Sermon: Last Sunday of the Church Year - 2021

21 November 2021

Text: Matt 25:1-13 (Isa 65:17-25, 1 Thess 5:1-11)

In the name of + Jesus.  Amen.

There are a series of mottos for the military that have the Latin word “semper” in them.  The motto of the Marine Corps is “Semper fidelis” (always faithful).  The motto of the Coast Guard is “Semper paratus” (always prepared).  The motto of the Civil Air Patrol is “Semper vigilans” (always vigilant or always awake).

It’s easy to focus on the second word, that our military and first responders are faithful, prepared, and vigilant, but the first word is also of primary importance.  For what would our enemies want more than a Marine Corps that is “At times faithful”?  How helpful would a Coast Guard be that is “Occasionally prepared”?  How useful would a Civil Air Patrol be that is “Sometimes vigilant”?  For the enemy can attack at any time.  Disaster often strikes without warning.

The same is true of other first responders like the police and fire service.  They are ready at a moment’s notice, 24-7, to spring into action.  The wise policeman or fireman doesn’t procrastinate: “I’ll reassemble my pistol after I finish my nap.”  “I’ll gather my gear tomorrow.”  For when the call to action comes, there is no time for preparation.  The time is now.

The Christian life is the same way, dear friends.  We are called to be faithful, prepared, and vigilant – not just on Sundays, not just when we feel like it, not just when we aren’t busy with other things.  And that is what this Last Sunday of the Church Year is all about.  This is what our Gospel reading is all about.  This is what our Hymn of the Day: one of the most well-known and beloved Lutheran chorales – is all about.

For what makes first responders slow and flabby and ineffective is inactivity.  Peace is good, of course, but it can destroy the ability of warriors to fight and first responders to save.  That’s why such vocations are constantly training.  We Christians also grow flabby and slow, losing our edge, forgetting our training, lazy, and allowing the enemy to achieve small victories.

We often forget that we are at war with the enemy, that we must be prepared for eternity – whether our own deaths or whether the return of our Lord. We forget that faithfulness, preparedness, and vigilance are not of much value without the “semper.”  And Jesus calls us to the “semper” with His parable of the ten virgins.

It’s a simple story, dear friends.  Five wise girls and five foolish girls all in the same squadron, so to speak.  They are a unit, and they have a mission.  The five wise virgins are faithful, prepared, and vigilant.  They have what they need to be ready at a moment’s notice to fall in.  For when the call comes, there won’t be time to buy oil and prepare their lamps.  For the bridegroom is coming, and they were invited to the feast.  The time to prepare was yesterday.  The time to be ready is today. 

But the five foolish virgins are not ready.  They are not faithful, prepared, and vigilant.  Their equipment is not battle-ready, and they are sleeping instead of waiting in a state of readiness. 

And when the bridegroom is announced, when the time has come for action, the wise virgins carry out their vocations just as they have trained.  “Here is the bridegroom!  Come out to meet him.”  And the wise respond accordingly.

But the foolish virgins, being unready, now have to go and buy oil.  They have to prepare their lamps.  And so off they go to the dealers – carrying out tasks that should have been done before.  Their laziness and folly have caught up with them, and there is now no time to prepare.  And while they are away, the bridegroom comes.  “And those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut.  Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’  But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’”

Jesus is not teaching us to be good Marines or Coasties or Volunteer Airmen, dear friends.  Jesus is teaching us how to be Christians, how to be prepared to die, how to be prepared for His return.  We do have a mission, dear brothers and sisters.  We were made for a purpose.  That purpose is not simply to amass as much wealth as we can, to have as much fun as we can, to sop up as much pleasure as we can.  We are always God’s children, created for the sake of service in the kingdom.  And eternity is waiting for us.  Eternity can begin at any moment.

The wise keep their lamps trimmed and full of oil.  As the Psalmist says about the Scriptures: “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”  To be prepared, we need to hear the Word of God, read the Word of God, and allow the Word of God to illuminate our lives.  Are you doing that?  Are you ready?  If not, stop messing around and get ready.  Are you praying regularly?  Are you confessing your sins and being absolved?  Are you in the battle by supplying the kingdom even as God supplies you with time, talent, and treasure?  If not, you know what to do.  The time to start is now, not after the first of the year.  Not when you get your house in order.  Not when things are more convenient.  That’s not how this works.  Are you regularly receiving the body and blood of the Lord to strengthen you for the battle?  If not, the time to start is now.  And don’t allow yourself to become unfaithful, unprepared, and unvigilant.  That is not an option for a first responder.  Remember the “semper.”

Being prepared means discipline.  That’s why followers of Jesus are called “disciples.”  That’s why the military and first responders are always training: improving their bodies, minds, and spirits to meet the enemy, or to perform tasks to save lives and property.  Always being faithful, prepared, and vigilant comes by making a commitment and keeping it.  The uniform is a reminder that we are not just like everyone else, but others are depending on us.  We are warriors.

And when I say “we” dear friends, I mean “we Christians.”  The uniform is not only my black shirt and vestments.  The uniform of the Christian is his or her baptismal garment.  You can’t see it, but it is there.  You have been baptized and received into the service of the Lord.  You have signed up for this warrior life when you took your vows, pledged your allegiance to the Holy Trinity and to the Church, when you renounced Satan, his works, and his ways.  You have accepted the burden of the “semper” in pursuit of the victory that has already been won by Christ at the cross.  You have been blessed to be a blessing to others.  You have been redeemed to see to it that others are redeemed. 

Warriors and first responders to not live the disciplined life of service for the money, dear friends.  They do it because it is just who they are.  It is their calling.  It is their duty.  But it is also their life.  It is their joy.  It’s who they are.  And the wise know what it means to be ready.  The foolish only weigh everyone else down and waste resources that could be used to save others.  We Christians are called to offer our lives to Him who offered His life for us. 

So as the days grow short, as the times become darker, as the moment of Christ’s return draws closer, let us be faithful, prepared, and vigilant.  Let’s have our reserves of oil stocked, our lamps trimmed, our guns loaded, our gear in its place, our planes maintained, our bodies, minds, and spirits ready to engage, our children well-catechized, our families praying and hearing the Word of God, and our church taken care of. 

Let us be ever-ready for the coming of the new heavens and the new earth, for “the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.”  And “let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love.”  Let us be faithful, prepared, and vigilant – by God’s grace.  For He equips and outfits us for action. 

“For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us…. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”  Semper Christus.

Amen.

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