On this 31st week of our masked worshipping, we are waiting on the Lord and we are of GOOD courage! Our musical selection is before us.
Have you ever heard Jesus tell the
bridesmaid story? Weddings were a big
deal for Jesus. Just as there were in ancient history, we have many wedding
traditions.
One American bride wanted to know the
meaning of the tradition of having the father of the bride walk her down the
aisle. She said she was not close to her father and not sure she was even going
to invite him to the wedding. She learned that originally the tradition was a
part of arranged marriages. The father “gave his daughter away” in exchange for
debts that were owed or collateral for certain agreements that would be made.
It was a plus if the bride could bear children, for that would mean free labor
for farming and other business.
These days, fathers walking their
daughters down the aisle has become less of a way to seal the deal or an insult
to women. It is simply a way to honor fathers.
Traditions change from generation to
generation. Remember the time rice would be thrown at a couple to represent
hopes that their love would grow and prosper? Now we might throw bird seed,
flower petals, blow bubbles, applaud or skip it all together. Traditionally, some
brides wore red dresses like some Chinese brides do today until Queen Victoria
started influencing the wearing of white in the 1800’s, not to symbolize purity
but to symbolize wealth.
In Jesus’ story, there were ten
bridesmaids. That is a pretty big wedding. He begins by saying, “Then the
kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went
to meet the bridegroom.
One ancient Jewish tradition held that
the groom would go to his father’s house and prepare a place for the bride.
Evidently, when the house was ready, he would go to the bridesmaids who were
waiting to hear his voice and he make the grand announcement that the
preparations were complete. Then they would all ceremoniously go to the bride
and escort her to her new home.
This tradition resonates with Jesus’
words to his disciples who make a covenant with him. He says: I go to prepare a
place for you…as promised…if it were not so, I would have told you…in my
father’s house there are many mansions….meaning many rooms. The church is
symbolized as the bride and Jesus is the one who covenants to make all the
preparations that are needed to take care of us.
Back then there were no cell phones to
communicate when the time had arrived for the bridal party to begin their
journey. There was just tell-a-woman. The bridesmaids just had to be ready when
the time came. Just like Thanksgiving dinner. Some of us do not always have a
set time to sit down and eat. We simply watch and wait to be called to the
dinner table.
The job of the bridesmaids was to lead
a procession, just like bridesmaids lead a procession today. If it was dark,
they needed their lamps. We do not know if the processional was a couple blocks
or a couple miles.
We just know that five were ready and five were not ready. Verse 2 says:
2Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; 4but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. 6But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’
7Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. 8The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9But 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.’
10And 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.
One great point of Jesus’ parable of
the ten bridesmaids is to help each of us to be ready. Are we ready for Jesus to come? Do we have
what we need to go and serve? Is are heart in tune enough to celebrate with
Jesus? Are we ready to receive the blessings that God has prepared for us?
If we are cussin’ and fussin’ we may
not be as ready as we could be. If we are fornicating and disrespecting we may
not be as ready as we could be.
The more we do that is holy and healthy
the less we do to discourage and distract the work of the Holy Spirit in us and
around us.
If we are ready, we have our lamps lit,
and we have enough oil to last for the journey. When we are planning a long
drive, we get ready by filling the tank. Don’t we?
Oil is essential in our daily lives.
There are many types with different purposes. Oil is also essential in our
spiritual lives. Oil in the bible represents the work of the Holy Spirit in the
nooks and crannies of life. A daily anointing of the oil of God’s presence and
word and obedience to God’s way makes our lives and relationships run smoothly,
oil flowing from God’s heart to our home, generates soothing words and
comforting acts of kindness. Spiritual oils from prayer has therapeutic aromas
that calm us. Oil carries nutrients to the body of Christ to embolden and
enlighten and unite us. Oil shines for all to see a reflection of the image of
God.
Oil is good, and good things come with
a price. Oil is often made with lots of pressure and heat. Sometimes chemical
catalysts are required to make oil. Making oil requires a clean start. For
olive oil, the twigs and leaves have to be completely removed.
Five of the bridesmaids did not have
enough oil for their lamps to stay lit for the journey. It can be a very
unpleasant moment when the light goes out. When the oil runs out of a furnace
in the middle of the night, the night seems longer. If you want to bake a cake
and you have no oil, you might as well not bake. Just as oil is essential for
many reasons in our daily lives, spiritual oil of the Holy Spirit working in us
is essential if we want to live the blessed life.
Jesus’ parable of the five foolish bridesmaids
warns us to be readily available for the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, for
a change is always coming and we will need it. We need the Holy Spirit to help
us when God calls us to new ministries and missions. We need the Holy Spirit to
help us when our family relationships need mending. We need the Holy Spirit to
help us generate joy in the midst of a Covid 19.
Do you have the Holy Spirit working in
your life when you need help and guidance? Are you ready to go when Jesus calls
you? Do you have a light for those in darkness? Does goodness gladden your
heart enough so you can celebrate even in the midst of sadness? Are you READY?
What can we do if we are not ready?
What can we do if we know our lives are short of being holy and healthy? We
should get ready. Does not the Isaiah tell us to 6
Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near:
7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and
the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return to the Lord, and he will
have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
Five wise bridesmaids were ready, but,
wisely, they could not give any of their oil to the other five who were not
prepared. They wisely told them to go and buy some.
Each of us has to have our own
relationship with God. We cannot thrive on anyone else’s faith. We have to get
to know the Lord for ourselves. We all have to invest in love and devotion,
service, celebration and obedience to God for ourselves. Again, verse 10 tells
us 10And 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. 11Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to
us.’ 12But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ 13Keep awake therefore,
for you know neither the day nor the hour.
We cannot afford to fall asleep on our
faith! Sleep is a metaphor for
prayerlessness. Not everybody that comes to church comes to pray. Sometimes we
are asleep. We won’t be ready unless we watch and pray. When we do not watch
and pray, we block blessings from entering our lives and the lives of those
around us. When we do not watch and pray, we hinder our healing and the healing
of those around us. When we do not watch and pray, we risk ruining our future
and forfeiting our freedom. When we do not watch and pray, we miss the joy of
celebrating the kingdom coming on earth as it is in heaven.
Now is the time to surrender our lives
so that God can cleanse our hearts and the Holy Spirit can work a great work in
our lives and the lives of others. Now is the time, for we do not know the day
or the hour when the door will be shut, the opportunity to be blessed and to be
a blessing will be gone. We do not always get a second chance. Now is the time
to spend our time loving, serving, celebrating, and obeying the God who has
blessed us. That is the smart and wise thing to do. Let it be so today and
forever. Amen.
Let us pray…
Our father who art in Heaven, hallowed
be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day, our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive
those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us
from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and
ever. Amen.
We trust this message is seeping into the nooks and crannies of your spirit and generating peace and joy. Next week we continue in Matthew 25 in the Upside Down theme and the thought “Never Trust A Slave”. If you would like to make your contribution to the great ministry and mission of Bethel, the website is
Or you can send it to 952 Bethel Church
Road, Spring City, Pa. 19475. God bless you!
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