Eagle Harbor Congregational Church, UCC
Sermon preached by Rev. Emily Tanis-Likkel
November 9, 2008
Matthew 25:1-13
A spiritual seeker asked a Zen master: “Is there anything I can do to make myself enlightened?' The master answered: “As little as you can do to make the sun rise in the morning.” The seeker asked, “Then of what use are the spiritual exercises you prescribe?” the answer: “To make sure you are not asleep when the sun begins to rise.”
The parable of the ten bridesmaids is best understood as an allegory. The bridesmaids represent the church waiting for her coming bridegroom – who is Jesus. There is a lack of oil in this story, some have prepared for a long wait, and others have not. The bridegroom told the bridesmaids “Keep awake – also translated keep watch.” The oil is our keeping-watch for the Spirit, it is keeping the faith, keeping our hope in Christ.
I found a really good description of the context of the parable that goes like this: “In Palestine, young couples wouldn't go away for a week-long honeymoon, instead, they would stay at their home and would have a sort of "open house" for their friends. Everyone treated the couple as royalty, the week following their wedding ceremony was undoubtedly the best week of their lives. Before the wedding, the maidens kept the bride company outside of the groom's house as she waited for him to arrive. They'd bring lamps to use while they waited because they were not allowed in the streets at night without light. Because the groom could come at any time, even at night, they had to stay and wait. No one knew exactly when he'd arrive. When the bridegroom approached, a messenger would go out into the streets and declare, "Behold, the bridegroom is coming" then the maidens would accompany the bride into the house for the wedding ceremony and the week-long celebration to follow. (Barclay 354) There was a small window of opportunity to walk through the door into the house. Once the wedding began, no one else was admitted. In other words, it wasn't possible to be too early, but it was possible to be too late, you couldn't just walk in and find a seat in the back, when the door was shut, it was shut and it wouldn't be opened again.”
Matthew's original audience would have nodded their heads in recognition -- maybe shouted “amen!” -- when waiting for a wedding celebration to begin, you had to be vigilant, you had to keep watch. Five of the bridesmaids in the story did not bring enough oil. Their reserves were depleted. This parable reminds us that we need to keep enough oil in our lamps, that we need to wait expectantly on God, with our flames of faith burning. We need to keep watch. But this is not always easy! Our reserves, like those of the bridesmaids, can get depleted. Acedia sets in. Acedia is a cousin of depression – it is a restlessness, a soul-weariness that results in a person not caring about anything, including faith.
One of my favorite writers, Kathleen Norris, has a new book out called Acedia and Me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer's Life. Norris is a Benedictine oblate, associated with a Benedictine community in North Dakota. Norris writes, “. . . acedia can strike anyone whose work requires self-motivation and solitude, anyone who remains married “for better for worse,” anyone who is determined to stay true to a commitment that is sorely tested in everyday life.” Monks throughout history have written about how boredom tempts them to pace, look at the sun to determine the lunch hour, how they at times seem to be running on empty. The life of faith can be wearying. It can even feel tedius. I remember watching the clock in school. I particularly remember a college class in history in which I played games with the clock. The subject wasn't the problem, but the time of day – lunch-time – and I would daydream about going to Taco Bell for a bean burrito. The bridesmaids waiting for the bridegroom were experiencing tedium, they were waiting for hours upon hours, like waiting for election results when you just want to know already. The foolish bridesmaids had one eye on the clock at all times. How do you navigate the tedium when it is a tedium--an acedia--of spirit?
One way is to not run ourselves ragged by all the good work we are doing. We need to remember to take Sabbaths, in order to have the energy to do good work. I read a story about a head devil who was training some junior devils on how to make people turn from God. He said “Don't worry at all about those people running around doing good and working for peace and strategizing ways to overcome injustice.” Seeing the confusion of the young devils, he explained, “Just watch and wait. Those doing good will work and give and work and give until they are worn out. Wait until the light goes out of their eyes. Then we have them.” For those who were experiencing weariness of soul, Thomas Aquinas recommended a hot bath, a glass of wine, and a good night's sleep.
Keep watch. The spiritual life takes a steadfastness of spirit, an endurance of faith. Spiritual masters through the centuries taught on the importance of menial work in facilitating this kind of faith. Kathleen Norris calls this the quotidian mysteries. This refers to the sacred attitude one can take in folding laundry, washing dishes, and taking out the garbage. It is this spirit that the ancient Celts captured when praying and mending by the fire. Psalm 51 reads “put a steadfast spirit within me.” The foolish bridesmaids were not in it for the long haul. Their lamps went out. Kathleen Norris asked the question, “Do we use our time to really live, or do we allow time to use us up?” A steadfastness of spirit means that in all we do, we are present to the holy. We serve God, and not time.
Being strengthened by God's light takes surrender—knowing that we cannot do it all on our own, we open ourselves to the inner light that is the Holy Spirit. In speaking of her church, Anne Lammott wrote that they “They follow a brighter light than the glimmer of their own candle.” Keeping our lamps trimmed and burning means that we do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God -- strengthened by God's light, not our own. When we serve God, not the gods of time, money, etc., we keep the flame aglow.
Keep watch. You may have your own toolbox of spiritual strength you can turn to when your oil threatens to give out. Quaker J. Brent Bill wrote a book called “Mind the Light: Learning to See with Spiritual Eyes.” He describes the Quaker practice of paying attention to God's light in and around us. He talks about how noticing the literal light around us can remind us of the illumination that comes from God. Reminders of God's light also come from the people in our lives who radiate the love of God. The worshiping community is an integral part of the life of faith. We were created to lean on each other in our Christian journey, supporting and accepting support along the way. Brent Bill wrote, “Pay attention to those things that nurture the beam in the darkness. Take light for your journey—a light that gives life to your soul.” Spiritual disciplines such as meditating on Scripture and praying the Psalms can keep our flames of faith glowing brightly. The Lord's Prayer can serve to remind us of the worth inherent in today. Gregory of Nyssa wrote that “Our Lord tells us to pray for today, and so he prevents us from tormenting ourselves about tomorrow.” Give us this day our daily bread. Every day we can ask for God to meet our needs, and every day we can ask for strength of spirit. Norris said that “poetry—psalms and hymns—can be a remedy for the human tendency to take refuge in indifference.” For those of you who attended the Contemplative Retreat at the Bloedel Reserve yesterday, we had some wonderful, magical, unscheduled time, walking quietly through the gardens. It was renewing for many of us—if not all of us. Noticing the beauty of creation is a wonderful way to put oil in our lamps. We can clear our eyes of indifference when looking at art that connects with our souls. Brett commissioned a painting for me for my birthday recently, which portrays Hagar and Ishmael near death in the desert, hearing God's direction to go to the well and drink. It is a haunting, beautiful painting that for me evokes the light of God's love.
Keep watch. Let us lean on each other when our souls are weary, when our spirits sag. When we slog through the day, let us remember that this is the day that God has made. Let us follow a brighter light than the glimmer of our own candle. Let us ask God to give us oil in our lamps, to keep them burning. Faith isn't something we need to search out, it is a joy we receive.
Let us not be asleep when the sun begins to rise. Let us be ready to witness miracles occurring in our midst, hoping for new life just around the corner. For truly the Son has risen.
Praying for Justice and Peace by Jane Vennard, 113.
Lindy Black, http://home.twcny.rr.com/lyndale/pentecost%2026A.htm
Acedia & Me, p. 6.
Praying for Justice and Peace, p. 52.
Acedia & Me, p. 35.
Acedia & Me, p. 195.
Traveling Mercies, 100.
128.
Acedia & Me, p. 260.
Acedia & Me, p. 285.