Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25 Psalm 78
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Matthew 25:1-1
Lectionary Link
We have read the parable about the bridesmaid who were prepared and those who weren't and this wisdom parable of Jesus presents to us some insights about the realm of God in our lives.
Those with apocalyptic propensity prefer to use this as the preparation for some cataclysmic end of the world has we know it. And there are many Christians who resort to a sort of apocalyptic fatalism, one in which their perceived foes are punished and they who are God's preferred get spirited away to rapturous bliss. The obsession with this kind of apocalypticism is so pronounced, it really seems at odds with a creating loving God who called creation good. The apocalyptic sects of Christian religions are not environmentalists; "why save the environment if we are soon going to leave this wretched place for a better world?" As proclaimed "dominionists" they believe the world should be dominated for their benefits and there is very little notion of stewardship care for this world which the creator God of Genesis called "good."
I believe the injunction to be prepared has a fuller meaning than than what the distorted views of the apocalyptic crowd proclaim.
When Jesus proclaimed the Realm of God, he was not proclaiming something new, he was observing what was always already, namely, if this world derives from the plenitude of God then the plenitude of all that is, is the realm of God. Or, as St. Paul of the Acts of the Apostles reminded us, "we live, and move and have our being in God." God is our Realm and our kingdom, past, present, and future.
Then why does the notion of the kingdom of heaven seem to be limited to an event or "events" in time? The events in time have to do with the human perception of what is always, already. We are always in the Realm of God but we don't always perceive it or live as though we are in God's Realm.
Being prepared for the kingdom or realm of heaven is about how we live toward the future. The words of Jesus, "the kingdom of heaven will be like this," namely it is a future continuous tense. The realm of God will be.....
And how are we to live toward what will be? We are to live in ways of being ready for the future. In the past, we have lived and moved had our being in God, in the present we live and have our being God , and it will also be such in the future.
Being prepared is about holistic integration of our lives. It is to be very practical. The Boys Scout Motto is "Be prepared." If one is going camping then one needs to be logistically prepared, with proper attire, proper supplies, and proper skill sets to meet the challenges of the trail and the remote places of the camping sites.
The issue of the wise and foolish bridesmaids in the parable was simply a matter of logistics of having an ample supply of oil for the lamps. Those who did not have enough oil had a good excuse: "How were we to know that the bridegroom would be delayed?"
And isn't this a main issue of life? How do we know the timing of future event so as to be properly prepared?
The warning words of Jesus for his early followers was this; you don't need to be prepared for some event of final salvation as to be able to live spiritually healthy lives no matter what befalls.
The kind of preparation which Jesus asks for is not a fatalistic waiting for some final end of life as we know it, but rather an attitude of faith which can adjust to the actual conditions of life as we know it.
This is a wholistic and holistic kind of faith preparation. It is integrative of the ways that we have to be prepared to live, and move, and have our being in God, even as such living includes living with all the people of our daily lives and world. It includes using our past experiences and the experiences of others to anticipate the probabilities of what may yet happen to us. It is practical and commonsensical; as such it means that human beings are mainly the answers to their own prayers. There is enough to go around in the world; it is human failure which accounts for great personal needs of so many. Therefore preparation of realization of the Realm of God is spiritual and moral, because the material world, the world of science and brute facts has to be accompanied with the moral and spiritual realization of the worthwhileness of everyone in God's realm.
From a cursory observation we can say that we are not prepared yet for the Realm of God, because the will of God in the heavenly realm is not yet being done on the earth of the visible realm.
The preparation for the kingdom of heaven for us is to bring the parallel heavenly values of love and justice to the actual surface of this visible world. We cannot be complainer about not knowing that such things would happen to us; we must be those who are studying the ways of love and justice to be made known in whatever may come.
It is not realistic for us to complain about not knowing the specifics of future events, since the future will be much like the past and the present with the array of probable occurrences. Preparation is not about pretending that we know specifics of the future, it is about knowing that God is equally present in all times. If we are prepared in knowing God is present now, then we can carry this preparation to know that God will be present in our futures as well.
The message of the Gospel for us today is that being prepared means living in being God aware. We prepare for the future by living God aware lives. Let us be prepared by knowing God as the common great feature of all the times of our lives. Amen.
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