November 9, 2008
(Twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost; Proper 27)
God's Time
By The Very Rev. Terry White, Dean
Wisdom of Solomon 6:12-16 • Psalm 70 •
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 • Matthew 25:1-13
(From
The Lectionary Page)
In our downtown neighborhood here, as perhaps in your neighborhood, it is easy to tell time without a watch, thanks to the sound of bells. Our own tower rings on the hour, and some others ring every quarter hour. So if you are loosely timing a 30 minute walk, or need to be home by 5 o’clock to start homework, the sound of the bells tells you the time.
But since the time change last Sunday, there is a bell within earshot of my office that is driving me nuts. The clock is six minutes early, and thus, so are the bells, which ring every quarter hour. These false bells are a nuisance. I hear them, ignore what they are saying, and then calculate what time it really is.
Today’s lessons call us to be aware of the actual time, that is, God’s time.
We are bombarded with messages about time: Now is the time to invest, says one expert. Now is the time to pull money out, says another. Now is the time for light rail, claimed one now expired bill board, while a mile down the road another claimed this was not the time for such a project. There are timely reminders for deadlines that are firm for college applications or renewing a driver’s license, and we do well to heed those. Occasionally, times change with little notice, as with a flight schedule. And in a larger sense, we see signs that the times are a’ changin’.
Jesus speaks often of time, both chronos - the measurement of time which orders our day - and kairos - God’s time, as creation moves toward the day of judgment, resurrection, and the fulfillment of God’s everlasting reign. Indeed, the Gospel lesson is about discerning which kind of time has the bigger claim on us.
Methodist Bishop Will Willimon tells the following story:
When I was serving a little church in rural Georgia, one of my members had a relative who died. The funeral was in a little, hot, crowded, off-brand Baptist country church. I had never seen anything like it. After the coffin was wheeled the in, the preacher let loose some fire and brimstone.
"It’s too late for Joe," he screamed while pointing to the coffin. "He might have wanted to do this or that in life, but it’s too late for him now. He’s dead. It’s all over for him. He might have wanted to straighten his life out, but he can’t now. It’s over…"
"But," the preacher continued, "it isn’t too late for you! People drop dead every day. So why wait? Now is the day for decision. Now is the time to make your life count for something. Give your life to Jesus!"
Willimon goes on to recall that he thought it was worst funeral sermon that he had ever heard. In the car driving home, he said to his wife, "Can you imagine a preacher doing that kind of thing to a grieving family? It was so manipulative, cheap, and inappropriate. I would never preach a sermon like that," he said.
Willimon’s wife agreed with her husband. And then she added, "Of course, the worst part is that all that the preacher said, was true." [A Cloud of Witnesses quoted in Synthesis Proper 27]
Recognizing the uncertainty of life means that we dare not put off living as redeemed people, and repenting for our sins, lest on our last day, we are unprepared, like a lamp with no oil.
But there is another motivation for being prepared for that day when we stand before Jesus. My favorite evangelist for this motivation is Father Robert Capon, Episcopal priest and author.
On today’s Gospel passage, which ends with Jesus saying, "Keep awake, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour," Father Bob writes:
When all is said and done—when we have scared ourselves silly with the now-or-never urgency of faith and the once-and-for-all finality of judgment—we need to take a deep breath and let it out with a laugh. Because what we are called to watch for is a party.
And the party is not just down the street making up its mind when it will come to us. The party is already hiding in our basement, banging on our steam pipes, and laughing its way up our cellar stairs.
That unknown day and hour Jesus talks about, is not a dreadful day, but that glorious day when the party finally bursts into the kitchen, roistering its way through our whole house.
Jesus’ coming again is not our mother-in-law coming to for dinner, looking closely to see if we are using the dishes she gave us. Our Lord’s coming will be a most welcome sight, like a favorite Old Uncle who shows up with a salami under one arm and a bottle of wine under the other.
In this passage, Jesus is of course right: We must watch for him, watch for that day when he comes, because it would be such a pity to miss all the fun. [adapted from The Parables of Judgment]
Jesus speaks of lamps carried by the young bridesmaids. Some lamps can be lit because they have oil, but others are empty and useless. What in our lives is like oil that is burned to give light? And why do we run out of this oil, when we know it is indispensable, and that without it, we are in darkness?
More oil to burn or a new bulb for a lamp can be found at Target or QuikTrip. A burned-out soul, or a stale mission that needs a jump are replenished by what we are doing now: gathering as a community, breaking open the Word of Scripture, praying for the world, celebrating Eucharist, and encountering the Risen Christ.
The Gospel lesson reminds us that our time to prepare for meeting God face to face draws closer each day, and we are promised only today to praise God and honor God with how we live. We have only this day to ease the burden of a sister or brother, to work for justice, to respect the freedom and dignity of every human being. We are promised only today to enable the Church in her work proclaiming Christ Jesus as the hope of the world, whose Resurrection has destroyed death. We have only now to live for the One who says as we face of our greatest challenges: Be not afraid.
Feed the hungry. Speak out against bigotry. Live justly. Give generously. Heal the environment. Wage peace. Pray, work, and give for building up of the kingdom of God. These are the ways we fill our lamps, and prepare for the party that is coming.
Watch. Be prepared. Know what time it is. Jesus is coming.
