November 11, 2023 – 24th Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 27)

“‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

There’s something about being ready in advance and not procrastinating. I don’t know about you, but when I have to present something, or lead a meeting or class, I really put in the time to make sure that I do everything that I can in advance to make the day of the event as stress-free as possible. So I get something of the panic in the hearts of those foolish bridesmaids when they came to the night in question and they discovered they had no oil in their lamps. Today, we might make a last-minute run to 7-11 to replenish our supply. But I can only imagine their disappointment when finally they returned to discover that they had missed the big event altogether.  I know what this feels like in daily life, and yes, I’m familiar with the meaning of this in my life of faith as well. I know what it is to discover that I have “run out of oil.”

Today’s parable doesn’t speak of there being a shortage of oil for our lamps. It speaks only of the bridesmaids forgetting that they would need oil. As I sometimes do. But Jesus tells us that the oil is always there for our lamps. We simply need to receive it. When we’re feeling drained, we need to ask for more oil. 

“Keeping awake” as we are told to do today in Jesus’ words is simply this… knowing that we have all we need if we’ll only receive it. If only we remember that we need it. If only we remember that we have a steady supply of that precious oil for us to help light our way. Because we already have Jesus as we await the bridegroom’s return. We already have Jesus. If only we pause long enough to recognize and receive this precious gift, it is already ours. All we have to do is to fill our lamps.

That HAS to be enough on those days when our hearts break at the pain and suffering in our world. Because alone, we can’t change it. Alone, we can’t alter it. But we CAN keep our lamps full of oil. We can keep our lights shining as beacons of promise and hope. We have more than enough to do that, and for now isn’t that enough? In the end, isn’t that really everything? In fact, isn’t that what the world needs most of all?

Do you identify with the bridesmaids’ lack of preparedness in your everyday life? In your life of faith? Jesus is telling us to be prepared – to keep our lamps filled. But how might we even now allow our lamps to be refilled? There is surely enough oil, enough hope, enough promise to carry us through. What does it look like in your life for you to simply receive it?