Wake up! There's no time to lose! The Bridegroom is coming! Oh, dear Christians, would that we had the urgency of heart and mind to be ready for our heavenly Bridegroom, the Lord Christ that we have pursuing all the things we think are so important in this life! Would that we so eagerly awaited our Lord's return with the same energy and zeal that we store up for the start of football season or summer vacation! “Sleepers, wake!” says the Apostle and in the Lord's parable: “Behold! The Bridegroom is coming!” Dear Christians, this is no time to be fooling around with how much oil is in our lamps and if we have enough! Now is not the time to wonder whether we can go get some oil and still make it to the wedding feast! Why? Because when the Bridegroom arrives, the doors are shut! And while those who are outside may have been invited to to the wedding, once the doors are closed they are unknown to the Bridegroom. Dear virgins, pure, spotless children of the Lord, let us repent this day of thinking that a certain amount of faith and Jesus is “enough” and thereby running the risk of missing the Bridegroom's arrival.
Jesus tells this parable in order to save us. He speaks to us of these five virgins who are wise and the five who are morons in order to rescue us from the fate of those foolish ones. Likewise also the Lord's apostle St. Paul warns the Thessalonians and us about the Lord's coming so that we are not caught unawares but rather whether asleep or awake—that is, living or dead—we are ready to rejoice when the Bridegroom shows up. Dear Christians, the world goes blissfully, ignorantly on its way, never considering that there will be a day when everyone will try to get into the wedding feast, but only those who have oil for their lamps will be behind those closed doors! Think about it. Aside from the most die-hard atheists, doesn't everyone want to get to heaven? People fly planes into buildings and blow themselves up thinking that will get them straight to paradise! People pay money for preachers to tell them the steps and secrets and plans and programs of what they need to do to get themselves right with God and get to heaven on the Last Day. People live their lives to be as good as possible in the hopes that they might get in. But all such faith and trust in our ourselves is a damning trust. So Jesus tells us about the five wise virgins and the five moron virgins to rescue us from the religion of the world, the notions of our sinful flesh, and the enticings of the Devil. He preaches to us to save us and bring us to everlasting life.
The Lord teaches us to be virgins who are prepared! Ready! Lots of oil and some to spare. What is this? What is the oil that we must have in our lamps? Well, where does the olive oil come from to light the lamps? Is it not shaken from the olive trees and pressed and squeezed to send the oil flowing forth? So we know what the oil for our lamps is! It is Christ, hung upon the cross of Calvary for our sins. Nailed to the tree to bear our iniquities and so rescue us from sin and death. So shaken on the cross, so squeezed in suffering and death, the blood and water and words which pour forth from our Savior are the oil that lights our lamps! What flows from Christ flows to our lamps and vessels in overflowing abundance. He is the source of oil that never runs dry! It is because He is the one whose blood and water and words flow that He is the Light of the world. Not because He points some path for us to follow, but He blazes the path through death for us. Not because He came to tell us rules and ways of making God like us, but because He came as our Substitute, holy and blameless to claim for Himself a Bride, whom He has washed and made holy through water and the word. And when He comes back on that Last Day; when the Bridegroom arrives, it will be to claim that holy, spotless Bride, His church. And His bride and the virgins who make up that Bride will welcome Him with burning lamps!
So the oil then, is what Christ pours forth from Himself. The oil in our lamps is the Spirit and the Gospel and the Body and Blood and the water of Holy Baptism. The oil is the means of grace—the Gospel and Sacraments—and the Holy Spirit and faith, all of which go together and none of which can be apart from the others. To be ready for the Bridegroom, dear Christians, is nothing other than to be filled with the gifts of Christ. Filled up with more to be given. Too much is never enough when the Lord always has more! The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. The wise virgins are those whose lamps are full of this oil. You are ready for our Lord's return, dear Christians, because your lamps are full of this oil. You have been baptized. You have feasted on the Body and Blood of Christ. And you have been absolved and had the Gospel preached to you. And all these things will be given to you again and again and over and over until the day that you die and are with Christ as the angels cry, “Behold! The Bridegroom comes!”
And since the Lord's gifts are the oil in the lamp, let us be wise virgins who always want more so that we never run out! Here is where we learn our repentance from those foolish virgins who thought they had enough and it was no concern to them to have more oil at hand. How much oil is enough? One may as well ask how often is too often to receive Christ's Body and Blood? Is it possible to make too much of our Baptism? Can we ever confess all of our sins and be absolved? How much of the Bible do we have to learn? How much of the Catechism do we have to know? Those who ask such questions are the foolish virgins who say, “Oh, no, we've got enough oil. That's all we need.” I've got enough faith. I believe enough. I've done enough good works. I've lived a good life. I went to Catechism years ago; I don't need Bible Study today or to pay close attention to the sermon or learn and grow in the faith. I only need communion once in a while. Such talk, such faith, such self-reliance is pure foolishness! It is to be a moron virgin who thinks she has enough oil but will run out when the Bridegroom arrives. That is to have a faith that might get you through life, but will flicker and die in death. And on that day the coming of Christ won't be a time of rejoicing and light, but of fear and darkness. Let us learn our lesson from these virgins, dear Christians, never to despise the gifts the Lord has for us that are given to deliver Christ and keep us in the faith and thereby light our way unto eternal life!
All this too is why Christ's church practices closed communion. It is to teach us to confess in this life that we are only ready for the feast when we are in Christ and our lamps are filled with His gifts. Faithful communion practice trains us for that Last Day when the doors will be shut. All those who complain, “But I don't want to learn all that Catechism or doctrine to take the Lord's Supper;” or say “what matters is what's in my heart”-- such folks are really just saying that they've got enough oil to get by. But, my dear Christians, that Day will come and those doors will be shut. If you believe you have enough oil, then tremble in fear at the prospect that you will be shut out on that Day! But if you know that you can never have enough oil, if you must make sure your lamp and vessel are filled; if you recognize your need to live every day in your Baptism, confess your sins, grow in the Word and feast at the Holy Supper, then rejoice! Because the Bridegroom is coming! And He comes to gather you to His wedding feast and take you as His own for all eternity. So wake up! Behold! The Bridegroom is coming. Rejoice! He is coming for you, His pure, spotless, virgin Bride. He's filled your lamp and shall keep it full until that moment arrives. Amen.