Tag: matthew 25

Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids (Matthew 25:1-13)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
The Parable of the Ten Virgins, by Lilibeth Kindle

“When the end comes, the kingdom of heaven will be like ten bridesmaids. They took their oil lamps and went to meet the groom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The foolish bridesmaids took their lamps, but they didn’t take any extra oil. The wise bridesmaids, however, took along extra oil for their lamps. Since the groom was late, all the bridesmaids became drowsy and fell asleep.

“At midnight someone shouted, ‘The groom is here! Come to meet him!’ 7 Then all the bridesmaids woke up and got their lamps ready.

“The foolish ones said to the wise ones, ‘Give us some of your oil. Our lamps are going out.’

“But the wise bridesmaids replied, ‘We can’t do that. There won’t be enough for both of us. Go! Find someone to sell you some oil.’

“While they were buying oil, the groom arrived. The bridesmaids who were ready went with him into the wedding hall, and the door was shut.

“Later the other bridesmaids arrived and said, ‘Sir, sir, open the door for us!’

“But he answered them, ‘I don’t even know who you are!’

“So stay awake because you don’t know the day or the hour. (God’s Word Translation)

Here’s the point of Christ’s parable, up front, so that we know what we are dealing with:

We prepare for things we really care about; we anticipate things that are important to us.

For example, people who really care about hunting make careful preparations for the season and anticipate opening day. Those who care about professional football look forward to game-day, plan for special food to eat, and set aside normal activities to watch them play.

And, of course, weddings are events that take lots of preparation because families care about the upcoming marriage. Since I have raised three girls, I can testify first-hand that wedding plans begin in third grade for many females.

The Wise and the Foolish Virgins, by Charles Haslewood Shannon, 1920

Here’s the point of Christ’s parable, stated in the negative: People show up to things unprepared mostly because they don’t value the event enough to be ready for it.

Casual hunters and fair-weather football fans go home when it gets too cold. That’s because they are not adequately prepared for the conditions.

Quickie weddings happen in Las Vegas where two people are not prepared to have a marriage for a lifetime. 

People drop out of impromptu events when there is no fun or gets too hard. However, if they really care about it, they prepare for it, have patience through it, and persevere in it when things get tough.

The true test of authentic commitment comes when things are not easy and it takes blood, sweat, and tears to see something through.

A Christian is one who not only professes Christ as Lord and Savior, but also backs the words up with a resolve to:

  • live into their baptism
  • avail themselves of communion
  • plan and prepare for both personal and public worship
  • make it their aim to love God, one another, and neighbor

There are few human events more freighted with emotion and preparation than weddings. Parents invest a lot of time, energy, resources, and love to have a meaningful wedding for their kids. There’s also the potential for disaster at a wedding.

A Greek Orthodox fresco of Jesus and the Parable of the Ten Virgins

Since I have done many weddings, I can tell you that a lot of things go sideways in the preparation process and even at the wedding itself. I have seen bridesmaids pass out, grooms forget the ring, and families fight like cats and dogs in the narthex just as the bride is ready to come down the aisle. All kinds of crazy stuff can happen with a wedding. 

At my own wedding, the bridesmaids were literally sown into their dresses by the seamstress just hours before the wedding; one of my groomsman did not show up because, I later found out, he was in jail; and, we were married on the hottest and most humid day of the year – 100 degrees – which did not go so well for a bunch of women trying to have their best ever hair day.

But you know what? We got married anyway. The wedding happened because it was important to us. I think it’s interesting that Jesus chose a parable about a wedding to tell us what the kingdom of God is really like. Weddings in Christ’s day were just as prone to mishap, maybe even more, than weddings today.

In ancient Israel, a couple would become engaged but not set a wedding date. The groom would take the time to busily prepare a home for himself and his bride to live. It might take days, or weeks, or months, even years. It is this imagery that Jesus picked up to communicate his point of being prepared for things we care about. 

No one knew when the groom would be finished with preparations. (Note: We are told in the Gospel of John that Jesus the bridegroom is busy preparing for a great wedding feast at the end of the age when he will come back and take us to be with him forever).

When the groom was ready, he left the home he had prepared and went to the bride’s house. Then, the two of them, along with their wedding party, would have a grand procession through the streets of the town, almost always after dark, and then back to the home of the groom. So, oil lamps were important to have ready, and on standby.

Here is the parable’s setting: The groom has left his house and begun his trek through town. He might come straightaway, and he might not, depending on what route he takes. The bridesmaids (virgins) have their oil lamps ready. Five of them have plenty of oil, and five of them do not.

The groom takes the circuitous route, so the virgins fell asleep waiting. At midnight the groom finally shows up at the bride’s house. Five virgins spring into action and are ready. The other five aren’t ready, at all. 

The five virgins without enough oil go out to find or buy some more, while the five virgins with plenty of oil join the celebration. The procession goes back to the groom’s house, posthaste, before the five virgins who were not part of the procession finally catch up to them at the house.

The five foolish bridesmaids knock on the door and expect to get in. But the door is shut and it isn’t going to be opened. The marriage will happen without them. Therefore, the bottom line of the story: The five foolish virgins were not ready because they did not care enough to be prepared.

Orthodox icon of Jesus and the Parable of the Ten Virgins

This, at face value, might seem harsh. Yet, in Christ’s time, not having the oil needed for the lamps would be like, in our day, having half the bridesmaids show up at the wedding at the last minute in jeans and t-shirts without having done their hair and expecting to stand up with the bride. No bride or groom and their family in our culture is going to roll with that kind of behavior. Why? Because it is deeply offensive.

As in all of Christ’s parables, the characters represent the people listening. The five wise and five foolish bridesmaids point to the mixed characters who were following Jesus. They consisted of both faithful authentic disciples of Jesus, as well as wedding crashers who were not there because they valued and respected Jesus.

Jesus told us to keep watch, because we do not know the day or the hour when he will return. So, today’s parable raises the big question: Are you prepared? 

We are to maintain constant vigilance, being always alert for Jesus to show up. It’s one thing to make a profession of Christ; and it is quite another thing to live each day doing God’s will and being prepared for Jesus to return.

Jesus wants more than fair-weather Christians. 

We cannot assume someone else will give us oil. No one can simply rely on another person to have everything they need to live the Christian life. Each one of us must listen and learn from God’s Word for ourselves, cultivate a life of prayer, and serve the church and the world in ways God has called us to – without relying on someone else to do the work that I should be doing. 

Every day is a fresh opportunity and privilege to serve Jesus. My personal practice is to rise each morning by 4:30am. I light a candle and spend some quiet unhindered time reading the lectionary passages for the day. I spend time in prayer. Throughout the day I pause to intentionally connect with God in prayer and some Scripture reading. 

I get up early in the morning regardless of how I feel. I engage in spiritual disciplines even when it does not strike my fancy. I go to work and do what it takes to get myself in a position to be a blessing to others.

Now, let’s come back to the message of Christ’s parable: We prepare for things we really care about, and we anticipate things that are important to us. The return of Jesus is a future reality. It’s up to each of us, whether it will be on our spiritual radar, or not.

Yet, I can tell you this: Jesus wants us to watch and pray, and to be prepared, because today the bridegroom may show up.

Parable of the Three Servants (Matthew 25:14-30)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Parable of the Three Servants, a woodcut by Jan Luiken, 1712

Jesus said, “The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. He gave five bags of silver to one servant, two bags of silver to another servant, and one bag of silver to the last servant—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.

“The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money.

“After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’

“The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’

“The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’

“The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’

“Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’

“But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’

“Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ (New Living Translation)

What would you do with a million dollars?…  Maybe you would pay off some debts, finish some work on your house, or quit your job and take a vacation. Perhaps you might invest a good portion of it. Whatever you do with it, your investment of money is only as good as your level of trust. 

When I worked at a senior citizen healthcare facility, there was a resident living in an independent living apartment, but he still owned his house. During one conversation, the old man admitted to me that over the past sixty years, he had secretly bored holes in every door jamb of his house and had stuffed away $100,000 dollars in cash! This dear resident had personally experienced the run on banks which began the Great Depression in 1929. He had zero trust for investment banking.

As Jesus told his parable, one of his chief points was to communicate that God is gracious, and gives generously.

The three servants responded their master’s generosity according to their view of him. Two of the servants regarded the master as gracious and generous, and so, freely took their hefty bags of money and confidently invested them to create even more money. They took risks, invested, worked, and acted with the idea that they were secure in their relationship with their master. 

The third servant, however, perceived his master as stern, serious, and angry. So therefore, he did nothing with his bag of money because he was afraid.

If we consider God as primarily an angry Being, then we will almost certainly not use the gifts he has given us, for fear of messing up and experiencing God’s wrath. 

Yet, the truth is, God is gracious and generous. The Lord has generously give to everyone; and God expects us to use what was given and not hide it away in a door jamb! If we want to hear the Lord Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” then taking faithful initiative is necessary.

Fear is perhaps the devil’s greatest tool in preventing God’s people from being productive Christians in serving the church and the world. Beneath the fear can be powerful feelings of inferiority, inadequacy, and an inner conviction of not being enough. Oftentimes, a low view of self can come from a low view of God.

Fear paralyzes our potential to serve God’s kingdom

Being continually afraid, wastes whatever impact we could have for God in the world, and diminishes our resolve to act so that our lives are ineffective.

Fear destroys our dreams and godly desires

We are meant to enjoy the gracious and generous God, and in our enjoyment of the Lord, godly dreams will be placed within us that God is pleased to fulfill:

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4, NLT

Our enjoyment of God gives us the security and confidence to act upon godly desires and produces a generous harvest of righteousness and peace. We then can share the bounty with others, as a way of giving back to God. 

Yet, if fear gets thrown into the mix, it dilutes and destroys everything. Fear paralyzes us, and we do nothing, like the third servant in the parable who did nothing. What’s more, fear leads us into hiding, just like the servant hid and buried his big bag of money. 

We might wrap a lot of our fears in morbidly sanctified self-belittling, that is, of feeling good about feeling bad. Those self-deprecating feelings stop us from exploring God’s dream and vision for us. Yet, we really can speak and act in the world with confidence because we serve a God who is gracious and generous.

Some of the greatest fears that hold back people from exploring their faith is:

  • Fear of criticism – being afraid of what others may think or say 
  • Fear of taking a risk – being afraid of going outside the comfort zone of how something has always been done
  • Fear of ourselves – being afraid to explore our vast inner world with its guilt, shame, insecurity, and mixed motives

If you once had a dream and you think that dream is dead because of your sins and bad habits, you are wrong.  Dreams are destroyed by fear, by being duped into believing that we are not enough, and never will be. So, we end up doing nothing.

Fear ruins our relationship with God and others

Living in a way that is always looking over your shoulder to see if God is going to rap your knuckles with a ruler is no way to live.

The hardest people to get along with are those who have a low view themselves. Because they do not like themselves, they do not like others. They continually wonder if God is upset with them about something. The man in the parable blamed God for his lack of investment. Blaming others is really our own fear and insecurity seeping through – it helps no one, especially ourselves. 

Fear sabotages our service

“I can’t!” is the cry of the person locked in fear. I cannot stand up in front of people, meet strangers, serve like others, or love like Jesus did. I cannot because I am afraid, and I only have one measly bag of money! 

Yet, God typically uses tongue-tied people like Moses; worriers like Abraham; lowly tax-collectors like Matthew, and prostitutes with sordid pasts like Mary Magdalene – and not superstars. The less talented a person is, the more God gets to show up and show off with generous power and gracious ability through that person.

Conclusion

God loves you, and really does have wonderful plans for you. God created you with your unique personality, gave you unparalleled experiences, and gifted you with uncommon abilities. God wants you to tap into that passion and dream placed down deep in your heart to serve the world. 

What would you do with a million dollars? You already have it. Now, go and invest it.

Soli Deo Gloria

Matthew 25:31-46 – Meeting Jesus

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment

On a bright Sunday morning, Lefty and his wife Goatrude were sitting at home enjoying a leisurely cup of coffee together. Lefty was slowly going through some of his emails.

And then, it happened.

“Oh, my goodness, look at this!” said Lefty to Goatrude. “I got an e-mail from Jesus! It says he will be here at 10am on Sunday. Egad! That’s any minute now!”

“The house is a mess! Hurry! Let’s get this all picked up.” said Goatrude. “And, for God’s sake, where is that big Bible? It needs to be here on the coffee table when Jesus gets here!”

“I think I know where that Bible is….” said Lefty. After rummaging around a junk closet, Lefty found the Bible dusted it off, and placed it prominently on the coffee table as the centerpiece of the living room.

As Goatrude and Lefty were hurriedly trying to make everything just right for Jesus, there was a knock at the door.

“That must be Jesus!” said Goatrude. “Answer it, Lefty. And, for goodness sake, stand up straight and be polite. We want Jesus to see us at our best.”

Lefty answered the door, surprised to see a ragged looking young man on the step.

“I’m sorry to bother you on a Sunday morning, but I haven’t had anything to eat all weekend. Might you have some food to spare?”

Perturbed with this interruption, Lefty answered the young man harshly. “No, I don’t. You need to go, right away. I have an important guest coming, and he’ll be here anytime now.” And he slammed the door shut.

Lefty had barely began getting back to tidying the living room when another knock came at the door.

“He’s here!” said Goatrude, moving quickly toward the door. But when she opened it, there stood a harried looking woman.

“Hello. My car broke down and I can’t get it started. And my cell phone died. Might I come in for just a few minutes so that I can get a bit warmed up and make a phone call?” said the woman.

Goatrude rudely responded, “We all have problems lady. I’ve got my own right now. You try and get ready for a visit from Jesus at the last minute. Try someone else.” And with that, Goatrude shut the door.

Lefty and Goatrude continued their hasty preparations for a visit from Jesus, when yet a third knock came at their door. This time, they answered it together, believing this to be Jesus for sure.

But when they opened the door, a frantic husband immediately said, “My wife just fell on the sidewalk. Please help me!”

“For God’s sake, man, we’re about to have Jesus here! We can’t be seen with a woman lying in front of our house! Get her up and go next door. And make it quick!”

Together, Goatrude and Lefty shut the door. Then, they sat down and anticipated Jesus to show.

Minutes pass… It’s now 10:15 and no Jesus. So, Goatrude, looking at Lefty, says, “I never figured Jesus to be somebody who is late. Maybe he got held up.”

“Hey, how about if I open this Bible and read something. When Jesus gets here, we’ll impress him with some knowledge. We’ll be the talk of the town, hosting Jesus.”

So, Lefty opened the big book, randomly turned to a page, and began reading….

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick, and you looked after me, I was in prison, and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger, and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” (New International Version)