MATTHEW 25:1-13 In fulfillment of Jesus' warning, echoed by blessed Paul, the day of the Lord comes like a thief

in the night. St. Paul tells us in today's Epistle, While people are saying, 'Peace and safety,' destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. This is Jesus' point in his parable of the ten virgins, which should really be called, the parable of the feast which Jesus, the bridegroom, wants everyone to enjoy. Jesus takes a picture from the wedding practices of the time. The bridegroom and his bride would get engaged, or betrothed. Then the bridegroom would come back to town, accompanied by his groomsmen. Without giving advance notice, the groom would arrive at the bride's home. She, accompanied by her bridesmaids, would come out to meet him. Then there would be a torch-lit procession to the wedding banquet. And that's the focus of Jesus' parable. The bridesmaids must be prepared for the wedding banquet. They must be prepared every hour, day and night. For the bridegroom might come at an hour when they would least expect him. And the torches they carried required maximum attention. These torches were lit by rags, soaked in olive oil. The oil would quickly burn up, and had to be replenished every 15 minutes. In our parable, the bridegroom was a long time in coming. The five foolish bridesmaids hadn't planned on that. They had brought their torches, but they hadn't brought along any oil to keep them burning. So, they asked their five wise friends to share their oil. But that wasn't possible. Then, there wouldn't be enough. Christian, the torch is your faith, which burns with trust in Jesus' promise and eagerness for his return. But your faith can go out. It must be fed constantly fed by daily contrition and repentance. The sooty ends of your faith must be trimmed off by repentance. The parts of our life that have been charred by hell's temptations must be amputated. And your faith must be continually refreshed with the oil of the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit has graciously chosen to operate in only one way, in only one place. Our Confessions declare: That we may obtain this faith, God instituted the ministry, gave the Word and Sacraments, through which, as through means, the Holy Spirit works faith, where and when it pleases God, in those who hear the Gospel.. The salvation, which our Lord Jesus Christ purchased, not with gold or silver, but with his holy precious blood, and with his innocent sufferings and death, that great salvation, can be lost! It can be lost by your own laziness and neglect. Your faith can be destroyed by friendship with the world, which is an enemy of God. You can be lulled to sleep by the foolish talk of ignorant men. Jesus doesn't want that to happen. He graciously promises, He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. But he carries it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus only by bringing you his Gospel in the Word, in Baptism and in the Lord's Supper. Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word of Christ. When it comes to becoming a Christian, entering into God's kingdom of grace, God alone does that work. It is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not of yourself. It is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus.

But, from the moment the Holy Spirit works faith in your heart, he creates in you a new nature, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. This new nature actively cooperates with the Holy Spirit in making those choices that will support the Spirit's efforts to strengthen our faith. Meanwhile, we have our sinful flesh, who clings to us as long as we live. And the flesh does all it can to resist the Spirit's efforts. That's why we feel that internal conflict so often in our lives, the struggle between the flesh and the spirit. Jesus gives you his Word and Sacrament so that you may remain in your faith. But you must come and use them. The five foolish bridesmaids had to go to those who sold oil and get some for themselves. Those who sell the oil, those who impart the Holy Spirit, are the ministers of the Gospel whom Christ has called: It was he who gave some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people. So no, the American heresy isn't true. You can't be a Christian and not go to church. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Of course, the act of going into a church building won't make you a Christian, anymore than walking into Thomas's on Sunday afternoon will fill your belly. But you go to Thomas' because there's food there, and you're hungry. So also, you go to church because Jesus is there with his Word and Sacraments, and your new nature is hungry for Jesus. So, Jesus continues to sound forth the midnight cry: Here's the Bridegroom! Where do you find a groom? At the side of his bride. The Church, Christ's Bride, is where you will find Christ. The two are united, one flesh, in a matrimony so holy that St. Paul calls it a profound mystery. The closest we can come to that profound mystery comes when we partake of the Mystery called the Lord's Supper. Here the heavenly Bridegroom feeds his beloved Bride, the Church, with his very body and blood. This is the very body and blood he sacrificed on the cross to present [his Church] to himself as a radiant church, without spot or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless before him. In your baptism, he put his own holiness and blamelessness on you as your wedding gown. He put his name on you and isn't that what the bridegroom does for his bride on their wedding day? Then the marriage is blessed with children. And likewise, Christ's union with his Bride produces children, all who trust in Jesus. And what do parents do for their children? They feed them. Jesus does that with Holy Communion. They educate their children. Jesus does that with the Gospel. They clothe their children. Jesus does that with Holy Baptism. They provide a home for their children. Jesus says, Let not your hearts be troubled. Ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I shall come again and receive you unto myself, that where I, there ye may be also.