Matthew 25:1-13 (Pentecost 24)
St. John, Galveston (11/8/2026)
Rev. Alan Taylor

+ In Nomine Jesu +

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

    I know there are a lot of things on your minds today. After All Saints Day, the Church calendar moves us into this little season known as the Sunday’s before Advent. It’s a little season in which we reflect on the 2nd coming of Jesus and what that means that He is coming to judge both the living and the dead.

    On another calendar, this also happens to be the time of year that State, and sometimes National elections take place. And, of course, after any election, some people are happy, even elated, because their candidate, or candidates won their elections. Others, perhaps not so much.

    When these two calendars happen to coincide, it is a good time for us to keep in mind that though we live out our lives in two kingdoms, the kingdom of the left, government, and the Kingdom of the Right, the Church, God is in control of both kingdoms, which is to say, He is the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. To that end, whether my candidate wins or not, I’m always reminded of a verse of one of my favorite hymns, Praise the Almighty.”

“Trust not in rulers; they are but mortal;
Earthborn they are and soon decay.
Vain are their counsels at life’s last portal,
When the dark grave engulfs it’s prey.
Since mortals can no help afford,
Place all your trust in Christ, our Lord.
Alleluia!!”  

    With the endless changes of this world, the parable in this morning’s Gospel reading, deals with two of life’s absolute certainties, namely, the second coming of Jesus, and the fact that, faith in Him is absolutely essential for one to be saved. With those two certainties in mind, the parable deals with being prepared for Jesus’ return. The “wise virgins” are the one’s who are prepared to meet Jesus. The “foolish virgins” are not. The dichotomy makes sense. I mean, we tend to exalt wisdom and we despise and even ridicule foolishness, do we not? It makes sense then that the wise will be prepared for Jesus’ coming, while the foolish will not be prepared.
 
    The question though is, who are the wise and who are the foolish? As you know, there is a wisdom that suits the world, but there is an altogether wisdom, that suits God. That’s true too of foolishness. What the Bible calls “the wisdom of God,” namely, the Gospel, the crucifixion of Jesus for the sins of the world, the world calls foolishness. “Where is the one who is wise (asks the Apostle)? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.”
 
    There were ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. We enter now into the realm of Jewish wedding custom. Its not that the bridegroom was to marry all ten virgins, rather the virgins made up the bride’s court in a traditional Jewish wedding.They escorted the bride to the house the groom had prepared for her. It’s with that wedding custom in mind that Jesus once said, “I go to prepare a place for you.… If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself” (Jn 14:2–3).  As the groom in the parable was coming for his bride, so Jesus, in time, is coming for His bride too, the Church. 
 
    When it came time for the virgins and the bride to receive the bridegroom, five of the virgins were prepared and five of them were unprepared. Preparedness and the lack of it are signified by whether or not the virgins had sufficient oil to keep their lamps burning.The oil is the critical factor because those who lacked oil for their lamps were ultimately left out of the wedding feast. In fact, when the bridegroom came and the foolish virgins tried to get in to the wedding feast, the groom said, “truly, I say to you, I do not know you.”
 
    Immediately the temptation is for us to associate the oil, or the lack thereof, with faith in Christ. And so, we would say, the wise virgins had faith while the foolish one’s didn’t. The problem with that understanding is that it leaves no place for the lamps and the burning wick in the lamp, the light, which are also important parts of the parable.   
 
    Faith, as you know, is often depicted in the Scriptures as a light that emanates from the true Light who lightens every man coming into the world. That’s a common theme in John’s Gospel, for instance. Jesus said, “let your light shine before men that they see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”  Elsewhere He says, “No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.”  Why, even children are taught the connection between light and faith. “This little light of mine (they sing), I’m go’nna let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine.”    
 
    The light shining from the lamp then, is faith in Jesus, which went out in the lamps of five of the virgins, namely the foolish ones. Their lights went out because they ran out of oil. The oil is that which keeps the light burning. Which is to say, the oil is the means God gives to keep faith alive in those who believe, namely it’s God’s Word and His Sacraments, which are celebrated and freely given in the Church, by the Church, and for the Church.  
 
    The foolish virgins were those who didn’t consider it necessary, or convenient, or fun, to make use of the means God had given them to keep the wick burning in their lamps. They were negligent, slothful, perhaps preoccupied. The wise, on the other hand, rejoiced in the gifts of God, knowing that they couldn’t remain close to Christ and be ready to receive Him without those gifts in their lives. Jesus’ forgiveness and grace gave them peace and hope. They lived and moved and had their very being in Christ and His gifts. They could no more be found without oil in their lamps than they could be found without Christ in their lives.  
 
    In time, the groom came for His bride and the celebration began. The bride is adorned with a beauty beyond her means. She shines with the radiance of God, clothed as she is, in the very righteousness and purity of Christ Jesus. Her groom has loved her unto death, even death and on a cross. She loves Him in kind, because her cup runs over and goodness and mercy follow her all the days of her life.

    With the endless changes of this world, the parable before us this morning reminds us that there are two absolute certainties, the first is that Jesus is coming again, as He promised, and second, faith in Him is absolutely essential to being prepared to receive Him, as the King of kings and the Lord of lords. 
 
“O Jesus Christ, do not delay,
But hasten our salvation;
We often tremble on our way
In fear and tribulation.
O hear and grant our fervent plea;
Come, mighty judge, and set us free
From death and every evil.”

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen.

+ Soli Deo Gloria +