And he was probably right. I know that when lost hikers are found dead of thirst, they are frequently found with water still in their canteens because they elected to ration their water rather than drink it. It would have been better to store it in their bodies, for sure!
One thing a good D&D adventure and real life hiking have in common is that you never know when something might go wrong--so it is best to be prepared. That's really what the discussion around the healing potion had to do with--how shall I best be prepared? With a potion in hand or with full health in my body?
Jesus once told a story about being prepared--ok, actually, he told several--but the one I'm thinking of has to do with a wedding.
Now, I have to admit that we don’t have all of the details, but most scholars believe that in those days and in that place, weddings were even bigger events than anything you’ve seen on “Bridezillas.”
For one thing, there was a pretty lengthy amount of negotiations beforehand. Not between the bride and the groom, as we would expect today, but between their families.
It seems quite a bit backward at best and misogynistic at worst today, but the families had to agree to the bride-price--the amount of money or property paid by the groom or his family to the family of the bride upon their marriage. There seem to be several possible reasons for this arrangement--the money could be to compensate the family for the loss of their daughter’s labor. Or it could be to care for her should her husband die or get a divorce and return to her family of origin. Or it could simply be an incentive for the husband to not divorce her in the first place!
In any case, once all the haggling and legalities between the families are settled, you have to go and fetch the bride and the groom and celebrate. For days! So the image of the bridesmaids all sitting around and waiting for an indeterminate amount of time and eventually dozing off with their lamps still burning would have been a familiar one to Jesus’s audience.
And in his story, Jesus tells us that some of the bridesmaids were well-prepared and had brought extra oil with them. And so when word came to them that the bride and the groom were on their way, they refilled their lamps and were in good shape. But others found their lamps going out and had no oil with them. Those bridesmaids ran off to buy more--which is really foolish, since it was the middle of the night--and got locked out of the wedding.
You have to be prepared for the arrival of "The Kingdom of Heaven," Jesus is telling us, "for you know neither the day nor the hour."
So what is the oil? Or the healing potion if you prefer? What do you need to have with you to be prepared at any moment for the Kingdom to arrive?
Well, I believe that it's love. Over and over again Jesus taught us that it's what in our heart that matters. That it's how we treat each other that matters. That if we want to follow the Law and the words of the Prophets that we have to do three simple (but difficult!) things:
Love God
Love Neighbor
Love Self
That's why I beseech you every week to...
Be good to each other,
Rev. Josh
031015
This week I worked with a text that belonged in November according to the Revised Common Lectionary because I'll be preaching over it at a church that uses a narrative lectionary instead. The Spirit must be moving, however, as I somehow neglected to write a blog entry for that Sunday!
Matthew 25:1-13
[Jesus said:] "Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, 'Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' 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.' 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. Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, 'Lord, lord, open to us.' But he replied, 'Truly I tell you, I do not know you.' Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour."
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