Today's Scripture
Matthew 25:1-13 Always Prepared
“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But 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.’ 10 And 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. 11 Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ 13 Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
RJ's Devotion
What does the passage say?
V. 1-5 Jesus is continuing a series of parables about the unknown day to come. There were bridesmaids waiting for the groom to come.
V. 6-10 Half of the bridesmaid had prepared oil for their lamps, and the other half didn’t prepare. When the groom arrived, unexpectedly, only the wise were able to carry out their role, as a bridesmaid.
V. 11-13 The bridesmaid, who had to go out and search for oil, were banned from coming and joining the celebration.
What does this passage mean to me/us?
For us to fully understand this parable, we need to understand the role of a bridesmaid, in a Palestinian wedding.
The focal point of a wedding is the ceremony of the groom taking the bride into his household.
This ceremony will normally happen, during the evening, while the bridesmaids light up the journey for the new couple, marching toward the groom’s house.
Normally, everyone will be waiting and dancing outside of the gate, until the groom comes and escort his bride into his home.
For the bridesmaid failing to provide a lamp that shines during this ceremony of unity was considered to fail their role, which becomes a good reason not to participate in the remaining celebration.
In this analogy, the groom is normally understood as Jesus, while the church is the bride. We can also understand that the world can also be considered as the bride.
Followers are called to prepare and light the way for this act of unity.
However, we can easily fall into the rut of slumber, since we do not know the date or time, ‘as the bridegroom is delayed’ (v. 5 NRSV).
Jesus is challenging the people of God to be prepared and ready to fulfill their purpose. Even though it might not be clear of when or how we need to do so, it doesn’t take away the call to prepare.
What is God calling us to prepare, to fulfill God’s purpose, in our church and also in our lives?
Prayer
Lord, prepare your way in us. Help us to obediently seek your way.
Help us to fulfill the purpose of lighting the way, in the world, so the world can see you. Use my life today. In Christ name, we pray, AMEN.
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