Sermon: Last Sunday - 2020

22 November 2020

Text: Matt 25:1-13

In the name of + Jesus.  Amen.

There is a modern word that describes people who hold all of the socially acceptable opinions: “woke.”  The irony is that most people who claim to be “woke” just blindly believe whatever celebrities tell them to believe.  They are really mind-numbed to the point of refusing to use reason or logic or to debate to defend why they believe what they believe.  In reality, they aren’t awake at all.  They have shut off their own brains.

The Civil Air Patrol’s motto is “Semper Vigilans” (“Always Vigilant”).  A more literal translation would be “Always Awake.”  The Air Force Auxiliary is always on duty.  It never sleeps.  And this is the lesson of our Lord’s parable, dear friends.

Our Lord Jesus calls upon us to be vigilant about the end times.  As time goes on, the days grow shorter, the darkness intrudes upon the light, and it becomes harder for Christians to remain awake in their faith and vigilant for the coming of Jesus.  We are surrounded by temptations to veer away from the faith.  We are constantly lured by entertainment that competes for our time, money, affection, and loyalty.  Our schools and colleges claim to teach science while leading young people away from Scriptural truths.  Our movies, TV shows, and even sports are all advocates of “wokeness” – which again, means political correctness and an antichristian and anti-biblical worldview. 

We are far more at risk of being led away from the faith than were our grandparents.  And so the closer it becomes to our Lord’s return, we must be all the more vigilant and awake, watching expectantly for His return, not dozing off at the moment when the Bridegroom comes.

This is the lesson of the Parable of the Ten Virgins.  The five wise virgins were prepared.  Their lamps were trimmed and their flasks were full of oil.  They had already attended to that which was important, and now they could be vigilant: awaiting and awake, alert and ready, expectant and watchful.

The five foolish virgins, however, had other priorities.  While their wise friends worked, they goofed off.  Instead of being vigilant, they fell asleep.  Their priorities were upside down.  And when the Bridegroom was “delayed,” they thought they could forget about being prepared and vigilant.  They procrastinated.  They did not urge one another to be wise, but enabled each other’s folly.

And when word came that the Bridegroom was near, the foolish virgins realized that they weren’t ready.  They tried to take advantage of their wise friends who were prepared.  But the wise virgins were wise, and being wise, they understood that sharing oil at this point would deprive everyone, as everyone’s lamps would go out.  They told their foolish friends to “go to the dealers and buy for yourselves.” 

And this is where their foolishness costs them, dear friends.  For being unprepared, not having been vigilant, they were left behind when the Bridegroom came.  But “those who were ready went in with Him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut.”

Dear friends, the door to eternal life is open – for now.  You have been baptized.  You have been given the Good News.  You are right now safely in the Ark of the Church.  Don’t be foolish.  Don’t trade your faith and your salvation away for a few hours of sleep or pleasure or to indulge in laziness.  For here, in the Lord’s House, is where our lamps are trimmed and our flasks are filled.  We encounter the Holy Scriptures and thus the Holy Spirit.  We hear the proclamation of the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ our Lord, who gives us the lamp of His Word and the oil of His sacraments to make us wise and ready and vigilant.  We gather with the wise here to watch and wait for our Lord’s return, encouraging one another and helping each other remain awake and vigilant. 

For the cost of not being ready is terrifying.  In our Lord’s story, the foolish virgins who missed their ride managed to show up late – but the door had already been closed.  The feast had begun without them.  Their folly cost them a seat at the banquet.  And all of their pleas, “Lord, Lord, open to us” were useless at that point.  For the door had been shut.  And the Lord answered their pleas with “I do not know you.”

And this is why the Holy Scriptures teach us that the “fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”  We should not take the Lord’s grace lightly, or take His mercy for granted.  He calls upon us to be wise, to be prepared, and to be vigilant – and to be all of these things now, dear friends, now, while the door is open, and while the Bridegroom has yet to arrive. 

The days are indeed getting short.  The darkness is increasing.  Every day that goes by is one less day to wait.  And we must wait with eyes wide open, vigilant and prepared, with lamps trimmed and flasks full, surrounding ourselves with the wise and not with the foolish.

For we can look at the signs of the times.  We can see the world’s leaders and nations distancing themselves from God’s Word and arraying themselves against the Church, the bride of Christ.  We can see the increasing evil in the world, and the redefinition of sacred things into things that only the devil could love.  We see once-faithful churches turning their backs on our Lord, repudiating Scripture, and seeking to be popular and “woke” – when in fact they are anything but awake and vigilant.  We see even science and biology and human anthropology itself twisted and distorted by those claiming to speak for science, by educators and academicians, leading young people astray, away from the truth, into darkness rather than light.

If there was ever a time to drink deeply from the wells of Holy Scripture, dear friends, now is that time.  As we approach the new year, it is fitting to take up the One Year Bible and read the entire Old and New Testaments in a year, one day at a time.  It has never been easier to study the Bible and to immerse yourself with the Gospel of the Word of God than it is now.  Our congregation offers weekly Bible Class, a Matins Service every Sunday, and two Divine Services a week – in which you can partake of the most holy body and blood of Christ to strengthen you spiritually and keep you vigilant for His coming.

And now we are set to begin the season of Advent, when we ponder His first coming as the babe of Bethlehem, and at the same time, we expect His second coming as the Bridegroom who comes to escort His faithful and wise followers into the banquet hall before the door is closed.

So if you choose to be “woke,” dear friends, you will have an easier time at work, at school, and in society.  You will make friends.  You will have a lot of fun and save yourself a lot of heartache.  But when the Bridegroom comes, He is looking for you to be awakened by the Gospel, not “woke” by the world. 

So be vigilant.  You can do it because faith is a gift.  Salvation is a gift.  Pray for the strength and the endurance to stay awake, vigilant, prepared, ready to meet the Bridegroom when He comes.  Pray for wisdom, dear friends, and pray also for the foolish, that they may see their folly and repent while there is still time.

And let us sing all the more:

The Bridegroom comes, awake!

Your lamps with gladness take!

Alleluia!

With Bridal care 

Yourselves prepare 

To meet the Bridegoom, who is near.

Amen.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.