"Will You Be Ready For Christmas"
Sermon Transcript for December 7, 2003Scripture Reading: Matthew 25:1-13
By Rev. Mike Beck
Most of us are people who prepare for the things in life that are most important to us. We try to have ample life insurance so we can be prepared for the unexpected emergencies of life. There was a beautiful wedding here last night. Meg Gotshall and her mom, Karen, had spent hundreds of hours preparing for that special day. Last I checked there is a pretty important football game at 1:00 p.m. this afternoon down in Nashville, Tennessee. Persons in Indianapolis and Nashville have spent hours preparing for that event. Why prepare? Why not just let things happen, as they will? Well, yes, we acknowledge that at times the “serendipity” experiences of life are among the most meaningful. But for most of life, if we fail to prepare we miss out on so much of life because preparation makes us ready to participate in that event to the fullest capacity that we can.
Christmas is coming. We see preparations all around us. In our homes, you put up the Christmas tree or Christmas trees, decorations adorn the mantle, Christmas cards are mailed, and fudge and cookies find their way to the kitchen counter. We go shopping. We’ll fight the crowds just to find that special gift for special people in our lives. We prepare for dinners with family and friends. It is an exciting time of the year as we prepare for Christmas.
But I want to ask you a couple of questions that form the backdrop to the message today. I want you to reflect as to whether you are making any spiritual preparations for Christmas? And a related question, “Is the door of your heart open to receive in a fresh new way the gift of the Son of God?” Those of us who are followers of Christ, we live out our lives in a very secular society. We need to be very intentional to try and answer, “yes”, to those questions because if we are not intentional, Jesus even for us, kind of becomes an afterthought in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of the season. And we dare not wait until Christmas Eve to prepare. That’s why we have a season of Advent. The church has designed a period of four weeks so that we would be ready for the celebration of Christmas.
The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Merchants has much to teach us in this second week of Advent. People in my Disciple class are discovering the more that they know some historical background to Scripture, the more alive Scripture becomes. I want to read with you a few paragraphs from Lloyd Ogilvie’s book, The Autobiography of God. His words say it better than I can say it in terms of the historical background to this parable.
“Weddings in Jesus’ day were a time of joyous celebration. The festivities didn’t last one evening; they lasted a whole week. The high point of the week of the wedding celebration was when the bridegroom would come to the bride’s home to take her to their new home. Great pageantry and drama had become a part of the tradition surrounding this event. The bride would ask ten of her friends to be bridesmaids. Their special task was to be a part of the processional from her house to the new marriage home. Usually this took place at night so the major responsibilities of the bridesmaids were to carry lamps to light the joyous way of the wedding party.
But the time when the bridegroom would come was kept a secret. It was to be a surprise. But the bride and the bridesmaids were to be waiting expectantly. Jesus filled His story with dramatic skill. The bridesmaids waited patiently for the bridegroom. But soon the exhaustion of the festivities coupled with the long wait, made them sleepy. Well, one of the things the bridegroom would try to do would be to catch the bridal party napping. The bridegroom was required by custom to send a courier ahead of him shouting, “Behold the bridegroom. Come out to meet him!” The bridesmaids were to be alert and out on the street ready to meet him. But because the time of his arrival was uncertain, a great deal of humor and fun surrounded this time of advent.
The Parable has a griping conclusion. The ten bridesmaids fall asleep their lamps burning brightly. They all looked alike as we first observed them. They all slept; they all had their lights in flame. But as the hours went by, five of the lamps began to flicker and go out. Five of the bridesmaids had not prepared for the long wait. When the bridegroom’s crier announced his coming, all the bridesmaids were awakened. Five were not prepared to meet him for they had not brought any extra oil for their lamps. Frustrated frenzy ensued. They tried to borrow oil from the five who prepared; but they refused. Their supply was just enough for themselves. There was nothing for the unprepared bridesmaids to do but to rush out and purchase more oil. They missed the wedding procession. And if that were not disappointing enough, when they returned with their lamps replenished, the door of the bridal house was shut. For it was the custom to close the door of the wedding banquet after the invited guests had entered and not reopen it for there were numerous strangers and drifters in the streets looking for a free meal. No amount of frantic rapping of the door would admit the late bridesmaids. They had missed the joy.”
This parable of Jesus has at least two universal warnings for us in regards to our relationship with God. First of all, it tells us there are certain things in life that cannot be borrowed. Hear again versus 8 and 9, “The foolish bridesmaids said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil for our lamps are going out.’ ‘No’, they replied, ‘There may not be enough for both us and you. Instead you need to go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’” We talk this time of year about the Christmas spirit (small “s”). For most folks that means the “warm fuzzies” of bright lights, pretty music, and family and friends. All of those things are wonderful. But, friends, the true Spirit of Christmas (capital “S”) has to do with the Christ of Christmas taking up residence in our hearts through repentance, and faith, and obedience on our part. And, friends, that is not something can you borrow from Mom and Dad, from Grandma and Grandpa. It’s got to be your relationship with Christ that comes from accepting Him for yourself as Savior and then growing in your understanding of Him as “Lord”.
Secondly, the parable teaches us in haunting ways that there will come a day when it is too late to prepare. I don’t see it as much any more, but most of you are old enough like me to remember the signs along the highway that said, “Prepare to Meet Thy God!” Now I’m not sure that that’s overwhelmingly effective evangelism. But yet the words on that sign are filled with profound wisdom and truth! This season of Advent, as Dan reminded us last week so well, has two parts to it. We are to prepare ourselves to celebrate the birth of Christ, and we especially do that by making this a season of repentance. Repentance. And also Advent, the part we often miss, is it’s a time to remember that Christ not only came 2000 years ago, but He is coming again.
What if He came this afternoon? Would you be ready? Has your preparation for eternity been such that you can answer with confidence these two diagnostic questions from the ministry of “Evangelism Explosion”? As they engage people in conversation, they ask first of all this question: If you died tonight, are you sure you’re going to Heaven? And some people say, “Well, isn’t that presumptuous?” My Bible doesn’t say so! My Bible says we can know for certain His spirit bears witness with our spirit and that we are the sons and daughters of God. The second question that’s asked is this: If you were standing at the entrance to God’s Heaven and someone at the gate asked you this question, “On what basis should you be granted admission to God’s Heaven?” what would be your answer? And it’s amazing when you dialog with people who have been a part of the church all their life they start talking. “I was a member of the church. I did good works. I gave my money.” Those are all wonderful things. But, friends, my Bible says we do good works not to be saved, but because we are saved. The only answer that’s going to get us in is the words of the old hymn, “Lord, nothing in my hands I bring.” I’m reminded of the words of the hymn of invitation, “Pass me not, O gentle Savior. Hear my humble cry. While on others Thou art calling; do not pass me by.”
And so my prayer today is that we might make spiritual preparations to get ready for Christmas. There may be some hearing my voice this morning—you know about Grandpa’s faith, you know about Mom’s faith—but you don’t know about your faith. Your preparation may be to make this season of Advent, December of 2003, the time you seal the deal. For as we reflected on last week, we can know the story of Christmas and not know the Christ of Christmas. I don’t want to hear these words that the foolish bridesmaids heard that night. “For while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived.” And the bridegroom is Christ. “The virgins who were ready went in with them to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut. And later the others also came. ‘Sir, Sir’, they replied, ‘open the door for us.’ But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I do not know you.’” There will be a day it is too late to prepare.
For those of you who are followers of Christ, may your preparation in the remaining days leading up to Christmas be to see yourself with this light that you have been given when you received Christ as Savior and rekindle it. Fill it again with oil. Purchase some extra oil so you can let it burn brightly to illuminate the pathway of the bridegroom, which is Christ, who is coming.
As I was working on the message this week, I remembered back to my MYF days. We sang a little chorus—“Give me oil in my lamp, keep it burning, burning, burning”. That little chorus that many of you know has directly to do with this parable. Fill up the lamp of your life this Christmas. Let me suggest three quick ways you can do that.
Spend some quiet moments alone with God. Spend some quiet moments with God—just you. One of the things I enjoy this time of year. Mickey decorates our home so beautifully for Christmas. You are all invited next Sunday afternoon to come and visit our home in Jefferson Meadows. Late at night I’ll often turn all the lights off except the Christmas tree. And just sit there in the glow of the Christmas tree and maybe put on some carols or read Scripture to spend some time alone with God.
Give of yourself to others. Give of yourself to others as a way of putting oil in your lamp. The Angel Tree, our youth are taking blankets to a homeless mission in Indianapolis the first week in January. They’ve invited us…I don’t do much shopping, but I’m going to do it this week. This is going to be my thing to get a blanket and attach a prayer to it. This is the time of year if you want to talk about giving something very practical; blood banks get low in their supply. And there is a blood draw in this community tomorrow. It may be as simple as giving that gift of life.
Take advantage of the worship opportunities here at Grace. And then finally, prepare by taking advantage of the worship opportunities here at Grace. You’ve got three golden opportunities coming up. To reach out to a person at Grace who has become inactive. They’ve got out of the habit of worship. For an un-churched friend, the Christmas Cantata in our weekend services next week, wonderful music father and son groups are going to lead us in worship the Sunday before Christmas, and then three Christmas Eve services. Friends, most folks won’t turn you down if you invite them at this time of the year.
Those are things you can do to prepare. Will you be ready for Christmas? Let us pray, “Lord Jesus, come anew to us. For the one here who may not know you, might they even right now give a simple prayer and invite You into their hearts, Lord. Help us to take time to prepare to celebrate the awesome gift of love made known to us in Bethlehem so long ago. And, Lord, help us not to keep the gift to ourselves but to share it with others. We pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
E-mail Comments to: Reverend Dan Sinkhorn