November 8, 2020
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois
Matthew 25:1-13[1]
People get ready, there’s a train
comin’
You don’t need no baggage, you just get on board
All you need is faith to hear the diesels hummin’
You don’t need no ticket, you just thank the Lord.[2]
We are all waiting for something. We all seek to know the
purpose for our lives. So, we go about
our days trying to find that purpose, that something that will give our lives
meaning. We try to gather those things
about us that we think we need to have in order to be ready for life. We are
often so preoccupied in making sure that we have the right stuff – the right
clothes, the newest phone, oil for our lamps – that we miss the call when it
comes.
The bridesmaids were waiting for the bridegroom to meet
them. The wedding banquet was going to
be soon, and they would need their lamps to light the way there. They all took their lamps, but some did not
take flasks of oil with them. The bridegroom
was delayed, and they became drowsy and slept.
Then the call came: The bridegroom is here!
My best friend came to me and told me that his dad was
dying. Jeff had ALS, Lou Gehrig's
disease, and was fading fast. As the
tears came down his face, my friend said that he was going to need me, and
asked me to perform the funeral service.
I said I would do everything that I could, and so I waited for the
call. I gathered some material for the
service, prayers and scripture, and I felt prepared. I never packed a bag, however. The next few weeks were busy. Then the call
came: Jeff's heart stopped. He's in the
hospital.
When the call comes, will you be ready? When someone needs you to show love,
compassion, kindness, will you be ready to give it? Will you respond, or do you need to make sure
that you have everything together? Some
of the bridesmaids were foolish and brought no oil for their lamps. When the call came, they went off to buy more
oil, to get themselves ready. When my
friend called me at work, I went home to pack a bag of clothes, to get ready.
And the door was shut.
The opportunity was missed. Have
you ever missed an opportunity? Have you
ever had the chance to be kind to someone, to show someone that you love them,
to be there when a friend needed you, but missed that chance because you didn't
feel ready? Opportunities pass us by,
the door is shut, and we feel like we missed something big. The bridesmaids who went to buy oil were left
behind, and the door was shut. I went
home to pack my bag, and by the time I got to my friend, Jeff had died. An opportunity was missed.
The kingdom of heaven is like this? The door gets shut and we can't get in? That's not fair! I wasn't ready to go! I didn't have the right clothes! I didn't have enough oil! I wasn't ready!
But wait a minute! To
what are we being called? My friend
needed me to be with him when his father died.
He didn't care what clothes I was wearing. The bridegroom needed the bridesmaids to come
to the banquet. He didn't care if their
lamps went out. We are being called to
the kingdom of heaven. It doesn't matter
if we have the right things. We aren't
going to be judged on whether we have oil for our lamps, whether we have on the
right clothes. That is not the
point! The kingdom of heaven is not
about punishment and reward. That is not
the point. The point is that we have
been invited to share in the kingdom of heaven, and all we need to do is say
yes.
I was being invited to share in a special moment with my
friend and his family, to be with them when they needed a friend to share in
their pain. The bridesmaids were being
invited to a wedding banquet, to a feast, to share in a celebration! We are invited to the kingdom of heaven, to
celebrate God's love for us and share a sacred feast with one another.
Will you answer the call?
Are you ready to receive the invitation?
Are you ready to leave behind the things that don't matter and choose
the way of love, compassion, kindness, and justice? To follow Christ means to live in
readiness. When someone comes to us in
need, when we are invited to share in someone's joy, or someone's pain, are we
ready?
It is not always easy to answer the call. It comes at midnight. It comes when we are tired. It comes when we are in the middle of
something important. It may be a long
road. We may lose things on the
way. Our lamps may go out. It is Jesus we are following, after all. We might lose our lives! But the kingdom of heaven is where we are
going.
And the good news is that we already have what we need. Those who were ready were the ones who went
with the bridegroom to the banquet. And
when they got there, they didn't need their lamps anymore. All they needed was to be present at the
banquet with the bridegroom, and to share in the celebration. My friends knew how far away I was, and I
went there ready to stand by their side.
And when I got there, I didn't need anything except my love for my friends,
to listen, and share in their pain. When
someone comes to you – who needs love, compassion, and kindness – you already
have everything you need within you.
When you respond to the invitation, when you answer the call and join
with another sharing in their joy, sharing in their pain, you enter the kingdom
of heaven.
There's a train a-comin'.
It's the train to Jordan, the train that will bring us to the kingdom of
heaven. And we don't need no baggage, we
just get on board. Faith is the only key
we need. Faith – that Christ is leading
us to the kingdom. Faith – that, when we
stand at the door of death, there will be a resurrection. So, get ready! Your faith is the lamp that will light the
way. Keep your lamp trimmed and burning;
and when it comes, answer the call. Are
you ready?
[1] The
scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard
Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of
the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2]
Curtis Mayfield, 1965, recorded by The Impressions © 1964 Warner-Tamerlane
Publishing Corp. (Renewed).
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