Scripture: Matthew 25:1-13

INTRODUCTION: Our Scripture reading today is set by the lectionary. It is from Matthew’s gospel, and it is not an easy story to understand or interpret. May God’s Spirit guide us as we examine these challenging words.

The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. 11 Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ 13 Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

Sermon: “Avoiding Burnout”

Today’s Scripture Reading is one of those readings that, when you hear it for the first time--or even for the twelfth--you scratch your head and say, “What?!” for a number of reasons, including the following:

· The marriage custom described here--10 bridesmaids, each holding lamps, waiting hours for the bridegroom to appear--is totally foreign to us.

· The parable is short on a lot of details we want to know, such as:

o Why is the bridegroom delayed until midnight?

o Where is the bride; why isn’t she mentioned?

o Is the mention of midnight symbolic or literal?

o If literal, then in the days before 24-hour pharmacies, would shops selling lamp oil really be open for business at midnight?

· And, finally, why are the 5 wise bridesmaids so unwilling to share what they have with others? Doesn’t this violate Jesus’ command to love your neighbor as yourself?

Because the details in this story don’t make a lot of sense if you take them literally, many commentators suggest that this story was not actually a parable that Jesus told. Rather, many scholars argue that it was created later--at the end of the first century AD by the writer of Matthew’s Gospel--created as an allegory to address the situation and context of Matthew’s community.* Which, honestly, makes me tempted to simply dismiss this reading as something we don’t need to pay that much attention to. EXCEPT for the fact that it is still Scripture, and even though this story probably didn’t originate with Jesus, it can still have things to teach us. Things that can strengthen our faith.

As I prayed over this Scripture this week-- about what I/we might be able to learn from it, what my attention continued to be drawn back to was the refusal of the 5 wise bridesmaids to share their oil with their friends. I mean, what is up with that? In other teachings Jesus repeatedly refers to the extravagant generosity of God. He famously shares 5 loaves and 2 fish with 5000 people on the hillside. He directs his disciples that if someone asks for your coat, give him your cloak as well. And even later in this same chapter (chapter 25), Jesus talks about sharing our talents, our time, our food, our drink, our clothing.

All of which made me wonder, “Is there a limit to what we should share with others?” When asked by the 5 foolish bridesmaids to give up some of their lamp oil, the 5 wise bridesmaids say to their friends, “No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.”

After reading that surprising response through a few times, a lightbulb--no pun intended--suddenly went off in my head--if the 5 wise bridesmaids had shared their oil, their lamps would have, literally, burned out.

So, what this story says to me is that there are times when it is not only okay, but necessary, for us to limit our sharing. Because our reserve of oil--which I invite us to think about as being our inner reservoir of spiritual energy--is very precious. And if we allow it to burn out, we are doing a disservice to ourselves, our neighbors, and our God.

Further, it is each person’s responsibility to tend to their own reservoir of oil, their own inner reservoir of spiritual energy, because other people simply can’t tend it for us. I can’t fill or refill your inner reserve of spiritual energy, and you cannot fill or refill mine. We each first need to open our hearts to God and ask God to fill it for us.

I realize I am speaking metaphorically here, so let me switch to speaking very practically. These are very stressful times we are living through. I talked about some of the stressors we are all experiencing in last week’s sermon, and I won’t enumerate them all here again. I am sure we can each name them without thinking too hard. In fact, I read this week that, “The American Psychological Association warned that [our whole] nation faces a ‘mental health crisis’ in its annual “Stress in America” report released earlier this month. Among several alarming figures, the study found 77% of adults – up from 66% in 2019 – say the future of the nation is “a significant source of stress.” [from WBUR newsletter October 30, 2020]

So, all that to say, I think we can all agree that the stress everyone is feeling is taking a toll on our inner reserves of spiritual energy, and we each need to tend to our own reservoir of oil, so that our lamps do not burn out.

The question is, how do we do that? How do we tend our inner reserve of spiritual energy--how do we let God refill it so that we avoid spiritual burn out?

Well, the good news is that if you are watching this livestream video, you are already opening your hearts to God’s replenishing Spirit. You are already letting the teachings of scripture, the power of prayer, the ministry of music re-fill your reserve. Praise be to God! And I know that many of you have other spiritual practices you do during the week--when you pray, read scripture or other devotional materials, watch other church services or listen to spiritual podcasts, do yoga or take a daily walk.

And these are such important ways of filling our lamps with oil, of replenishing our spiritual energy!

Another practice you may also engage in--that I’ve been engaging in more lately-- is meditation. I thought I would spend a little time explaining this one, as it may be one that we are less familiar with than some of the others I mentioned--because, up until recently, meditation hasn’t been part of mainline Christian practice.

As you may know, there are many ways to practice meditation. You can download an app, watch a video on youtube, or simply focus on your own breathing. Since meditation may be something we associate more with yoga than we do with our Christian faith, I thought I would explain how we can engage in meditation in a way that taps into our own faith tradition.

Let me start by describing one practical time when I used meditation to replenish my own spiritual energy and reduce my stress.

A few years ago, my dentist told me I needed a root canal. I had never had one before, and I’d only ever heard bad things about them, so on the day I went for my root canal, I was a bundle of nerves. I was practically hyperventilating when I sat down in the endodontist’s chair. The endodontist was very nice. He had a calm demeanor, explained how the procedure would work, and asked me if I had any questions. I told him I was really nervous, and wondered if there was anything I could do to be less so. I was thinking along the lines of taking drugs--medication, I mean. J He looked at me and said, “You’re a minister, right? Might I suggest prayer or meditation?” “Ahhh--prayer or meditation,” I responded with a smile, “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Truth be told, I had already been praying, but when I started to meditate, it made all the difference! I started to recite Psalm 23--not out loud, as I couldn’t talk with the cotton batting in my mouth, but in my head. And I connected it to my breathing. “The Lord is my shepherd,” I said as I was breathing in, “I shall not want,” I said, as I was breathing out. “He maketh to me lie down in green pastures” (breathe in); “He leadeth me beside the still waters” (breathe out.) “He restoreth my soul.” And so it went. I breathed through the whole psalm, and when I was done, I recited it again. And again. And--I kid you not--I felt most of my anxiety melt away. My circumstances did not change--I was still there getting a root canal, but my attitude did a 180 degree turn. And I got through the procedure just fine. (Without drugs.)

To end this sermon, I thought I could lead us all in a brief, 3-minute guided meditation, as an exercise in reducing our collective anxiety and replenishing our inner reservoir of spiritual energy. First of all, let me say, “No pressure.” If this a guided meditation is not something you want to participate in right now, obviously, you don’t have to. You can walk away from the livestream for 3 minutes or fast-forward through it if you are watching at a later time.

But if you’d like to participate in this guided meditation, I invite you to sit comfortably where you are.

If you are not in a comfortable spot, feel free to move to one. Sit in a comfortable chair. Lie down on the sofa. Find a place where you do not feel confined.

I invite you to Close your eyes if you wish--or keep your eyes open and focus on an object that symbolizes an aspect of God--maybe one of the candles here or the picture of Jesus, or the cross.

· As you sit comfortably, I invite you to focus on your breathing.

· As you inhale, I invite you to breathe in deeply. Let your chest and your abdomen expand as your lungs take in air.

· Hold in the air for a moment, giving thanks for the gift of breath.

· And as you exhale, feel your stomach muscles gently contract, helping the breath to exit your lungs.

· Continue to inhale and exhale, at your own pace, and as you breathe, remember that the Hebrew word for breath, “ruah,” is a word that also means “spirit.”

· So, as your body breathes in air, I invite your soul, also to breathe in God’s Spirit.

· And as you exhale, I invite your body and soul to let go of any excess tension, stress, you may have been holding.

· Breathe in God’s Spirit…breathe out stress…

· Keep breathing…

· And, as you breathe in, may you hear Jesus’ words from Matthew 11:28: “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens” --

· And, as you exhale, hear Jesus finish the sentence, “And I will give you rest.”

· Inhale… “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens,”--

· Exhale… “And I will give you rest.”

· Keep breathing, and as you breathe, feel the Spirit of God replenishing your body, mind and soul.

· Inhale… “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens,”--

· Exhale… “And I will give you rest.”

· May God’s Spirit give you the energy and strength you need to live in the midst of this uncertain world. Amen.

*New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. VIII, p. 449

Rev. Dr. Marlayna Schmidt

Franklin Federated Church

November 8, 2020

(Image from http://www.textweek.com/yeara/propera27.htm)