Get Right with Jesus.

When I was 18, I worked in a warehouse overnight loading trucks for the next day’s deliveries. The warehouse had a conveyor system that at one point separated into two tracks, one at about waist level and one that went way up high, 20 feet or more. 

Every now and then a box or two would get turned the wrong way and the conveyors would back up. When that happened on the upper line, a couple of guys would have to go up and clear the jam. In hindsight, this didn’t meet OSHA standards. There weren’t any safety harnesses or really any place to walk except on the edges of the conveyor itself, hanging on to the supports that came down from the ceiling every six feet or so, and 20 feet below polished cement.

The supervisor, we’ll call him Larry because that was his name, would usually go up himself and call out, “Whoever is right with Jesus, come give me a hand.” Now, I’m afraid of heights. But sometimes I’d go up because I felt like I was right with Jesus. That seemed a lot simpler at 18 than it does today, but there you go.

Jesus is sharing this parable right before he goes to the cross, not long before his Resurrection and not long before his Ascension. We see some familiar themes in it that Jesus has touched upon on several times; the suddenness of his return and the judgment that will come upon even those who know and acknowledge Him – but don’t respond to His call.

As we look at the details of this parable, there is a particular emphasis in the response that demands our attention. Look at the bridesmaids. All of them showed up. All of them had oil in their lamps. All of them fell asleep. All of them woke up when he arrived. The distinction arises because the groom is much later than they had anticipated. The wise ones had prepared for the long wait. The foolish ones did not.

So, our first mental note is to be prepared, which is good and true, but there is an emphasis here that is life shaping.

We find in scripture that their culture, including Jesus, used “sleep” as a word for death. For example, Jesus said that Lazarus had “fallen asleep” (John 11:11-13) as had the little girl he raised from the dead (Matthew 9:24).

This parable speaks to the expectation that some Christians have that Jesus is going to come again in our lifetimes. Some preachers in every age have preached on it and some of the faithful have anticipated it. Paul is addressing that issue in this passage from 1 Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Some people were apparently afraid that they might die before the second coming of Christ. Paul assures them not to worry about that. For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. (1 Thessalonians 4:16) Did you catch that? Not only will the dead rise, they get to go first. (In accounting we call that a FIFO inventory system, or “first in first out”.)

Of course, the order doesn’t matter. We just want in. The key is to prepare, to have our faith in good shape, before we fall asleep. We cannot expect to have our work in this life entirely done before we sleep or before he comes. But the idea is to be persistently in a mode of preparation. We must not assume all is well because we are a member of the church as if it were a club, a status to be held, or even because you “paid your dues” some time ago. It is a discipline, a life to be led appropriate to your stage of life and your ongoing maturation in Christ.

Here’s another way to think of it. We all know that Jesus came into the world 2,000 years ago. We all know that he is coming again. I suggest he is coming in two ways. He is coming again at the end times, of course. And he is continuously coming to us. And so our job is to continuously attend to receiving Him. When we do, the benefits also continually come to us. He shapes and forms us. He bears us through our hardships and we grow in strength and character.

It’s like exercise that way. We might exercise because we want to live a longer life, and it also helps us to live a better life right now.

These times are particularly challenging that way. Yes, we’ve been able to have live church for over five months now and, thank God, we have not yet had a single case of COVID-19 associated with our worship services. We’ve had breakfasts and coffee hours for over two months now without incident. Many are watching online, either live or at later times. We’ve not only maintained our local and distance mission efforts but we’ve significantly expanded them. Our reach appears to be much greater and we’ve connected with people hundreds and thousands of miles away.

All of that is good, some of it is surprisingly great. But there is a real challenge in there, too. It’s a lot like the challenges of education with COVID. Education is a lot more than just passing along information. It includes socialization, learning to function within a structure and learning from others. The framework, the structure that the rhythms of a set schedule provide matter, as do the subtle encouragements we get through fellowship, and the bonds of fellowship that grow out of that consistent contact. We can represent some of it, but not all of it.

And so each of us must meet that challenge, assume responsibility for our faith, for our response to Jesus. Parents have an added responsibility for making sure their children are getting it.

So tell me, who’s right with Jesus? Who is ready to go up? I don’t want to let any of our group fail to prepare. He’s coming. He’s always coming.

AMEN