Proper 27 A + Presence, not Perfection + 11.8.26

 

Presence, not Perfection
Proper 27A, Matthew 25, 1 Thessalonians 4

St Paul’s Emmanuel, Santa Paula and All Santos, Oxnard

The Rev. Alene Campbell-Langdell
Ed. By The Very Rev. Melissa Campbell-Langdell

There’s a hunger in our passages today for community that will last. For hope beyond the limitations of our moment.  For example, the Thessalonians are part of Greek society.  For those immersed in Greek mythology, those who die enter a realm from which no one returns.  You may be familiar with the myth of Orpheus and Euridice. It dramatizes the pain of separation with our loved ones who have died. In the story, Orpheus goes to Hades to fetch back Eurydice. Orpheus is gifted with a tremendous musical talent, one that enthralls even the gods, but not even Orpheus was successful in bringing his beloved back from the dead.  For the ancient Greeks, there was no one whose trust and love was perfect enough to cross that river backwards. For these new Christians who have grown up in this worldview, the idea that some of their community, other believers in Christ, have died before Christ returned is devastating.  Are they lost forever?  It is one thing to believe that Christ will keep you from dying and quite another to believe that Christ has the power to bring your loved ones back from beyond the grave and reunite a community torn apart by persecution. 

The story of the bridesmaids could be read in a similar fashion.  What if your light goes out before Christ, the bridegroom, returns?  There is a recurring theme in Matthew about those who call out “Lord, Lord” but are not part of the community.  And for the disciples, there is a hunger to be known and recognized by Christ when he returns.  In Matthew 7, Jesus is quoted as saying, “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers’” (vs 22-23).  This devastating judgment is echoed almost precisely in our parable today. In response to the plea, “Lord, Lord, open to us,” we hear, “I do not know you” (Matthew 25:11-12).

 

Paul’s answer to the Thessalonians consumed by grief at the thought of their loved ones stuck in Hades is to remind them that Jesus came back from the dead, so he, alone among all the gods in history, has the power to cross that river and bring their loved ones home.  For us, our problem is less a story of the gods and more a story of distraction.  Unlike the Greeks, it isn’t an alternative mythology that threatens our connection with those who have gone before.  It is perhaps a lack of myth or mystery, or an over-sensationalized story that gets in the way. And this is where Jesus’ parable of the bridesmaids may provide some insight. 

But first, it may help to bring the story into language that is perhaps easier for us to relate to:

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 last, 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 today’s parable as a story of opposite sides.  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.  The foolish bridesmaids aren’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.  What distinguishes the two groups is their response to the call that the bridegroom is coming.   Five of the bridesmaids foolishly left their post, believing that there was something more important than being present and watching when the bridegroom arrived. These bridesmaids were so afraid of being seen as less than perfect that they left the community. When we are too busy trying to be prepared or perfect, we can’t be present.  And when we are not present with each other, we are disconnected and hopeless. 

 

The final story in this chapter from Matthew is about two more groups who also address Jesus as Lord and are truly confused about why some of them are seen as goats and others as sheep.  In their waiting for Christ’s return, some chose to act out of love, refusing to allow anyone to be disconnected from the community through prison, sickness, or lack of food or clothing.  Here we are presented with two ways of being.  One leaves us hopeless, disconnected, and unable to see Christ at work in our midst.  Failure to see Christ in the least of these can leave us in despair, not just about our future connection with loved ones, but about the future of our community.   But the other way of being is the one that brings hope.  In every disaster story, the moment of hope is always in connection, “The community came together.”

A powerful moment Pastor Alene and I have shared in this truth was while ministering in the Kairos Inside Prison Ministry. As we worked with a group from inside the prison who had already experienced God’s love and joy through a previous retreat weekend and follow up groups, we as the outside group were able to bring God’s love to a new group. In that moment, in the spiritual heaviness of prison, we felt the ceiling seem to lift off of the cavernous prison room in which we held a party for God’s beloved children. It felt for a moment like heaven, like the meeting of heaven and earth. Everything was limitless possibility, even in one of the bleakest spaces on earth.

Looking back at the 1 Thessalonians passage, Jane Patterson notes,

The vision of Christ’s triumph that Paul develops in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 is one in which heaven and earth are suddenly and beautifully reconciled in an embrace (“caught up together”) that takes place in a newly opened space between heaven and earth (“in the air”) and which will never end (“and so we will be with the Lord forever”). The image gathers together Paul’s deepest beliefs about God’s reconciling purpose in Christ.[1]

Whether in Thessalonians or Matthew, heaven and earth are brought together whenever we hear Christ’s call.  Paul’s words to the Thessalonians are that connection and belonging will have the final say.  The waiting space of “not yet” does not mean “never.” Stay present to the community.  Keep watching for Christ.  Together, we will be with the Lord, forever. 

 

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[1] Lancaster Patterson, Jane. 2020. “Commentary on 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 - Working Preacher from Luther Seminary.” Working Preacher from Luther Seminary. October 12, 2020. https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-32/commentary-on-1-thessalonians-413-18.