First Reading: Amos 5:18-24
18Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! Why would you have the day of the Lord? It is darkness, and not light, 19as if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him, or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall, and a serpent bit him. 20Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it? 21“I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. 22Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them. 23Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. 24But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”
Psalm 70
1Be pleased, O God, to deliver me; O Lord, make haste to help me. 2Let those who seek my life be ashamed and altogether dismayed; let those who take pleasure in my misfortune draw back and be disgraced. 3Let those who say to me “Aha!” and gloat over me turn back, because they are ashamed. 4Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; let those who love your salvation say forever, “Great is the Lord!” 5But as for me, I am poor and needy; come to me speedily, O God. 6You are my helper and my deliverer; O Lord, do not tarry.
Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
13We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18Therefore encourage one another with these words.
Gospel: Matthew 25:1-13
1{Jesus said to the disciples,} “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
The Day of the Lord
There’s a piece of church humor that has made the rounds in the form of a good news/bad news type joke. The scene is the Vatican in Rome. A cardinal rushes in to see the Pope. “Your holiness,” the cardinal exclaims excitedly, “I have some good news and some bad news.” The Pope replies, “Well, give me the good news first.” The cardinal responds, “I’ve just received word that Jesus has returned to earth.” “That’s wonderful,” replies the Pope, “so what’s the bad news?” The cardinal answers dejectedly, “The call came from Salt Lake City.”
Behind that bit of humor lies a profound theological question: What if Jesus did return today? Would that be good news or bad news? But underlying what might seem like an obvious answer, we need to be careful. The answer may not be as obvious as you may think. For the next three weeks our readings come in the form of warnings, judgment, and condemnations for those who think things are going well and that the Lord would be pleased with them when He returns. But the words from the Old Testament prophets Amos, Zephaniah, and Ezekiel, from St. Paul, and from Jesus paints for us a different picture. All are words of warning, of the need for self-examination and of the need to be prepared. Especially sobering are the words from Amos in our Old Testament reading for today. As I summarize the situation from Amos’ day, do me a favor and compare it to our situation today. You should find them strikingly similar.
According to the Bible, Amos was the older contemporary of Hosea and Isaiah and was active during the rule of kings Jeroboam II of Israel, and Uzziah of the Kingdom of Judah and Amos is portrayed as being from the southern Kingdom of Judah, yet God sent him to preach in the northern Kingdom of Israel (Samaria). The prophet is characterized as speaking against an increased disparity between the wealthy and the poor with themes of justice, God’s omnipotence, and divine judgment.
Israel, or the northern Kingdom, had enjoyed a long period of peace and security marked by a revival of artistic and commercial development. The kings appointed to rule over them were evil in God’s sight and were not following God’s laws and commands. Social corruption and the oppression of the poor and helpless were prevalent. Many were associating freely with the pegan peoples of the surrounding nations, and they had integrated the worship practices of these pegan worshipers with the Lord’s worship. And this is especially important. God’s chosen people had corrupted and profaned the pure worship of God with the rites and rituals of the surrounding religions. And they justified their actions in the name of inclusivity. How many times had God warned them not to do this! But they justified their actions and thought of themselves as good people.
So comfortable in the notion that they were “good” people, the people of Israel, in Amos’ time, self-righteously looked forward to the day of the Lord. But Amos drops a bombshell on them, “Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord. Why do you want the day of the Lord? It is darkness, not light.” Amos cautions that the day of the Lord will come with some surprises. “It is as if a man escaped from a lion, only to meet a bear. It’s as if a man rested a hand in his home only to get bit by a snake.” “The day of the Lord is darkness and not light,” he warns. And Amos’ words of warning are for us as well. What if Jesus returned today? For whom would it be good news? We might be surprised.
There’s the old story about a man who arrives at the gates of heaven and asked for admission. The gatekeeper asked his name, and then asked, “What have you done to deserve admission to heaven?” The man thought hard for a moment. “Well,” he said, “I went to church at Christmas and Easter.” To this the gatekeeper replies, “We don’t keep church attendance records up here.” The man responds, “I gave some of my money to religious causes.” To this the gatekeeper replies, “we don’t keep a record of financial contributions either.” “Well, I took good care of my family.” That’s all well and good,” replies the gatekeeper, “but you were supposed to do that. Besides that, there are sinners in hell who did the same thing!” To this, the poor man gave up; he realized that he hadn’t done very much either for God or for others during his 90 years on earth.
He was about to turn away when the gatekeeper called out to him: “Just a minute. Aren’t you the man who used to feed the sparrows in that little city park?” “Why-yes. But what has that to do with anything?” “Come in,” said the keeper. The Lord of the Sparrows is waiting to thank you!” The theology behind the story is a bit shaky, but it does make the point; simply being good and doing good deeds without God’s mercy doesn’t account for much. We are saved by grace through faith, not because we’re good or because we’ve done a good thing or two. We do good works because of God’s grace and mercy. Good works and being obedient are our way of thanking and praising God.
Jesus illustrated the result of receiving God’s grace in faith and the desire to live according to God’s commands in ways as simple as giving a cup of cold water in His name or a big as helping the man lying in a ditch who had been beaten and robbed. Our gratitude for God’s unmerited grace is seen when we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and the imprisoned. Certain things are clear in Jesus’ teachings. Humble deeds of kindness and compassion matter. The size of our bank account or the polish on our personality do not.
Too often people miss that critical fact in the life of the church. So what is it that makes for a great church? Is it the size of the membership roll or the stateliness of its sanctuary? For many people, these are the sort of things they focus on. In Christ’s eyes, a great church is one in which people care about one another, and about the world for which He died. If Jesus were to return today, what would be our reasons for asking entrance into His kingdom?
Another pastor tells of being in the home of a woman whose husband had just died. She told of her husband’s long nights of suffering and how she had cared for him, not having the money to employ a nurse. He wondered how she could have kept going, and she told him that the neighbors had kept their lights burning through the last few nights. She said, “I knew that they were thinking of us, feeling for us, and praying for us. I can’t tell you how, but I got strength from it. It held me up.” The fact that somebody is interested, that somebody cares, that somebody is praying and are there when we need them, can and often is our strongest support. Isn’t that what the body of believers is all about? Isn’t that part of what makes a church great? It’s like geese flying in a “V” formation. When the lead goose gets tired, the next one in line takes their place. The geese support each other. What if the Lord should come today?
Obviously, it will be good news for those who, out of gratitude for all God has done for them, learned to give, to share, to love, and to look beyond their own needs to help others in need. Moreover, it’d be good news for those who have been faithful and have shared the good news of God’s mercy with their neighbors. But we don’t learn this kind of selfless love from the world. We learn the kind of sacrifices that God is pleased to accept from the Bible. And a good place to look is our Gospel lesson from last Sunday.
For those who were here, we read how Jesus went up on the mountain and taught them by saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit; Blessed are those who mourn; Blessed are the meek; Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness; Blessed are the merciful; Blessed are the pure in heart; Blessed are the peacemakers; Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness; Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me” (Matthew 5:3-11). These are not qualities easy to achieve.
And as I suggested, if these seem to be unrelatable, we can always look to St. Paul’s instructions to the Christians in Rome and Galatia. To the Galatian Christians Paul wrote, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” He concluded this list with, “Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).
And to the Roman Christians Paul wrote, “Love must be sincere. Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, be devoted to one another in love. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Bless those who persecute you. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. As far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, but leave room for God’s wrath, and if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Romans 12:9-21).
These aren’t the things the world teaches, but it is what Jesus taught and expects of His people. What if the Lord were to return today? Would the powerful and prestigious among us really be looking forward to that event? I’m not so sure. I believe it’ll be the ones like Jesus illustrated in our Gospel lesson for today. The ones who will be happy to see Jesus’ return are those who took the time to be prepared. They will like be the 5 virgins that ensured they had what they needed. It would be those who have been patiently waiting for Jesus’ return. The ones who have been faithfully going about the business of God’s kingdom.
Those who will rejoice at Jesus’ coming will be the humble, the giving, the faithful who have loved God and loved their neighbor, those who have mourned for others, the righteous, the meek, the peacemakers, and those who have been persecuted because of Jesus. These are the ones for whom the coming of the Lord will be a celebratory occasion. But there is one more thing that needs to be said. Jesus’ coming will be good news for those who understand their need.
Amos lived in a time very much like our own. Those who “lay on beds of white ivory” felt they were self-sufficient. They were self-assured that they were secure. They couldn’t imagine that the day of the Lord would threaten everything they hold dear. And we could profit from their blindness. Perhaps the best thing we could do in these remaining weeks of the church year would be to question whether we really are prepared to face not only our King but our Judge.
Not that I’m a huge fan of Robert Schuller, but in his book Reach Out for A New Life, Schuller gives a powerful example of the tragedy of people who think that they are self-sufficient, who think that their eternal future is secure, and ignore the real danger that lies ahead of them. It concerns the sinking of the Titanic, a tragedy that sent 1,516 people to a watery grave in 1912. This tragedy occurred because those in places of responsibility ignored clear warning signals.
Three days after this “unsinkable” ship was out of Queenstown, Ireland, a wire was received that told of icebergs in the ship’s path. But the wireless operator ignored the message. He had been told the ship was unsinkable, so why should he bother? Hours later another cable came with the same message. The wireless operator heard it, but failed to write it down. A third message came. This time the operator wrote it down, handed it to the captain, who read it and, without comment, turned it over to the managing director who looked at it and threw it in the wastebasket on the bridge. An hour later, a fourth warning came. This time the captain said, “Tell the people on lookout to watch for icebergs.” That was all that was done. The Titanic steamed ahead, full speed, 22 knots, into the darkness.
The fifth warning came about 9:30 that evening. Still no slowdown, 22 knots ahead. At 11:30 the crackling sound of another ship was heard in the radio room: “Hey, this is the California. I don’t know about you, but boy, we are really locked in with an ice field out here.” “Shut up,” said the radio operator of the Titanic, “You’re jamming my airways,” and cut him off. Ten minutes later the lookout screamed, “Iceberg ahead!” But now there was nothing that could be done. It was too late. The mighty ship rammed the iceberg, which cut a gash 300 feet long. All sixteen watertight compartments were immediately sealed off, and everybody said, “We will be all right. This ship is unsinkable.” But one bulkhead gave way, and then another, and the ship was doomed. The passengers were finally notified.
Meanwhile, passengers were told the ship was in danger and they should head for the lifeboats. But, never, in the whole cruise, had the passengers been assigned to a lifeboat. After all, what was the need for that? The Titanic was unsinkable! When the announcement came that the ship was in danger of sinking, and for the people to go to lifeboats, many of them refused to obey the order. Why should they? The Titanic was unsinkable! Testimony later showed that the lifeboats could have held at least 500 more passengers. 500 more doomed people who were sure the Titanic would stay afloat.
The question we need to really ponder is, are we prepared for the Day of the Lord? Will it be good news, or bad? Are we answering yes because we are self-assured, confident in our own good deeds thinking “I’m good, so God has to let me into heaven.” Or is it because we look to God’s mercy and grace alone? And in response to God’s unmerited grace, do we respond by loving God and showing God’s love and mercy to our neighbors?
Jesus has promised to return one day, a day and time that only the Father knows. And when Jesus returns, we will all be judged for what we’ve done in this life, both the good and the bad. When the books are opened in the judgement, what will Jesus find? In Baptism we were, forgiven, named and claimed, and as St. Paul tells us, “we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).
Amen