Proper 27 A + God Knows our Weakness + 11.8.20 + Alene Campbell-Langdell

 

God Knows Our Weakness
All Saints’, Oxnard
The Rev. Alene Campbell-Langdell
Matthew 25:1-13

               The kingdom of God is like a bunch of people showing up for a protest march, but half of them forgot to bring signs.  Everyone hangs out and talks with each other waiting for the protest to start.  At least the leaders announce that the protest is beginning and the people begin to line up.  Those who showed up without any signs begin to feel embarrassed at their lack and look around for something with which to make signs.  Not finding anything readily available, they head off to the nearest store to buy supplies.  By the time they get back, the protest is over and everyone has gone home.

               I retell Jesus’ story this way because it is far too easy to read this as a story of opposite sides.  In the midst of a divided country, it is far too easy to say 50% are wise and 50% are foolish.  And, of course, I’m pretty sure I belong on the wise side!  But these bridesmaids Jesus talks about have a lot in common.  First of all, they’re all at the same wedding. They’re part of the same community.  And secondly, despite Jesus’ warning to the disciples at the end of the parable, not one of these bridesmaids stays awake.  If the story is literally about staying awake, then all of them failed. 

               I propose that this story is really about Jesus asking us three fundamental questions:  what does it mean to be wise, what does it mean to be foolish, and what does it mean to be truly awake?  So, what makes half of these girls wise?  As I’ve already mentioned, it isn’t because they stayed awake.  They were no more “woke” in today’s language than the foolish ones on the other side of the room.  The only difference is that they had come prepared for the possibility that the bridegroom might get delayed and that they might fall asleep.  In other words, they were aware of the reality of the world they lived in and they were aware of their own frailties.  They were wise enough to accept their own weakness.  They were wise enough to know they were probably wrong. 

               The first step in healing is admitting that all is not well.  And so, these wise women prepared by doing what they could.  Light in the Gospels is a symbol of doing good deeds. Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). At the end of this 25^th chapter in Matthew, it is the good deeds of feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and visiting those in prison that separates the sheep from the goats, the ones who are welcomed into the kingdom from the ones who are left outside.  The wise bridesmaids saw the reality of the world they were living in and did their best to bring healing and hope. 

               So what about the foolish ones?  Again, they weren’t foolish simply because they fell asleep.  That’s human nature.  That’s what disciples in the Scriptures do.  Ask Peter, James, and John in the Garden of Gethsemane.  I believe they were foolish because, when they realized their error, they didn’t trust the bridegroom’s mercy.  Jesus tells another parable right after this one.  In it, servants are given varying amounts of money by their master before he leaves on a long trip.  Each of them has to decide what to do with the money while their master is gone.  Two of them decide to invest it.  The investments go well and they double their master’s money.  One of them, however, reacts in fear and hides the money.  He explains his reaction to the master this way, “Master, I knew that you were a harsh man,…so I was afraid , and I went and hid your talent in the ground.” (Matthew 25:24-25).  Like the man hiding the money, the foolish bridesmaids were so afraid of being seen as less than perfect that they left the community.

               Here’s the truth.  We haven’t fooled God.  Not one of us is perfect.  God knows all about those other gods we have hidden away.  Take a look at the Joshua passage.  Yes, we’re going to serve God, the people say.  And Joshua responds, then get rid of those other gods that you’re keeping around for good luck.  Quit trying to hedge your bets or save yourself.  God sees all the things that constantly vie for our attention and pull us away from caring for our neighbor or really trusting God.  God sees all of that and loves us.  “While we still were sinners,” Paul says, “Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

               Our seminary had a silly practice each year on April fool’s Day.  During Evening Prayer, the seminarians would be asked to only stand during the part of the Apostle’s Creed that they believed.  As much of seminary is about questioning and prodding the history of our faith, there were always sheepish grins and a lot of standing and sitting!  But no matter what part, someone was always standing.  Because that is what the Christian community is.  When your faith is weak, we believe for you.  When I am unsure that I belong, the community welcomes me.  When I can’t forgive, the community forgives for me.  One feeds the hungry, another visits the sick, and all of us find God. 

               The community of God is like a wedding were half of the bridesmaids didn’t prepare and ran out of oil, but these bridesmaids didn’t try to make themselves look better or pretend they hadn’t made a mistake. Instead,  they asked to stand closer to the other bridesmaids.  When the bridegroom came, they all shouted and cheered with one voice, and together they went into the feast.