Wednesday, December 3, 2025: Advent Two
“Then the Kingdom
of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet
the bridegroom. Five of them were
foolish, and five were wise. The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive
oil for their lamps, but the other five were wise enough to take along extra
oil. 5 When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.” (Matthew 25: 1 -5, New Living Translation)
I know the Psalms tell us that
waiting is sometimes good. “Wait
patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the
Lord.” (Psalm 217:14) But I don’t think he was meaning procrastination or
delaying what needs to be and should be done.
“Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to
act.” (Psalm 37:7) But neither
do I think we are supposed to twiddle our thumbs and find other distractions to
delay the inevitable, that it is all up to God.
“For I am waiting for you, O Lord. You must answer for me, O Lord my
God.” (Psalm 38:15) I am pretty
certain that God is not going to change my tires for me; there are some things
that I must do for myself.
“My eyes are swollen with
weeping, waiting for my God to help me.” (Psalm 69:3) Most times, I have no one to blame but myself when my delays
cause problems. Maybe it is true that God helps those who help themselves.
The foolish women in Jesus’ parable delayed in buying extra oil for
their lamps. They hadn’t accounted for
the possibility that the groom would be late.
I have done a lot of weddings in my time, but I have never had a groom
who was late for his own wedding. One bride was an hour late, once, but no
groom. There is no reason given for the
groom’s tardiness. It is not especially relevant anyway. One can only think that
Jesus’ words which he spoke just before he told this parable might apply here.
“So you, too, must keep watch! For you
don’t know what day your Lord is coming.” (Matthew 24:42) The parable illustrates his point.
Procrastination can be costly idleness at its worse. At the last minute,
just as the groom was arriving, the five foolish women’s lamps were empty and they
needed to run down to the local Canadian Tire and buy more. I have, sometimes,
wondered why the five other women refused to lend some of their oil. Wouldn’t
that have been the charitable Christian thing to do? Perhaps, they only had enough
for themselves and didn’t want to risk the same consequences that befell the
foolish women. For those five missed the wedding. The doors were shut and locked
against them. Cruel perhaps, but that is what procrastination will get you; nothing
but grief. “Laziness leads to a sagging roof; idleness leads to a leaky
house.” (Ecclesiastes 10:18)
Literally and metaphorically and certainly spiritually.
It is Advent, a season of waiting
and preparation for the coming of Christ into our world. How we prepare to wait
and watch is critical for us to enjoy the experience of Bethlehem once again. Even
though Christmas is always on December 25th, there may be moments on
the Advent journey which will surprise us with their poignancy, with evocative feelings,
with praise and adoration, with thankfulness and blessings. Those are those God-smacked moments when we
realize that Jesus has arrived. It may catch us off guard, or being distracted or
weary or busy or hurting or afraid but suddenly the Holy Spirit speaks to us
and invites us into the Advent feast. Be ready for that! It may come at a grandchild’s
Christmas concert. It may come by a unexpected phone call from an old friend. It
may come via some cookies which a neighbour baked for you. But don’t ever
forget why Jesus came and let your hearts open up to the possibility and be
ready in those wonderful moments for awareness. Carry some extra oil in the
form of hope, peace, joy and love. This little light of mine; I’m going to let
it shine.
“Let all that I am wait
quietly before God, for my hope is in him.” (Psalm 62:5)
Blessings on all, this Advent
season!
Dale
