Readings:
Wisdom 6:12-16
Psalm 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Matthew 25:1-13
So what do we do now? The good news is that the commercials,
the robocalls, the slick mailers, the speeches and the debates are gone for
now. The bad news is that what remains isn’t necessarily all that pretty.
Because what remains is a country that seems horribly
divided. What remains is half a country feeling vindicated, or victorious, or
gloating, or relieved, and half a country that feels angry, or sorrowful, or
despairing, or anxious. And what remains is probably this church is divided
that way too. And there, I think, is our challenge.
Because we’re not supposed to be like everybody else. We’re
not supposed to follow what the general population does. We’re supposed to be
different. We’re supposed to be the ones who let the light shine through us as
Fr. Ron said last week. We’re supposed to be the ones to lead the way in
forgiveness, and in mercy and healing. And boy, there’s going to need to be a
lot of healing after this election cycle. And that’s where Wisdom comes in.
We hear a lot today about Wisdom – about how just seeking
Wisdom is the beginning of gaining it. But the wisdom that Scripture is talking about
is not the conventional wisdom of the world. Rather it’s the divine Wisdom –
and that Wisdom is embodied perfectly in what Jesus taught and lived.
That Wisdom is not just the foresight to have a full reserve
of oil – but it’s the oil itself that keeps our lamps burning so that we can
see the bridegroom even in the darkness of the night. Because tt’s all about
the oil. All through this year we’ve been challenged with dealing with the
covid-19 pandemic, tension caused by racial inequality, and a contentious
election year. But all through the year we have also heard from Matthew’s
gospel about what that oil is that keeps our light shining. All the way back in
the spring we heard Jesus tell us that we are the light of the world. What good
will that light be without oil? How will we shine without enough oil to keep
bringing light to the rest of the world in times when darkness comes?
It’s all about the oil.
And as we heard so much from Matthew’s gospel, we were
offered more oil when we heard Jesus tell about building our house on rock, not
on sand; about turning the other cheek, going the extra mile, loving one’s
enemies, investing one's talents fully – and taking up one’s cross.
Then two weeks ago there was more oil when we heard that
loving our neighbor is on a par with loving God, and that the two are
essentially inseparable.
And just last week we heard again the outline for living a
life of a missionary disciple when we heard the Beatitudes. More oil. We are to
be poor in spirit, meek, merciful, pure of heart – and peacemakers. Peacemakers.
These are the qualities we’re supposed to bring to the world, to be the light
Jesus says we are, really to let his light shine through us.
And in just two weeks we will hear the other end of Matthew’s
gospel – the climax of Jesus’ teaching: the corporal works of mercy. When did
we see you hungry and feed you? When did we see you naked and clothe you? When
did we see you as a prisoner and visit you, or stranger and welcome you?
The Beatitudes and the corporal works of mercy are the
bookends in Jesus’ teaching according to Matthew. And they are the oil for our
lamps. And it’s all about the oil.
And so our prayer is in the words of that great gospel hymn:
Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning, give me oil in my lamp – I pray, give
me oil in my lamp keep me burning – keep me burning to the break of day.
So what do we do now? Maybe what we do is to be who we are
called to be – maybe we should be the voices of mercy and healing and peace and
reconciliation. And maybe we should be the ones who bring hope and calm to
everyone around us – maybe we should be the peacemakers. And maybe if we do our
lamps will shine brightly enough for Jesus to recognize us and welcome us into
his party. And we can only do that if we remember that it’s all about the oil.
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