Rebecca Sheridan
Sunday, March 31, 2019
Matthew 25:1-30

Have you ever asked a question and gotten a much longer response back than you wanted? Well, the disciples are in this position with Jesus. This passage we heard this morning is part of a much longer “judgment discourse” that is taking place on the Tuesday of Holy Week, which is all of Matthew chapters 23 through 25, before we get to Maundy Thursday with chapter 26. Let’s keep in mind that this sermon from Jesus (it’s not really a conversation, Jesus is the only one doing the talking) is happening in Jerusalem, on his way to the cross. Jesus is trying to prepare his disciples to continue to follow him in faith after his death and resurrection, and the disciples are wondering what they will do while they wait, and when and how they will know that he’s returned. Jesus is at the Mount of Olives, actually, when his disciples ask him way back in Matthew 24:3, “What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” The disciples are wondering when this will all happen so that they can be prepared. A chapter later, In THAT context, then, Jesus is still talking! He tells a story about ten bridesmaids who are getting ready for a wedding, but five don’t have enough oil for their lamps when the bridegroom arrives. Jesus is answering the question about what will happen at the end of the age where Jesus tells the parable of the servants who invest their talents in different ways, and the one who doesn’t do anything but bury it.
Jesus keeps describing in these two parables what God’s kingdom is like, and it’s hard to find good news in these stories. These are not easy texts to preach, especially for us as Lutherans who always are emphasizing that it isn’t about what we DO, that our works can’t save us! It’s hard to make that argument when you read these chapters of Matthew. One of the characteristics of the gospel writer Matthew is his focus on what we as Christians do. Faith and works can’t be separated. If we’re going to call ourselves Christian, we ought to act like Christians, is Matthew’s general argument. And Matthew’s Jesus is harsh in his judgment of people who claim to follow Christ and do otherwise. There’s really no whitewashing or overlooking Jesus as a righteous judge in these gospel passages. BUT in the parable of the talents today Matthew also emphasizes that we are not to let our fear of God hold us back from living a Christian life as best we can, so it is my challenge this morning to help us move beyond fear of God’s judgment to listening for what might be good news for us from Jesus today.
SO…the good news I’ve found in these parables as we’ve been reading through Matthew is that what we do MATTERS to God. God wants our lives to matter. God has given us the gift of this life on Earth to make a difference for God’s kingdom. Sometimes when we only talk about being saved by grace apart from works of the law, it can sound like Lutherans don’t care about works at all, or that God doesn’t care about what we do. But God does. And the questions the disciples ask Jesus about what will happen at his second coming are questions we might ask a little differently, but they’re still relevant today: “What would I want to be up to when Jesus returns?” and similarly, “When I come to the end of my life and look back at how I’ve lived my life, will I be proud of what I’ve done? Will God be proud of what I’ve done?”
So first, let’s turn to the example of bridesmaids waiting for a wedding. This story sounds very strange – wouldn’t you just call a wedding off if the groom was so late it was midnight? You bet I’d be sleeping at this point. Well, maybe this isn’t so strange in another culture, on African time, for example. A few years ago, Pastor Rich got to be a groomsman in our friend John Badeng’s Sudanese wedding. It was an interesting collision of cultures as the Sudanese celebrated this wedding and worked with the Omaha Marriott to do the catering. The wedding invitation first came with a date, but no time. When we asked when we should come, John told us “about noon.” I’m somewhat familiar with African time, so I showed up at 1pm. Only the white guests were in the church. About 1:30, the choir showed up and started a worship and praise time. About 2:30, the wedding party arrived and we started the wedding ceremony in the church. We got to the Marriott for dinner about 5pm, the food had been out and waiting for us since 3. So maybe weddings in Jesus’ day were more like a Sudanese wedding, where no one was exactly sure when the bridegroom was coming, they just knew to be ready. But when the five bridesmaids go out to buy oil because they didn’t have enough, they miss the actual wedding. In focusing on the details like having a lamp trimmed and burning, in their last-minute preparations, they miss the most important event – the arrival of the bridegroom and the wedding itself.
How many of us end up in situations like those bridesmaids, distracted by “important” details so that we miss out on what’s most important to us in life – our family time, time with God, time tackling our bucket list and time spent serving others? For me, the recent Nebraska floods have helped prioritize my time in a different way. When my friends and neighbors are suffering, my worries and to-dos seem less important. The purpose of the church is more clear during these times – we are there to help those who need help, to serve as Jesus served. This parable is not kind to procrastinators. Jesus seems to be asking us to plan ahead, to think well before our time on Earth ends about what’s most important to us, and to spend our time as best we can living out our Christian faith in word and in deed.
Then we turn to the parable of the talents, where a man going on an extended trip gives sizable sums of money to three of his servants. It’s important to know that one talent was worth fifteen years of wages, so the servant given five talents was basically given a lifetime of wages to invest (75 years’ worth!) But the last servant buries his master’s money – why? Because he is afraid. Our fear, even our fear of God, can keep us from living the life God has given us to the fullest. God instead asks us to trust him and take risks for the sake of the gospel. Remember, Jesus is telling his disciples this on the way to his own death on a cross. He doesn’t expect the disciples to be completely without fear, or that their journey in following him will always be easy. But all of us who have sought to follow Jesus and live life as a Christian also know the great reward we receive in following him, in living a life of abundance because of our life in Christ. It’s worth the risk of investment, and our fear of God should be nothing compared to what we’ve known and experienced through God’s grace and love in Jesus Christ.
So, what “oil” might you need to keep on hand that will keep your lamp lit and burning until Jesus comes again? In other words, what daily or weekly or monthly practices help you stay focused on what is most important in life, focused on God’s will for your life? What might be holding you back from prioritizing your life in an intentional way so your life is an investment in living for God and for others? What are you afraid of? How can you give that over to God, knowing that your life matters, more than anything else, so much so that Jesus is willing to die so that you might live? These are the holy questions of Lent as we journey with Jesus to the cross. As you strive to stay focused on what matters most, take courage, and don’t be afraid, because you matter most to God. Amen.