November 14, 1999
" THE RUNAWAY BRIDE"
Matthew 25:1-13
This sermon give by the Rev. Gene Preston at Community
Church Hong Kong on Sunday, November l4, l999, is an attempt
to make the parable of the ten virgins in the assigned
Gospel, and the parables of Jesus in general, more
intelligible to modern hearers. The context of this sermon
was awareness that there are only seven Sundays to go before
the Millennium; and more particularly there was a marriage
blessing, as part of this Morning Worship, of Frederik van
Tuyll van Serooskerken and Janice Sin. The pastor chose to
interpret the parable as a teaching on affirming attitudes
of the faithful in order to be partners of God's Kingdom,
rather than as a specific prophecy about the Parousia, or
Return of Christ.
The text: "Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this.
Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the
bridegroom. (2) Five of them were foolish, and five were
wise. (3) When the foolish took their lamps, they took no
oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their
lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became
drowsy and slept. (6) But at midnight there was a shout,
'Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' (7)
Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps.
The foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for
our lamps are going out.' (9) But 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.' (10) And
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. (11) Later the other bridesmaids came
also, saying, 'Lord, lord, open to us.' (12) But he replied,
'Truly I tell you, I do not know you.' (13) Keep awake
therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour."
I
In today's parable Jesus chooses a marriage celebration
as his reference. Jewish rabbis often used the marriage
feast as the context for teaching about the relationship
between God and his people. Jesus was in that tradition. In
Matthew 9:14 where the disciples of John critically ask why
Jesus and his followers do not regularly fast, he replies:
THE WEDDING GUESTS CANNOT MOURN, CAN THEY, AS LONG AS THE
BRIDEGROOM IS WITH THEM? And in Matthew 22, just prior to
today's text, Jesus compares the Kingdom of heaven to a
wedding banquet given by a king for his son.
We also know that Jesus himself experienced marriage
celebrations as in the marriage party at Cana, a narrative
story from his life.
From the sense of happy expectation rippling through this
congregation I sense that we are of a common thought that
God loves marriage celebrations! We do!
So it's is no surprise that Jesus chose marriage
preparations as his metaphorical setting for his teaching
about having confidence that the Kingdom of God is a
certainty to be both counted on and prepared for. Like
several parables in this part of Matthew (for example, the
story of the l0 talents) Jesus encourages us to hold
attitudes of patience, hope and endurance in waiting for God
to be more fully revealed to us.
II
While weddings are universal to all cultures and peoples,
each society puts its own blessing on this event. In Jesus'
time the Jewish custom was that fathers determined when and
to whom a child married. When a suitable match was found a
legally binding betrothal agreement was executed. In the
Galilee where Jesus lived, the couple remained, each in
their parent's homes, while the bridegroom built a room
attached to his father's house for his bride. During this
time the bride prepared for the wedding by making clothing,
laying in candles and soaps and other supplies, and
generally readying herself for the ceremony. At night, she
burned a lamp in her window to show readiness to receive her
groom.
When all was ready the father sent his son for the bride.
A messenger was sent to the bride's home to announce: "Behold, the
bridegroom comes!" Upon hearing this news, the bride would
come out of her home along with any attendants and friends
and a festive marriage procession would begin.
Frederik and Janice bring some wedding customs of their
respective cultures together in their celebration. Janice
wears white, a western color for happiness, while Frederick
will pay a call of respect on his in-laws and enjoy a
Chinese tea ceremony this afternoon.
III
Jesus' story is an allegory rather than a teaching as
such about marriage preparation. As an allegory I invite you
to take a closer look at its several symbolisms, though
later we will interpret it as an allegory both for the
Kingdom and for the wedding we celebrate today.
…Vs. 25:2: the TEN VIRGINS probably represent the
disciples, expectant believers who in the context of the
Matthean church were still waiting for the return of Jesus
as Lord but with decreasing confidence. The allegorical
nature of the story jumps out because if this were an actual
marriage story it would mean that there are ten waiting
brides for only one groom! Are all to marry the one man, or
is one to be selected!!
…Vs. 3: the five FOOLISH and the five WISE call to mind
other teachings of Jesus (Matthew 7:24,26) in which the
wisdom in question is the practical wisdom of understanding
what salvation is all about.
…Vs 5: the DELAYED BRIDEGROOM refers to the fact that
some years after the life of Jesus he had not returned to
establish his earthly and glorious kingdom. It is this delay
which sets up the problem in the first place which is the
danger of love growing cold. All were drowsy and sleeping in
vs. 5 so the problem is not so much absolute vigilance,
which none had, but the READINESS of Vs. 7.
…Vs. 6: The shout at midnight may symbolise that Jesus as
Lord is the one who springs surprises. Be ready to be
challenged! It may equally express the yearning of the
Church to be awakened and challenged by its Lord.
…Vs 7: READINESS. Five of the ten virgins when awakened
could ready their lamps (lamps very much like this one. The
minister had a first century replica of a clay oil lamp
which was lit at this point to illustrate the lamps in the
story). They could get ready to greet the groom at a
moment's notice because they had had the foresight to stock
wicks and oil.
…Vs. 8: The OIL may stand for good works of the faithful
as they wait for Jesus. In the Old Testament oil is often a
symbol for faithful works as it is in the song we sang
earlier today with the children: "Give me oil for my lamp,
keep me burning."
…Vs. 9: The refusal of the five wise virgins to share
their oil does not constitute lack of charity or
helpfulness. Their good works are not completely
transferable to the foolish. Readiness to accept salvation
is a matter of personal responsibility.
…Vs. l0: Those who were READY greeted the bridegroom and
went with him into the banquet hall. This is probably the
point of this allegory: Those who truly expect Jesus will
experience his presence in the Kingdom of God which envelops
the fellowship of believers. The shut door to the foolish
virgins who return so late means that admission to the
Kingdom is not automatic.
The great oddity of this parable is that there is no
bride! Whoever heard of a marriage without the bride. Where
is she? She's no where in the story…Is she like the actress,
Julia Roberts, in the recent film, "the Runaway Bride!"
IV
The parables of Jesus cry out interpretation and most of
them are open to several interpretations. I believe Jesus
chose to teach through parables because he wanted to draw
the hearer to experience diverse, multiple and successive
meanings. He would not have chosen the parable form if his
desire was to control, limit, or narrow our thinking.
Rather, he used parables in order to set free our
imaginations and our spirits. That is a point which much
orthodox Christianity overlooks when it insists on narrow
and flat interpretation of scriptures.
My preferred interpretation of this parable is along
these lines:
FIRST, this is a story about the advent of the Kingdom of
God. Jesus wants us to welcome the coming of God's reign
with the same thorough preparation yet happy anticipation
which we apply to a wedding.
An alternate interpretation is that this is a parable
about the return of Jesus himself, what is called the
Parousia or Second Coming. This issue was certainly upon the
Matthean Church which chose to remember and record this
story. But and since Jesus seldom spoke of his return and
would have agreed with Paul in the epistle reading of today
that it is a waste of time to spin anxious wheels waiting
for a specific end of time event which is wholly in God's
providence, I just imagine he had the Kingdom of God in
mind.
He claimed to initiate the Kingdom in his time and many
other parables highlighted the joy, uniqueness, privilege
and spontaneity of being Kingdom believers and Kingdom
workers.
During the 20 or so years after Jesus until Matthew wrote
his Gospel, Kingdom enthusiasm had probably waned precisely
because the Second Coming had not taken place. Christian
hearts once so wholly fixed on God's initiatives had
probably begun to grow distant just because Jesus had not
returned as expected. Like principals in a wedding who
spend years planning the event, and then experience the
onset of tedium and doubt as the actual wedding itself
recedes, the Jesus followers probably were having some
second thoughts.
For Jesus the joy of working for the Kingdom was so
intense that he probably would not have imagined the decline
of faith which had set in, and which regularly sets in
through the eras since. For Jesus, God's Kingdom of human
solidarity, justice among all peoples, and peaceable
community, was real, urgent, and certain. His faith had to
deliver great joy, happiness, celebration. This story then
is Jesus' confidence, and Matthew's appeal, that believing
hearts not grow cold and distant from the God who is acting
on their behalf.
We may apply this first point to human marriage and love.
Each relationship which results in betrothal, marriage,
sexual companionship and the establishment of a new family
represents the same brilliant and happy dynamic as the
Kingdom of God arriving in our midst: something totally
different occurs in our lives. We are swept up by a new
force of love, affection, passion, joy. Jesus loved the
Kingdom of God, just as I am certain Frederick and Janice
love one another.
Jesus' appeal to his followers in this story is that they
would always live out the love they had for him and for God.
As we bless the marriage of Frederik and Janice in a few
minutes we yearn for them to live out their love.
SECONDLY, the advent of the Kingdom of God in our lives,
just like the advent of a great human love, produces a
radical change in the tempo and duties of our lives. How can
human lives remain unaltered once they have experienced
God's initiatives. How can our lives be the same once we
allow a new person to become part of us. We are confronted,
challenged, disturbed by Kingdom membership as by marriage
membership.
Like the silly five marriage maidens, a believer is very
foolish who embraces God and thinks not of the changes
needed thereafter. How naïve for anyone to enter into
marriage and to believe that very little change will be
required. A new love must create fresh circumstances and new
duties. While enthusiasm, passion and excitement are the
traits of a great new love, whether of God or another,
staying the course calls for some less glamorous and more
durable virtues like fidelity, dutifulness, readiness,
preparation.
THIRDLY, the parable suggests the implications of
embracing the Kingdom. The wise virgins entered with the
groom into the great banquet hall; and their party begins.
The door is closed to others. The lives of those now
gathered to the main festival go forward with a different
kind of energy and purpose than those left outside the
party. So, also, the marriage couple enter into a mutual new
life and they can never return to the former, separate
aspects of their lives. They become mutual parties to their
party. And in some fundamental ways the door of their
marriage closes to everyone except themselves. That is the
unique intimacy which marriage wraps around the couple. And
so those who want to be with Jesus in his Kingdom enjoy a
special life; outsiders cannot know it and therefore cannot
judge it.
V
In this story, Jesus, I presume, is the groom in the eyes
of those who believe in him.
Who is the bride? We are the bride! We are the bride!
The Church is the bride of Christ. Christ, the groom, and
the bride, the Church, are partners in the party of bringing
in the Kingdom of God.
The bride is not mentioned, perhaps because she is
engaging in last minute preparations. She will shortly
appear. Maybe the bride, as often happens to the Church, has
some second thoughts regarding really wanting to commit to
Jesus and enter into a new life which is gracious and
wonderful yet challenging and often disturbing.
But the bride must appear. After all the story was
remembered and recorded in this Gospel by the Church.
The bride did show up for the marriage party. And every
Sunday when a million congregations gather in the name of
Jesus the bride puts in her appearance. And every time one
or more Christians offer a cup of water, compassion and
courage to someone, the Church, the bride of Jesus, is
performing her faithful duties.
And speaking of brides I think one is going to show here
very shortly. And when Janice shows, Frederik's happiness
will complete and our celebration will continue.
Pastor
Gene Preston
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