BE PREPARED!

 

Proverbs 6:6-8

Matthew 25:1-13

 

Winter is coming, and Ice Melt is on my mind.  Being prepared is important.  In the Book of Proverbs, an instruction manual on how to live wisely and righteously, 6:6-8 advises us: 

⁶ Go to the ant, you lazybones;
    consider its ways, and be wise.
⁷ Without having any chief
    or officer or ruler,
⁸ it prepares its food in summer,
    and gathers its sustenance in harvest. 

This passage reminds me of the Aesop’s Fable about the ant and the grasshopper.  All summer long and into the fall, the wise ant diligently gathered food and stored it away for the winter while the foolish grasshopper played the time away.  Come the bitter cold and snow of winter, and because of its foolish lack of preparation, the grasshopper died. 

We all know winter is coming, but we’re never quite sure when the snowy and icy conditions will begin.  Winter doesn’t look at the calendar and exclaim, “It’s December 21^st!  Time to hit those humans with everything I’ve got!”  Weather forecasters can make their predictions, but they’re not correct 100% of the time.  So, the wise person prepares for winter now before the bad weather begins and all the stores are out of Ice Melt. 

We know that Christ will come again.  We confess it each time we receive the sacrament of Holy Communion – “Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again.”  We can look forward to it with joyful anticipation, but we don’t know the hour or the day.  Some may claim to know it, even citing the exact time Jesus will arrive, but, after two millenniums and many predictions, we’re still waiting. 

In the parable of the Ten Bridesmaids, five bridesmaids come prepared to greet the groom having brought both lamps and oil.  Five foolish bridesmaids are there, too, but they haven’t brought any oil with them.  Maybe they forgot or were too busy with other things to take the time to purchase the needed oil.  The groom is delayed, and while they wait, the young women fall asleep.  When the groom finally arrives, the five wise bridesmaids enter into the celebration while the foolish ones rush off to buy oil.  When they return, they are denied entry into the house. 

The problem in the parable is not that the bridesmaids fell asleep but that the foolish ones weren’t prepared. 

 The ant in Aesop’s fable, the ant wasn’t gathering food for the winter just for itself.  It was serving the needs of the rest of the ants and serving the mission of the colony of survival through the winter months.  For Christians, preparing for Christ’s coming is serving others, sharing Christ’s love, and inviting others into a personal relationship with Jesus.  In doing so, we also serve Christ and the mission of God. 

When Christ comes again, all of creation, including humanity, will be redeemed.  God’s perfect love will reign over a newly restored heaven and earth, and we shall all feast at Christ’s heavenly banquet table.  It’s a victory party no one will want to miss. 

 As we wait for Christ the Bridegroom of the Church to return, God in his infinite, unconditional love for humanity, does not want anybody to be left out.  God calls us to share the gospel message through loving acts and words of invitation.  May we live so God can use us to spread His word. on any day, at anytime, anywhere. 

The Kingdom of Heaven draws near! Thanks be to God!