The Twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost

"Our Common Service"

The Rev. Stephen Elkins-Williams

Despite the unseasonably warm weather this week, the year is winding down. Darkness comes earlier now, and the days are growing shorter. Leaves are dying in a blaze of glory and falling to the earth where their decay will eventually nurture the growth of new life yet to come. Nationwide this week we witnessed the death of old patterns and old ways of looking at things. A surge of hope wells up within us, even though we know that economically and politically, there is more dying to go through in coming to new life.

The liturgical year is also drawing to a close. After today, only two Sundays remain before we begin the annual cycle anew. As we might expect, the assigned readings and prayers of these last weeks focus not only on the reality of death and the inevitable transformation that awaits each of us at some unknown point, but also on the end times themselves – when, as Paul writes in today’s second reading, “the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God.” We are to watch, today’s Gospel tells us, because we “know neither the day nor the hour.”

This Gospel advisory comes in the form of a parable about ten female wedding attendants whose festive role it is to light the way for the newly married couple when they arrive at their new home. This simple task becomes more complicated when the honorees are delayed in coming, so long that all ten maidens fall asleep on the job. Finally their services are needed, and there is a mad scramble to be ready to fulfill their assigned role. But half of them, not anticipating the possible delay, are now out of oil to burn to welcome the honored guests. Even though they resourcefully head off to locate more oil, they find themselves too late when they return. They have missed, not only the wedding feast, but more importantly their appointed place in the presence of the bridegroom. Due to their lack of focus and foresight, they have failed in their mission.

A parable, of course, is not an allegory. We are not to attach meaning to each of the elements of the story, as if the oil, for example, stands for God’s grace and the lamps for our souls, and the dealers for, say, the sacraments of the Church, which can increase in our souls God’s illuminating and life-giving grace. If we were to assign meaning to each detail of the parable in such a confining way, we might conclude, for example, that its message is that salvation is simply an individual struggle, and that we had better make sure that we only take care of our own spiritual needs, and that if anyone who has not been so provident tries to horn in on our “holy oil”, we have a perfect right to send them away empty-handed. It is their own fault anyway; they should have done a better job being ready!

No, Jesus’ point is that we should stay alert and be conscious of our assigned mission. All our energies and actions are to be focused in light of that goal. We are not here to serve ourselves but to serve another, and we should garner and make use of our resources to fulfill our servant role. Nothing should deter us from remaining focused on the One whom we serve and from being alert for whenever and wherever this One for whom we are made may appear and summon us.

Indeed, from other parts of scripture, we know that we serve God best when we serve others. “Let justice roll down like waters,” declares Amos, in today’s first reading, “and righteousness like an everflowing stream.” When others are in need, we are not to send them away, but to share freely what God has freely given us. Salvation is, in fact, not simply an individual process, but one that very much involves us with one another. All of us are called to serve the bridegroom and ultimately to abide in his presence. We are to help one another to be alert and faithfully focused on our goal.

That is why this fall we have been involved in this parish and as part of a larger effort with Project 5000, providing food to those who need it. That is why five of our number left this week as part of a mission trip with sixteen others to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi for six days of clean-up and rebuilding for those made homeless by Hurricane Katrina. That is why seven couples are on retreat together elsewhere this weekend to strengthen their marriages. That is why some of us have been gathering in homes to talk about the ministry of this parish and the importance to us of financial stewardship, especially in difficult economic times.

That is why next Sunday is designated Ingathering Sunday. Having prayed about God’s call to us to give generously of what God has given us, together we offer our individual pledges for next year as one common offering to God at the altar. Although each one of us must make our own decision about how much to give, we join together in worship to make our communal response to God. In doing so we make possible our common ministry to students, to elders, to children, to those in need, to those hungry for the word and the worship of God, to those called, along with us, to be attentive to the coming of the bridegroom and to be alert for God’s presence in the world.

In looking ahead to next year and to our own need to give as well as to the need of others for ministry, we are like the wise maidens who put aside additional oil, the resources needed to fulfill their mission. We are watching and remaining alert, being attentive for the bridegroom’s presence. We are making decisions based on our servant role and on faithfully accomplishing our goal. May the Lord who calls us to be wise and faithful servants together strengthen us for our common service.

Amos 5:18-24; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25:1-13