What and How Much?
St. Matthew 25:1-13
November 24, 2024 anno Domini
What is the oil? That’s the pressing question of the parable. If you want to get in to the heavenly wedding banquet, if you want to welcome the Christ when He comes again, if you don’t want to be running around the darkness, without a hope in the world, you need oil in your lamp.
Is the oil Jesus? Is it righteousness? Is the oil faith? Is it a holy and descent life? An argument could be made for each of those.
The other question posed in the parable, exemplified by the foolish virgins is that they asked “what’s the least amount of oil that I need?” They had oil in their lamps. They just put in as little as possible. They didn’t want it to clash with their lilac gowns and periwinkle clutches. Nothing more unbecoming as a fashion statement than jug of olive oil in one hand and your bouquet in the other.
This parable of the last day challenges us with two questions. One of quality – what exactly is the oil? And one of quantity – how much do you need? They are dangerous questions because they are questions of degree. They come from your old sinful flesh. They are questions that the five foolish virgins would ask.
Questions of degree are dangerous. Here is an historical example. Martin Luther wrote his Small Catechism in 1529 to address the ignorance of pastors and laity, and their abuse of freedom. Once the people were free from threats of damnation if they skipped the mass, they were not coming to the Divine Service very often, if at all. In the preface to the catechism Luther wrote, “When someone does not seek or desire the Sacrament at least four times a year, it is to be feared that he despises the Sacrament and is not a Christian, just as a person is not a Christian who does not believe the Gospel.” If your pastor say you need to go to church at least four times a year to be a Christian, what is your old sinful flesh going to tell you? I’d better get there at least four times, let’s see that’s Christmas, Mother’s Day, Easter, and one more, maybe two for good measure.
Would the five wise virgins, the virgins who desired to see the bridegroom, ask such questions? Would they ask, “Could we water down the oil so that it is cheaper and goes farther?” Would they ask, “What’s the least amount of oil we need to last until the bridegroom appears?”
What is the oil? It is Jesus and His righteousness. It is your faith which trusts the Word of God. It is your holy life of loving God’s Word, desiring to be in God’s House, fighting against your selfish sinful desires, and striving to live a life of sacrifice for your neighbor – especially your nearest neighbor your immediate family, your spouse, parents, children. It is living your life as if Christ could arrive any moment.
Jesus cannot be had in parts. Either its 200 proof Jesus or it’s rot gut. It’s either extra extra extra virgin olive oil or it’s rancid. You cannot separate the Son of God from Jesus of Nazareth. You cannot have the cuddly baby in the manger without the naked and bloody man on the cross. You cannot have the risen and ascended Lord without the dead man in the tomb. You cannot have His miracles without His Word. You cannot understand the cross unless you know the depth of your sin and the corruption of your own soul. There is no forgiveness without the shedding of His blood. No life without His death. No heaven without the incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. Sadly, many preachers today have separated Jesus from His cross. They preach a justice Jesus or a tolerant Jesus or an Environmental Protective Agency Jesus. In the end such a Jesus will do you no good. He will burn out and leave you in the dark.
Faith also cannot be had in parts. You cannot separate your faith, your thoughts, your words, and your actions. If I ask you “what effect does Christ have on your life?” and you answer “I’m a Lutheran” I’d urge you to repent.
If you believe that Jesus Christ has saved you from eternal punishment by taking all your sin away then there’s no part of you unaffected – how you behave as a man or woman, what you say and speak to your children, how you spend your time, what you read, how you act as a husband or wife, how you spend your money, how you define the important words of our day like human, life, man, woman, marriage, God.
“How much Jesus is necessary? How much faith do I need? How much inconvenience should I expect?” Those are bad questions. A Christian wants and needs all the Jesus you can get. If you arrive at that place where you’ve had too much Jesus and you’re doing too many works, or you’re giving so much to the church, it affects your life, let me know. I’d like to see that.
Your faith won’t survive on four times a year. It won’t survive on once a month. And when the end comes, either on the last day, or in one of the little ends of life – when your husband gets Alzheimer’s or your wife gets breast cancer or when your son is killed in an accident, then there’s never too much Jesus.
When the end comes and you are holding your spouse’s hand for the last time, or you’re in shock because the police knocked on the door in the middle of the night, or you just lost your job because you spoke God’s truth to the lies of the Devil, then and there you will need full strength, straight up, full bodied and blooded Jesus. You will need a faith filled with Scripture and hymns and prayers. You’ll want your pastor, a man of God right beside you, speaking the truth and promises of God’s Word in their fullness. When the end comes, either the little end or the great end everything you trusted in will have run out. Whatever you’ve filled your life with will be darkness and void. There is only One who remains standing after judgment and death. His name is Jesus, the Light of the World. Believe in Him and He will be your light in the darkness.
I hope you’re not asking questions of quality or quantity but know this – God has answered all you ask and provided all you need. The fullness of God dwells bodily in Christ His Son. The incarnate Son of God bore all your sins in His body on the cross and accomplished all righteousness for you. Here in His Church your faith is filled with forgiveness in the waters of your baptism and in the words of absolution. In His Supper Christ will feed you full with His body and blood. You’ll get a taste of heaven, of being with Jesus, of life and the resurrection. By His Word and Sacraments, the Spirit will awaken you from the darkness of sin and strengthen you to walk in the light. God gives the whole Jesus for the whole you. He gives His forgiveness, His Word, and His presence in the Supper at least 52 times a year. He gives all of that for all of you, for your life, your body, your soul, your family, your money, your work. You lack nothing to be ready when the Bridegroom returns. In the name of Jesus. Amen.