So, Jesus speaks to us today in His Ultimate Gospel and
says,
Let us set this straight once again, for the hour has come
for all things to end and Christ to return, on this final, ultimate Sunday.
There is no amount of preparation you can do to be ready for the Last Day.
Nothing. No amount of charity work, no amount of volunteering, and no amount of
giving will get you into that Wedding feast that the 5 wise virgins attend.
None.
Why is that? Because whenever you focus on “doing the Lord’s
work” or “following Jesus”, your mind, actions, and energy are all centered
around you. Not God. Not the Word. Not Jesus. You.
Have I built my house upon the rock or upon the sand? Have I
found the truth? Is my mind opened to the truth?
Have I invested heavily—of heart, mind and energies—in this
"pearl of great price" that I have been offered (Matthew 13:44– 46),
or do I have "itching ears" that would rather listen to "new
truths" and fables (2 Timothy 4:3– 4)?
Have I carefully proven what I believe, or do I follow my
feelings and listen to the latest doctrine or self-appointed prophet or teacher
who comes along (1 Thessalonians 5:21)? Am I seeking first the Kingdom of God
Am I striving to grow close to God while He can be found, or
am I putting off the most important decisions in life until later (Isaiah
55:6–9)?
Am I eagerly anticipating and actively preparing for
Christ’s return, or am I hoping for more time to enjoy the transient pleasures
of this world?
Since others cannot believe for me, I must buy, invest, and
make the effort myself!
I, I, I. My, my, my. Me,
me, me. If this is the teaching you are clinging to, then you have fallen to
the same sin that the 5 foolish virgins have: that you must buy faith for
yourself. This is the popular “Christian” teaching in America
Repent. The reason why the Last Day, and the book of
Revelation, and any other spot in the Bible seem more frightening than they
actually are, is because if your faith depends on you, then nothing could be
worse than approaching the Day of the Lord quickly, because no matter how hard
you try your faith seems forced and your lamp is always empty. All the hard
work I do is good for one day, but not the next, so you depend on the next day
or the next thing you buy to keep you on the straight and narrow.
The Lord says, “I will
go before you
and level the exalted places,
I will break in pieces
the doors of bronze
and cut through the bars of iron” (Is.
45:2)
Jesus will go first. He will be the first and only God to be
born of a virgin. He will be the first God-man. He will be the first sinless
person. He will be the first to suffer in the exalted place of the cross. He
will be the first to break in pieces the doors of bronze that life hides behind
in death. He will be the first to cut through the bars of iron that imprison
everlasting life.
Jesus says that “…the
Lord has prepared a sacrifice and consecrated His guests.” (Zep. 1:7) The
sacrifice prepared is Jesus, the God-man, first born of the dead. The Lord
prepares His own way and prepares His own people, because the preparations to
be made to enter heaven are too much for a sinful and fallen creation.
But now that Christ has appeared, He has “…abolished death and brought life and
immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Tim. 1:10). Jesus walks in
front to prepare His own Way. The Way of salvation and forgiveness for you. The
Way of Life, blazed by His suffering, death, and resurrection. And there is no
other way.
In Christ, all things are already prepared. They are already
ready. It is a finished product that the Lord presents to you today. Complete.
Filled up. Which brings us back to our virgins. It is not the ones who filled
up their lamps that enter the already-prepared wedding, it is the ones who
stayed regardless.
In our Nunc Dimittis, which we sing with St. Simeon, you
sing thusly: “…for my eyes have seen your
salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation
to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel
In our favorite Psalm, it is the Lord preparing the Table
before our enemies (Ps. 23:5). There just is no getting around it. We do not
prepare; the Lord prepares us. How do we know we are prepared if there’s
nothing we can do about it? Belief. Belief prepares you.
Dr. Luther’s explanation of the Sacrament of the Altar gives
us this key clue into the Prepared Life before God. He asks, “Who, then,
receives such Sacrament worthily?
The Answer: “Fasting and bodily preparation is, indeed, a
fine outward training; but he is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith
in these words: Given, and shed for you, for the remission of sins.
But he that does not believe these words, or doubts, is
unworthy and unfit; for the words For you require altogether believing hearts.”
Faith. Belief. Trusting in what God has given. All these
things are what you “do” to prepare for the Coming of Christ. Illness can not
stop these preparations. Death does not end them, either, for they are the
Lord’s. The Lord preaches His Gospel through all the earth and creates
believers. The Lord distributes His sacraments and sanctifies His people.
The Lord calls you to Church in order that you would hear
all these things and believe that they are yours, simply because the Lord says
they are.
Dear Christians, your lamps are full. Not just full, but
over flowing. In the Word and Sacrament, you hold a blazing torch in your hand
who’s fire spills over to all the earth. It consumes death and sin and leaves
no trace. Out of its purifying flames steps one like the Son of Man, glorious
in His appearance.
Continue to ask your questions about your preparations.
Continue to struggle with your sins and continue to strive towards more of
Christ. But do it in hope and in belief. Struggle and strive in the wild
assertion that, though you must wait, everything is already ready for you.
Believe, that though you must die, the death of a saint such as yourself
results in life everlasting with Jesus.
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