Let Your Light Shine

Proper 27

Fr. Tim Nunez

May my spoken word be true to God’s written word and bring us all closer to the living word, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen

Today’s Gospel continues Matthew’s witness to the days leading up to the crucifixion. Now, Jesus has left the Temple Mount, crossed the Kidron Valley and is teaching his disciples on the Mount of Olives, which is a stunning location. It forms a ridge to the east of the Temple. The southern end of it is Jerusalem’s cemetery, and it also has olive groves on it – including the Garden of Gethsemane – and it overlooks the Temple Mount.

 From that spot, Jesus has been teaching them about the coming conflict, the destruction of the Temple down below, and the end times. All of this will come suddenly, and no one knows when. This Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids is the first of three he will share describing the coming of the Kingdom of God. We will hear the others over the next two Sundays; the parable of the Talents and the parable of the Sheep and Goats. All three are very serious, life and death parables told next to the cemetery.

Jesus begins this parable as he does many others, “The Kingdom of heaven will be like this.” That should grab our attention. This lesson has eternal significance, and it is easy to find our place in it. In their custom at the time, the bridegroom would arrive to the bride’s family’s home and be welcomed with a celebration, marriage took place there, then a banquet after which the married couple would go to their home.

The bridegroom is obviously Jesus and the bridesmaids are those of us waiting on him to arrive; for us, his coming again. The lamps tie back to Jesus telling his followers at the start of his ministry, all the way back in chapter five, “You are the light of the world.” No one puts a lamp under a bushel, rather you put it on a stand so that it can light up the whole room.

The lamps require oil, which must not give out. The lesson is clearly that the wise prepare and have plenty of oil, but what does the oil represent? Jesus doesn’t tell us, but there are only a few possibilities that all tie back to attending to our faith in substantive ways. That would include everything from participating in worship, to daily prayer and devotion, to giving and serving people in Jesus’ name.

That works out differently for everyone. We each have our particular gift and talents as well as circumstances and opportunities to exercise our love of God and of our neighbors. Sometimes, often, God will call us to something that stretches us, leading us into areas we are afraid to go. The point is to exercise your faith so that it is strong and ready to receive Christ when he comes again and when he comes for you specifically.

This morning we are celebrating our longest-running community ministry, which is our Thrift Shop. The Thrift Shop is celebrating its 88th year of service to our community. I’d like to walk through the various ways it replenishes and builds up oil in preparation for the coming of our bridegroom.

We will start with the donations.  When people give clothing and household items to the Thrift Shop, they are giving to the Lord. The act of giving to God at once acknowledges our love for him and for his people. The items are then in the hands of our volunteers, who are giving God their time, again showing love for God and his people. Some volunteers sort and prepare items for sale. Some price them and physically put them on display. Some engage the customers while they shop. Some work the cash register and online payments.

Working together, they form a community of faith. They share a camaraderie, friendships grow and deepen, all in the bonds of Christ. Not all of them are members of Good Shepherd, but all are serving the Lord and his people.

The customers are part of it too. They are able to buy quality items at a very low cost, and they, too, engage the volunteers.

A couple of years ago we received a very generous offer to buy the building, of which we had been using less than half. We bought it, remodeled it and now it’s more than double the size. We were also blessed to have local artist Paul O’Neill paint an amazing mural on its east wall. If you’ve not been there in a while, check it out.

Finally, the net proceeds go directly to our outreach budget. None of it supports the parish budget. It all goes to mostly local ministries (Lake Wales Care Center, Camp Wingmann, Idols Aside, and Refuge on the Ridge, for example.) Plus, we support two overseas missions. (Volunteers, please stand. Donors and shoppers please stand.) We cannot know how those gifts roll forward from there. It just goes on and on.

There’s an entire economy of grace that touches people at every turn, and I’m sure there are more ways than I’ve mentioned. But at each moment, there is an opportunity for the people involved to enact their faith in giving, serving, managing, buying and distributing the proceeds. All of it is adding to their stock of oil and letting their lamps shine brightly as we await the bridegroom, Jesus.

And of course, this applies to every ministry people do, those that serve within the church and those that reach out to the community. It can apply to everything we do if we do it unto the Lord.

I asked the children earlier what they would do if I told them they had to run a distance in a set time or pass a test, or some other physical or mental feat to get into heaven. We’d all try really hard, I think/hope. But God hasn’t said that. Rather, Jesus said simply be ready, which is all about the orientation of our minds and wills. We’ll do plenty when we have that right.

And when we don’t, the door is locked. That’s a bit scary, isn’t it? If you don’t like it, take it up with him.

AMEN!