[AI translation] Dear Brothers and Sisters! You may remember, last Sunday I announced that I would like to continue explaining this Word, because last Sunday we only talked about one part of it. I would now like to pick up where I left off. It was about how these ten bridesmaids were waiting for the bridegroom to arrive at the wedding, in a way, the people of God are living in great expectation. Not the optimistic or pessimistic expectation of modern man, but our expectation, our Advent expectation, is that Someone is coming to meet us, Someone is coming. Someone who will one day stand on the horizon of all history and at whose feet all roads will end. The journey of our own lives, and the journey of history. So Someone is on the way, just not yet arrived. That He is coming is certain, it is only uncertain when He will arrive. Maybe tomorrow, maybe there is someone among us for whom it will arrive today. Maybe in a week, maybe in 10 years: we don't know! But that is why we must be in a state of anticipation every moment, that is why we must be ready for that great moment when we will come face to face with the One who is coming! That is why every hour that we live, every event, is marked by that one moment when we will stand face to face with our Lord. So last Sunday I spoke about waiting, about living in expectation, and now, continuing the story, I want to talk about how we wait.Well Brothers and Sisters, how did these bridesmaids wait? The first thing that stands out from this Word is that it was quite a long time before the bridegroom arrived. They were all weary, they "slumbered and fell asleep". And the interesting thing is that Jesus mentions this fact of their falling asleep without any reproach, as a matter of course: that when a man is tired, he falls asleep. So he does not at all blame them for falling asleep while waiting. And I am very happy with this Word, because I see in it what I see in all the other actions of Jesus: that he is infinitely human, infinitely kind, and that Jesus also takes it for granted that rest, sleep, relaxation are part of human life. You remember, there is a scene in the Bible where Jesus Himself called His disciples to come, just you, to come to a deserted place and rest a little. It is not possible for even the most ardent disciple to live in a state of constant upset. There must be a time when he relaxes a little. I am convinced, Brethren, that if modern man would take this one kind word of Jesus more seriously, there would be fewer heart attacks and strokes in this world. So, the waiting for Jesus that we have been talking about, does it not mean that one prays all day long and can do nothing else, and that all one's thoughts are focused on the question of when Jesus will come, at what moment?
So let's not imagine the Advent expectation that we live in in this way, that one waits and waits and does nothing else. Waiting, whether patiently or impatiently, waiting, whether praying, singing psalms, reading the Bible, just waiting, and all your thoughts are always on when the bridegroom will come. No, Brothers and Sisters! A believing mother, for example, must have her mind on what kind of meal she is going to cook for her family, because if her mind is not on it, she can easily burn the scrambled eggs. And she has to be very careful not to let her children walk around in a mess, because that will be a disgrace to her. And a faithful worker must very much have all his mind and all his attention on the machine he is working on, otherwise the screws will go wrong and he will make a mess and it will be his shame. So to go before the coming Jesus is not to neglect everything, everything in this world. In fact, that is not what it means! But in any case, we see from this Word that Jesus does not incessantly measure the spiritual temperature of those who believe in Him, as so many pious people usually do, always bothering themselves and incessantly measuring how much they have lost weight, how much they have grown, how much hotter their spiritual state is today, but Jesus also lets His own rest sometimes, lets His own sleep.
Jesus does not resent at all when one of His disciples, enjoying the December sunshine, walks out on the Mount of Liberty. And there, as they walk, they do not necessarily and incessantly wonder how they will be when He returns. He does not resent at all if one of His disciples, when tired, lays his head down to sleep in the evening and does nothing but sleep for 6-7-8 hours. He just rests. In fact, I believe, dear brethren, that it is precisely one of the proofs of trust in God and of true discipleship that one can lie down and relax from all his troubles and worries as calmly as these virgins did when they fell asleep while waiting. We cannot hurry the great moment when the cry will be raised, "Here comes the bridegroom, come and meet him!" The moment will come without us, without our fussing or fervour. In fact, it will come against our will, most certainly. Well, then, that is why these wise virgins, who are spoken of in this parable, lie down so calmly and so peacefully. Of course, first they prepare their lamps, first they take care of the oil supply. But perhaps their last thought while they are still awake is the joy that awaits them when they wake up, and perhaps the certainty that tomorrow will bring us closer again to the great happy moment, the moment of reunion, and the peace of mind, the experience of the renewal of God's great mercy every morning, the peace of sleep. I believe, Brothers and Sisters, that many of our sleepless nights would become more peaceful and restful for us too if we dared to trust more in Him who is awake and who walks even when we sleep. If we dared more to surrender to Him our affairs or ourselves to rest and to put all our worries, sorrows and problems into His hands while we sleep. Let us sleep, let us sleep in peace! Just like these virgins. For Jesus is still preparing for His return. Blessed is he who can sleep as soundly as these ten virgins. And such a man will not be uncomfortable when he is awakened from his sleep by the cry, "Behold, the bridegroom is coming, come to him. Only don't let our lantern run out of oil!
Because, Brothers and Sisters, it is precisely from this story that we see that there is another kind of sleep, not just this peaceful sleep, not just this sleep. This story is about two kinds of company. And the other part of the company, the ones we haven't talked about yet, they were also asleep. But somehow they slept differently. Perhaps they were tired of the long wait, perhaps they fell asleep because of the hopeless wait. In any case, they no longer seriously expected the bridegroom to come, and so they fell asleep. This can be inferred from the fact that they had not provided oil. Surely they would not have neglected to make provision if they had seriously reckoned that their expectation was not in vain, and that the bridegroom would most certainly arrive. And so they slept, and so they slept. My dear brethren, I fear that many are sleeping in this way today, and many of those who have already heard the great warning, "Take heed, for you do not know at what hour your Lord will come"! Many of these very same people are asleep. Not literally, of course, in the sense of lying down in bed, turning off their consciousness and doing nothing else. They are very active and do a lot of things, but they are still asleep. Somehow it was their expectation of Christ, it was their faith, their hope, their conscience that was lulled to sleep while this expectation was so long. They were so absorbed in the many things to do, the worries and the troubles of everyday life on earth that they had no spiritual energy left to keep the great Advent expectation alive. Somewhat like in the days of the flood, in the time of Noah, people were asleep, not thinking at all of the coming divine judgment. As it is written, they ate, they drank, they married, they got married, they did all kinds of things. That's all right, but all without the great Advent expectation. This is the fear, Brethren, that so many sleep.
How do you say it? Work as if you would live forever and live as if you would die tomorrow! There is a very great truth in this, Brothers. It is certainly a biblical truth, if not literally, then in content. For there are indeed many, many things for all of us to do in this earthly world, in which we believers must also stand our ground with honour. But if someone does all these things, not in the expectation of Advent, not in the uninterrupted expectation, not in the state of readiness to do all these things that have to be done, so that at any moment the Lord can call him before Himself, you know what Jesus calls him in this very parable: a fool! A fool. And is he not right? Is it not folly not to reckon with the most certain thing that can happen to a man? For all else is uncertain, but this one thing is certain, that one day I must stand face to face with the coming Jesus, that there at His feet my life's journey will end. That is the one thing that is certain, and that is what they do not count on. Isn't this nonsense?
In this parable, five of the ten virgins were wise, as Jesus says, and five were foolish. I fear that the ratio among believers today would be much less favourable. And if the great cry then goes out, "Wake up, for the bridegroom is coming, come and meet him," then perhaps most people will not wake up from their night's rest, but will be scared to death, leaping out from their desks, or from their desks, or from the steering wheel of their cars, or from a cinema, or perhaps from a church, or from their sickbeds. Scared to death, because she hasn't been expecting this heaven-shattering announcement that the groom is coming for a long time. And the whole question of eternity had long since been settled. These waking and waking men will then be scrambling for their lanterns. Then perhaps one or two of them will remember that, of course, I am baptized in the name of the same Lord who is coming inexorably now! Perhaps he will remember being at a Good Friday service, or how he used to spend every Christmas with his family in a devout mood, with the Lord's Prayer said aloud. Maybe that will help! So they scramble anxiously for the lantern of old memories. But then they realise that the lantern is no longer lit, with only a sooty wick left in it. But once there was oil in it, some light flickered in it. Once upon a time, when they had gone out with the others to wait for the bridegroom, they went out to meet him, but then the wait was so long that the lantern went out and the oil ran out. And now in the darkness they don't know what to do. Well, among all the things they had to do, which were important, they forgot one very important thing: they forgot to carry oil in their lanterns.
Dear Brothers and Sisters, there has been much debate over the centuries as to what oil is, which is so important in this parable. Well, then, I would not wish to complicate this discussion any further, but I will in any case consider the simplest one. It is something that is always used up in our Christian life, and therefore always needs to be replaced. What is it, then, that provides the energy for our Christian life, that is always being used up and that always needs to be renewed? These are very simple things. One of these oils, one of these things to be renewed, which becomes the light that nourishes that certain Christian light in our lives, is prayer. If someone does not live a regular life of prayer, sooner or later that particular Christian light will inevitably go out of his life, like the light from a lamp that has run out of oil. Without prayer, without very serious and very regular prayer, every believer is just groping in the dark. And that means that the sky remains closed over him. And the oil reserve of our prayer life is being used up so infinitely quickly! I cannot stress enough the need for prayer in the life of the Christian man. For, you know, prayers recited suddenly, or out of habit, and such scribbled down Our Fathers, will never give light! At best, a little smoking wick. Prayer in our lives is like oil in a lamp. Without it, no one can achieve what Jesus said: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." Well, then, the heart that runs out, that runs out of prayer, slowly has that certain light go out of its life that makes being a Christian worthwhile.
The same oil is the Bible. Here too, it is not enough to take it in one's hand every day and read it as a matter of duty, just out of habit, to see what today's portion is. Because the Bible text I read will only become light and clarity if I try to understand, by invoking the Holy Spirit of God Himself, what God is trying to tell me here, what He is warning me about, what He is judging me, where He is leading me. So without this, the whole Bible in my hand, or my whole knowledge of the Bible in my head, is worth as much as an otherwise valuable lamp which no longer lights up because it has no oil in it. And one more thing: Jesus once said to his disciples, "my food is to do the will of Him who sent me". So doing the will of God, serving among men, was for Jesus like food for the body. And indeed, doing the will of God, doing all good service among men, is what strengthens and nourishes our Christian life. What use is it to the people around you that you know God, that you know Jesus Christ? Are you doing some really special Christian service to the people around you? For the benefit, edification, becoming a more human person of your family, your friends, people you know and people you don't know? Because this is also oil, because we are Christians not only for the service of love, but we can always be Christians again, drawing strength from such service. And woe to the man whose life has run out of such oil! Well then, Brethren, prayer, the Bible and service - these are what make that particular lamp shine. By the light of this lamp we can already see something of the glory of the returning Christ.
You know, every truly deepened prayer, every Word brought to life, and every earnest service is like a great beacon of light in the night, where Jesus can see where His own are. And every such true prayer and every such true Word understood and every such true Christian service is also a sign that the bridegroom is still awake. And it is also a light that keeps us, ourselves, awake, in a state of readiness. Prayer, the Word, service is a light that keeps us in a state of readiness. Even when we are asleep, knowing that our salvation is near.
So, dear Brothers and Sisters, what about our lanterns? Is your lamp burning or has it gone out? Are we giving light signals by which the One who is coming will find us? Beware, for you know neither the day nor the hour when the Son of Man will come!
I know that my Master is near,
The hour is running, the day is near;
I'll be there soon,
My Saviour Jesus, come!
Though the world mocks and laughs,
Homesickness fills my soul,
For soon the Lord will call:
Come home, come, my child!
The Lord is waiting with open arms:
Come, rest, rest in my bosom.
(Song 421, verse 4)
Amen.
Date: 4 December 1966.
Lesson
Mt 25,1-13