Henrietta United Church of Christ

Rev. David Inglis Matthew 25:1-13

Second Sunday of Advent December 2, 2005

“Preventing an Oil Shortage”

This is the second Sunday of Advent. Let’s see, you’ve finally baked your Christmas cookies for the church. Whew!!! Now you’ve got to push on with Christmas shopping, putting up the tree and decorations, putting the lights out, writing Christmas cards, squeezing the Christmas programs and concerts into your schedule, and planning the menu for Christmas dinner. And they call these “the holidays!” Yeah, right! It’s more like the work till you drop days. Holidays! Oh yeah–once upon a time, “holiday” meant “holy day.” Holy day. Do you feel a little longing for something when you hear that?

Listen to this poem by James Dillet Freeman that’s printed on the back of our Advent daily devotional guide.

Out of the deeps of winter

For those who look, there glows

Down in the heart’s green center

The Christmas rose.

Not much, a touch of dreaming

Is all it takes to see

Beyond bare sense and seeming

Christ’s mystery,

And glimpse God’s glory under

the crust and rust of things,

And feel for a day of wonder

The brush of wings.¹

What if the real gift of Christmas was revealed, not commotion, but in silence? What if Christmas led us, not onto the congested expressway of high stress, but onto the path of peace? What if Christmas was about, not the indulgence of greed, but the spreading of love? What if Christmas offered, not more reasons for cynicism, but more cause for hope? What if the gift of Christmas was already present, like a present already under our tree, overlooked, but waiting to be unwrapped? Do you want to find the true gift of Christmas this year? I see some clues for how to find it in Jesus’ parable in today’s scripture reading.

Jesus’ story is about a wedding, one of the biggest causes of celebration for the struggling people of Palestine. Weddings were celebrated like nothing else in that culture. The celebration usually went on for a whole week, and the bride and groom were treated like a king and queen. It was meant to be the happiest time of their lives. The celebration normally began in the evening, but there was no set time. When the groom and his entourage were ready and assembled, they would process to the bride’s home, and then the bride and her family and friends would parade to the wedding house with music and great excitement. Everyone had oil lamps, not only to see where were going in the dark, but to provide light for the wedding when they got there.²

Let me just lift up some of the images in this story, and see if they shine any light on how you can open the gift of Christmas that’s waiting for you.

Our NRSV translation calls the main characters in the story “bridesmaids,” but the Greek isn’t that specific. The Greek word is traditionally translated “virgins,” and it really means young unmarried women.

Who they were isn’t important. But what they did is important. Notice that they left their routines and duties and went out to meet the bridegroom and join the celebration. We can sense their anticipation–it was their heart’s desire to be with the bridegroom and his bride and to enter into the warmth and joy of the celebration. But to follow their heart’s desire required intention. They had to make it a priority to unhook from the obligations at home and go out to where the encounter could take place.

Where do you think you might encounter Christ this year? You’ve already left your long lists of things to do to come here this morning. I pray that you will be touched by Christ’s presence, warmed by Christ’s love, and empowered by his Spirit every Sunday when you come to worship.

Where else might you encounter Christ as Emmanuel, God-with-us? Our daily Advent devotional book was written to open you to Christ’s presence every day. Taking time to read inspirational literature, to read and ponder the Bible, to light Advent candles, to meditate, to pray, to listen to inspiring music, all can put us on the road that leads into our heart, where Christ comes to meet us. Reaching out to others in love and compassion is another way to meet Christ on the road, where he travels incognito as “the least of these, Christ’s brothers and sisters.” You might buy a gift for someone in our “Cameron family,” or help RHAFT assemble holiday baskets, or give to our Christmas Fund offering for retired clergy in need or another charity, or go Christmas caroling to shut-ins this Saturday evening.

Let your anticipation of meeting Christ take you deeper than all the voices that tell you, “There’s no time; get this done; stay on task.” And let the energy of your intention take you to these places where you can encounter Christ.

Jesus mentioned that the young women in his story trimmed their lamps. They trimmed the old burned part of the wick so their wick could burn brightly. Are there things that you do for Christmas because you feel you “ought to do,” but that don’t really serve your spirit or the spirits of other people? Or is there any perfectionism, family resentments, or greed that interfere with our flame? What do we need to trim back, cut out, or simplify to enable Christ’s light to burn more brightly and cleanly in us?

And then we come to the matter of the oil. Half of the young women ran out, and the other half had brought an extra supply. Now why on earth didn’t Jesus have the ones who had enough oil share theirs with the ones who had run out? Isn’t that the Christian thing to do? Well, the simple truth is that we can’t use somebody else’s spiritual oil, and they can’t use ours. We each need to find our own supply, so that we can keep our light shining brightly. That inspires and encourages others to do the same.

But what is this oil that fuels the light of our spirits? For me, it’s the fuel of divine love. It flows into my lamp this time of year when I ponder the mystery of the incarnation–God’s Spirit slipping into the world in an animal stable, into the arms of a poor young couple who were subject to oppression and tyranny, and whose birth was announced to no-account shepherds. And then this baby grew into a man who gave every ounce of his life to calling anyone and everyone into the healing, life-giving, forgiving, transforming, eternal embrace of God. I can always find myself in that story.

This oil flows into my lamp when I think of the people and challenges and experiences that have come into my life, all seemingly designed to help me let go of more and more of myself and open more and more to God.

This oil flows into my lamp whenever I think about the wonder of this family of faith right here, and the spirit of love and generosity and faith and hope that grows here in us week by week, and how much bigger that spirit is than any of us. And that oil makes my lamp burn even more brightly when I know how many of you feel that too.

Maybe the wick that draws up the oil for the spirit’s flame to burn is humility, gratitude, trust, faith, and love.

And if we keep our wick trimmed and our oil supply flowing, then everything we do to prepare for Christmas can be illumined and warmed by the light of God’s Spirit that shines through us. Our spirits might become carriers of the true Christmas spirit. And if that happens, we might display these symptoms–and watch out, they’re very contagious:

* An ability to accept or enjoy each moment as it comes.

* A deep acceptance of other people as they are.

* An impaired ability to worry and fret over details.

* Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation.

* Contented feelings of connectedness with others, nature and God.

* Frequent attacks of laughter.

* An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others, and the uncontrollable urge to extend it.

Is there a still-unwrapped Christmas present waiting for you? Oh yes, my friends, there certainly is. It is right here, waiting for us in every moment and in every place. Emmanuel has come–God is with us. And this present of God’s all-embracing, all-loving, never-ending presence, and all of the gifts that flow from God into our lives, will be opened to us, as we open to them.

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