Trinity Last
Dear friends in Christ. Today we come to the final Sunday in the present Church Year. We have once again remembered the events of our Lord’s life for our life and our salvation—His birth, suffering, death, resurrection and ascension; and we have once again heard our Lord’s teachings which He has entrusted to His Church.
On these final Sundays of the Church Year our attention has turned to the End Times and Last Day. Today, in particular, Jesus in this parable tells us the “so what” the “what does this mean” of our lives now as we await His coming on the Last Day. As we examine our Lord’s parable we will see that instead of being some far off distant day with no significance or meaning, the Last Day—and what that means for us as Christians: namely, being body and soul with our Lord in heaven—gives form, focus and meaning to our lives now.
1. Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Jesus uses the background of the Jewish wedding custom of the day. The parents arranged the betrothal of the children—there was no marriage ceremony like we know it. After the betrothal the bride and groom waited a certain time before they lived together as husband and wife—that’s why, for example Mary and Joseph could be married but Mary remain a virgin. Then, at a previously arranged time, the wedding celebration followed. This began with the evening ceremony in which the bridegroom brought his bride home. The groom would be accompanied by a group of his male friends, while the bride would be escorted by her maidens in the festal procession to the groom’s house. This “home-bringing” of the bride is the event that Jesus refers to in the parable.
What’s the point of comparison? It’s the ten virgins; the ten maidens who accompany the bride. Jesus uses them as a picture of the Church—that is, the outward, visible Church, as Jesus will find it on the Last Day. That’s what we have in the phrase: Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Here, as elsewhere, the kingdom of heaven refers to the Church. Jesus had just been talking about His return on the Last Day and the judgment and begins the parable with Then. And to make it crystal clear Jesus uses the phrase will be like. There is no doubt, it is in the future, the Last Day. The point of the parable: on the Last Day, when Jesus comes again in glory, how will He find His Church, that is, the outward, visible Church? How will He find those claiming to be His dear Christians?
Well, notice all of them took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. All wanted to be part of the festal procession. All of them wanted to be guests at that wedding banquet. That’s how all are, who are outwardly part of Christ’s Church. All who make that vow of faithfulness to Christ, at their confirmation, for example, or perhaps at their baptism as adults and do so sincerely, at that time at least, certainly intend on being faithful. And Christ, for His part is faithful and sincere. He holds out to them the sure and certain promise of the forgiveness of sin and eternal life. Jesus isn’t joking when in His word He promises us that; Jesus is sincere and honest when He holds out to us the promise of heaven.
That’s how it was in the Lord’s parable as well. The bridegroom had given the ten the promise of a banquet. The banquet was prepared. He had finally come to begin the festivities and banquet. But not all went into the banquet hall. Why?
Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For 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, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut.
Here’s the point of comparison: there are two kinds of people in the visible Christian Church—just like with the 10 virgins, five were wise and five were foolish. In other words, in very sobering words, not all in the outward, visible Christian Church will be ready for Jesus at His return on the Last Day. Like with the virgins in our Lord’s parable there is nothing really bad or malicious about the five that are refused entrance to the wedding feast, so also with many in the outward, visible Church on the Last Day—many claiming to be Christians, thinking they truly are Christians will find out too late they are not. Like the five foolish virgins thought they were ready but were not, so many will think they are ready for Jesus’ return but are not. In other words, their faith in Christ slowly died out.
For 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, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out’. The five were foolish because they thought they’d have enough oil to last them. They didn’t take into account that the bridegroom might be delayed.
In the same way in the outward, visible Church on earth, the kingdom of heaven, there are many who gladly receive the Gospel and come to faith in Jesus, who indeed are sincere, but sooner or later fall away from that faith. The simple fact is that conversion ultimately means nothing unless it is followed by perseverance in the faith. Here, how can we forget another of our Lord’s parables—The Parable of the Sower? In it Jesus compares the sowing of seeds to the final fate of the word and faith in a person’s heart: some don’t understand the word and don’t care and the devil comes and quickly snatches that word from the heart; some gladly hear the word but fall away from it as soon as trouble or trial hits; others have the word and faith choked out by the cares and concerns of the world. Like that parable, so also the parable Jesus tells in today’s text: Jesus warns us of dangers to the faith. Just because we come to faith or are in the faith today, doesn’t mean that we can become foolish and not care about it; think that that faith is enough.
Instead, the blessed hope of heaven shapes our lives now. As our Lord’s dear Christians, we want to be sure we are ready for His return on the Last Day. And we remember and take to heart that Jesus is speaking this parable to Christians, to us! As Christians, we have to take seriously the fact that the devil is working with the world around us and our own sinful self within us to draw us away from faith, to keep us from persevering in the faith. Because we are Christians who love the Lord, the devil is trying to draw us away from faith and our Lord slyly and almost imperceptibly. Outwardly, there was little difference between the wise and foolish virgins. They both went with their lamps, they both became sleepy and slept, and they both woke up. Both thought they were ready but the foolish found out otherwise. That’s why this parable is such a wakeup call to us.
The foolish virgins were not evil, simply foolish. We, dear Christian, must be on guard for “spiritual foolishness” in ourselves. That’s why it does us good to be reminded once again at the end of the Church Year of Christ’s return; that’s why it does us good to take seriously and ponder what we confess in the Creed: that Jesus shall come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead; to ponder that Jesus will return to bring all His dear Christians—soul and body—with Him into heaven eternally.
2. So that Judgment Day, the Last Day, the day of Christ’s return may be what Christ intended it to be for us a day of joy—just like the bridegroom intended the wedding feast to be a joyous event for the 10 virgins—may we be found ready for Christ’s return. Our joy is based on Jesus’ promise to us to bring us soul and body with Him into the glories of His heavenly wedding feast—and that’s why we will not want to take any chances but will want to be found ready.
What makes us ready—just like it wasn’t the outward that distinguished the wise from the foolish virgins—so also here, it is not just an outwardly decent life that makes us prepared to enter heaven. Instead, it is something inward—faith in Jesus and His work for us; it is reliance on Him and His perfect keeping of the Law as our righteousness; it is reliance on His perfect sacrifice on the cross for our sins that reconciled us sinners to the holy God. Yes, that faith in Christ will make our lives full and rich in good works. But it is faith and that righteousness from Christ and the forgiveness of sins that it receives that make the works good. With that eye on heaven, we fill our lives with all sorts of good works—not to gain heaven by it—but because, looking ahead to heaven and the joy that awaits us, we cannot but, filled with love and thanksgiving, live a life striving to please the Lord who saved us and prepares heaven for us!
The glorious thing is that we do not persevere in the faith by our own strength and ability; it’s not dependent upon us and our natural strength—that we look deep down inside ourselves for it. Instead, through our Lord’s holy word and sacrament, not only does He give us His Holy Spirit and the gift of faith but through the word and sacrament He also strengthens us in the faith so that our faith endures to the end. Through the blessed Apostle, God gives us the promise [Php 1.6]: He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. What a glorious comfort that is! Christ does not leave us to our own devices instead He works through His powerful means of word and sacrament both to create and preserve us in the faith so that we endure. What does that mean for us? It means that looking toward heaven, that blessed hope of heaven shapes our lives now so that our focus now is to make diligent and faithful use of Christ’s holy word and sacrament so that through them He might continue to work on us and keep us in the faith.
There’s that fascinating scene Jesus pictures at the end of His parable. And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, 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.’ Now the scene is the opposite—now Christ is the one knocking [Rev. 3.20]: Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. Here is the glorious invitation of the Gospel of Jesus, saying [Mt. 11.28-29]: Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest…I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Jesus comes to us now in His word and sacraments and His Gospel invitation is a divine word and has the inherent power to open the heart for His entrance. Now He comes in grace and blessing, giving us the promise of forgiveness of sin and eternal life, soul and body in heaven, creating in us the gift of faith to receive it and working in us the desire so that we actually keep looking toward heaven and living our lives in the blessed hope of heaven so that we continue on faithful to our end and on the Last Day, joyfully hear Christ’s glorious welcome [Mt 25.34]: Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. What a great day of joy that Last Day will be! May we focus our lives now on it and hear with joy Jesus in our text: Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. INJ