is the gospel writing really trying to say in this parable? Well, in order to understand that, we must dig a little deeper into what was going on in the community. The writer of the gospel of Matthew was certainly dealing with the discouragement of early Christians. They had been told that Christ would be coming back very soon—but the fact was, it had been over 40 years since this promise, and still Christ had not returned. Matthew was preparing them for such a delay. Yet it was how they would wait for Christ’s return, for the bridegroom that was the crucial message. I think that this parable was a lesson about patience. In fact, the word for patience comes from the Latin word "patior" which means to suffer.

Patience is the ability and willingness to wait a long time or to carry out a task that takes a long time. It also means not easily getting angry in situations of human interactions where the other is unreasonable. It is commonly referred to as a virtue.

The story says that five bridesmaids were wise and five were foolish. It does not say that five were good and five were bad. In fact, when it came to their external appearance, there was no difference. They all carried the same lamps; they all wore the same dresses, they all drifted off to sleep. We are dealing with character and not image. And if the issue is patience, then the oil represents inner resources ~ what we have in reserve when a crisis comes. The lamp is the outer form, but the oil is the inner fuel. This parable addresses the experience of ignoring your spiritual needs and suddenly facing a crisis in which you have no resources left. It’s like driving you car with the gas indicator always on “E”. Running on empty is a risky spiritual practice.

It seems that so many of Jesus’ parables have to do with how we use our energy to serve and share with our neighbor. And perhaps this one—the parable of the 10 bridesmaids addresses those who take that mission seriously. The oil, like the gas in your car, represents your spiritual resources of faith. When your oil, your gas, your inner fuel is running low, sometimes the darkness falls and the doors to your spirit are shut. We get burned out, or stressed out. We are drained, empty, depressed and exhausted. Our depleted stores of love and hope and purpose flicker and sometimes die out in our work or family or church. For so many today the supply of oil is low, and depletion and depression are realities for followers of the bridegroom. A culture of instant gratification, lacking inner spiritual resources, resorts to artificial, addictive quick fixes to fan the flame.

In a machine often the bearings need oil to reduce friction or they wear out and wear down. To get our bearings we need the oil of God's grace to reduce friction in our personal relationships. There is depletion, but there is also replenishment. Drained, we can be refilled. We live our life in the world, but we draw our life from God. This grace from God is your renewable resource ~ and we are recyclable. If your flame is burning low, listen again to God speaking ~ "Come unto me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" ~ refreshment ~ renewal ~ replenishment. Jesus is the one who reminds us that even when you give everything you have, God is still with you at every step of the journey. And there is replenishment!

This one thing I know. Those who believe and practice God’s presence in their lives every minute of every hour of every day trim their lamps with the never ending oil of God’s grace. And they will always have a spare gallon of grace in the back of their car to give away. For if you have enough to spare, you will never run on empty. Amen.

Prayer: Gracious God, the ways of this world tend to wear us down and burn us out. If our depletion is because of service to you, continue to use us as you will. Where our depletion is because of wasted resources and poor preparation, discipline us, strengthen the inner life, fill us again, that our lives may burn with the fire of your love for the sake of Jesus Christ, your Son, and our Lord. Amen. (Excerpts from Dr. Elton Richard’s sermon, “It’s Time to Add Oil” November 10, 1996 from Day1- www.day1.net/index.php5?view=transcripts&tid=423).