September 9th, 2008 – Getting Wet for God

It was Abby’s and Nathaniel’s baptism today. When Pastor Dayle asked Abby what she was going to do today Abby said she was “getting wet for God”. Every baptism is unique and, for me, the family and congregational support felt like the important emphasis of the first sacrament of the service.

Pastor Dayle emphasized this in her sermon saying that we were all “green and growing” in the faith, trying to understand each other with a new heart. The central portion of the sermon was on Gospel - The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids.

It is a difficult parable and Pastor Dayle labeled it ridiculous because the wise bridesmaids did not share oil with the foolish. She asserted most of us are not fully prepared but God comes to us anyway. She referred to Amos quoting the reading that “justice rolls down like the waters”. Sometimes there is a dam to attempt to stop that justice but God diverts the stream of justice around the dam.

It was an interesting juxtaposition for me; green and growing in faith and The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids. This parable can be troubling and has challenged me many times in my life.

I taught it in Sunday School when I was a teen. The class asked why the wise bridesmaids did not share oil with the foolish. “That’s the Christian thing to do!” they maintained. I couldn't disagee with them but I felt there was more to this parable and I looked for an answer for years.

To me prayers are man’s communications with God and parables are God’s communication with man. Parables, as extended, story metaphors, form the center of Jesus’ teaching. A few, like this one, seem peculiar and confusing at first blush. When that happens there is likely a deeper meaning and it helps me to study, question and think about the story.

The New Man, a book the Creator Book group read, has an interesting perspective on this parable. The author asks questions that lift us from the literal meaning that causes confusion. What does the oil, lamp and light represent? The light, according to the author, represents the word of God. Briefly there are moments where the word can move us internally but to move from brief moments to sustained moments we need to ponder and think of a new way of looking at our world that is more aligned with God’s will. We can think of that as the lamp that sustains the light. Think here of This Little Light of Mine and the sustained shining that defines the song.

The oil, the author contends, proceeds from the knowledge that the teaching of Jesus must be applied in life and is practical. There are two sources for the oil. One is carried with the person; the other source is in the market or dealers. The foolish bridesmaids must go out and buy oil from those who sell it, perhaps meaning they are seeking others who will confirm this teaching is right or meritorious by reward or praise.

Now, this may help us understand why the wise bridesmaids could not share their oil. Simply, the oil of the wise bridesmaids cannot be used by the foolish. The foolish end up going to the dealers or market to serach for their oil instead of knowing the good of the teaching themselves. They also leave rather than meeting the bridegroom.

That the door to the wedding banquet is shut to them may be viewed as a judgment but it may also be viewed as a temporary state they are in until they apply this truth internally and they are recognized and welcomed into the wedding banquet, a celebration of the transformation of their relationship with God. We know, as Lutherans, when we proceed from actions to garner reward and praise something spiritually is out of kilter. We are not awake to the deeper truth within us.

This is one understanding of the parable that currently touches me. If you have another, please let me know. Learning about how other's find meaning in parables moves all of us to new understandings of God and Jesus.