Yesterday's lectionary gave us Matthew 25: 1-13, the parable of the foolish virgins and the wise virgins, the lamp oil and the late bridegroom (late as in not on time, not late as in dead). I was not preaching the adult sermon yesterday--we had a pastor staff member visiting from the Southeastern Synod, and he took the adult sermon.
I wasn't sure how to approach the parable--I didn't want to discuss marriage customs in times of antiquity in a children's sermon. I decided to talk about the strangeness of the parable, but to do it from a bit of an angle. I gave each child an apple, a real apple, with the instructions not to eat it.
I said that we would each need to have an apple for a party that we were going to have, that the guest of honor wasn't here yet, and that the guest of honor would want us each to have an apple. Now what happens if this half of the group eats their apples? What should the people with apples do?
We talked about the possibilities, and we started with the most obvious: the people with apples should share their apples. Isn't that what Jesus has been telling us to do, week after week? But that's not what this parable says.
What are our other options? The ones who ate their apples could go buy more apples. And that's what the parable tells us happens. And what's the risk? That the guest of honor comes while they're gone--yup, that's what happens. The door is locked, the party goes on inside, and the ones who ate their apples are out of luck.
It's a strange parable. It seems so different from what Jesus preaches in other times, that there's enough, that God will give us what we need, that it's safe to share. Jesus is telling us a different message, that we need to stay awake and alert, because we don't know what will be required. We've got our apples, which can represent our spiritual strengths, and we should conserve them.
It's not a perfect approach to the parable, but I'm pleased with how it went.
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