The Last Sunday of the Church Year, 2024
Rev. Thomas Van Hemert
St. Matthew 25:1-13
Last Sunday of the Church Year
November 24, 2024
In the name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit.
“The kingdom of heaven,” says Jesus, “will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.” This is a parable about the Church. “Five of them were wise, and five were foolish.” All of them were together in the same place. All were virgins. All had lamps. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. This is what distinguishes them. There is no distinction between wise and foolish on the bases of their failure to keep awake because they all fell asleep. The foolish are foolish because they did not take oil. The wise are wise because they did take oil with their lamps. Those who are foolish within the Church are foolish because they don’t have faith. They just appear to be Christians. They say the right things; they act the right way. But those who are wise have faith.
There is no distinction based on outward appearance. We assume that everyone who comes to church on Sunday mornings has faith. Otherwise, what would be the point? We come to church to receive the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation. We come to hear God’s Word and receive His Sacrament. We come so that the oil in our lamps would be filled; so that our faith would be strengthened and that we learn what good works are, which flow from faith—must like how the light of a lamp is fueled by the oil.
Just like all of us, all of the virgins failed for a time. They all fell asleep. They, like we, go through periods of time where these holy things seem to not be as important as they should be. But in the end, they all heard the call to wake up. Behold, the Bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him! Knowing this, asks St. Peter, “What manner of persons ought we to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking forward and hastening the coming of the day of God?” We ought to keep watch. This is imperative. The point of the parable is twofold: Jesus is coming back and therefore issues the command to “Watch.” “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.”
To be sure, keeping watch for the coming of the Bridegroom consistently with steadfastness and faithfulness may feel cumbersome and difficult. And it may not just feel that way, it might actually be that way. Anyone can keep watch for one day or one night. The difficulty lies in the continued work, when the days roll on; when it seems like nothing is changing for the better; when feels and seems as though the world around us is failing and falling deeper and deeper into chaos and destruction. Where is the promise of His coming? He said He would! Where is He? Why does it seem as though we, the faithful, are left all alone? Why does it seem as though God punishing me in this way when my own body is failing, when my friends and loved ones are dying, when there is so much corruption all around me?
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise. He is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any of us should perish but that we should come to repentance. Why are we still here waiting and keeping watch? So that our faith would be refined. So that we would learn that by keeping watch, we come to realize and know that even though we are walking through this shadowy valley of death that the Lord is with us, just as He has promised to be. He is coming again. He will come again. And even though we wait, He is still with us, just as He has promised to be. He is with us in His Word and in the Sacraments. He does not and will not forsake us. Take comfort in that truth.
While we wait for the coming of the Bridegroom, we are given the opportunity to keep watch. This is the command, “Watch therefore, for you know neither day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.” Lest we fall asleep without oil in our lamps, let us consider how it is that we keep watch.
First of all, all of us need to wake up. Wake up from out of your lethargy and apathy. You need to wake up from out of your care and love for this world and the things in it. This world is not your home. You belong to God. You do not belong to this world. Wake up. Stop worrying so much about the future, what you will eat, what you will drink, what you will put on and the like. Stop worrying so much about which political party is currently in power or will be in power next year or even in the next decade, as if God does not ordain all governments and rulers in this world. All things are subject to Him. Everything has been placed under His feet. Our Father in heaven supplies us with everything we need to support this body and life. I understand this is and will be difficult to not worry and be anxious. But God is in control. Having ascended into heaven, the Son has been given by the Father rule and dominion over all creation. Put not your trust in princes. Put your trust in God.
And in the meantime, wake up and keep watch. Well how do we do that? How do we keep watch? Recognize that each and every one of us has a number of various vocations in life, which are given to us by God for the sake of good order. Our first calling and vocation in life, over and above everything else, is to be a Christian. The Holy Spirit has called us by the Gospel, enlightened us with His gifts, and sanctifies and keeps us in the true faith. Because our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, we are being made more and more holy by Him. This is what “sanctification” means. So, we hear our Lord’s call to “Watch,” and we do. We should not only be Christians in name. We cannot only be “Sunday morning Christians” and have that be good enough. What we hear and receive on Sunday morning should carry us through the week in what we say and do, because we have other vocations in life, such as being a husband, a wife, a father, mother, child, or worker. Our calling and vocation as Christians ought to form and govern everything we say and do in our other callings and vocations.
One of the most beneficial things we can do in keeping watch, starting this week, because this, I think, is one of the greatest problems of our modern age, is to begin limiting our screen time, whether that be television or social media or video games. These things are not real. They are simply pixels on a screen and we need to keep watch over our time and realize that there are more important things in this life than scrolling through Facebook and tiktok and ESPN and the like. Screens, mindlessly watching the news, and social media are a real problem in our day and age. They reduce our capacity for imagination. They create a culture where “likes” and “upvotes” drive what we say and do and believe.
Now do these things have their place? Sure. But we need to learn to set limits because things like the news and social media and video games are not neutral. Social media is specifically designed to keep you engaged and to keep you scrolling and clicking on your computer and on your phone. We are human beings meant to interact in person with each other. Put down your phone and have a conversation with your wife. Play with your kids. Tickle your grandchildren. Read a book. The so-called “news” is not neutral and is not 100% unbiased. More often than not, all of us are prone to clicking on an article or watching a channel because we already know what they’re going to say so we can sit comfortably in our echo chambers without actually engaging in real discrouse and become more cemented in our own leanings, whether social or political. Wake up. These are not neutral.
When I was taking my hunter’s safety course and in firearms training in order to obtain my concealed carry permit, we were taught that while guns are tools and useful for certain means, guns are dangerous. By their very nature they are dangerous. They are specifically designed and created to injure, to harm, and even to kill. They can injure, harm, and kill bystanders and even the one operating the weapon. They can misfire and cause death by accident. They need to be stored properly and they often lack adequate safety measures. They need to be treated and handled with care, respect, and precision.
What is true for firearms is also true concerning screens and the so-called news and social media. Because none of these things are truly neutral. They’re not. There are no safety measures for screens and no way for us to truly safeguard ourselves from them and from the dangers of mindlessly watching the news and scrolling through social media. These things are specifically engineered to be addictive. They’re built to sell us stuff, to keep you scrolling, and to keep us engaged. For the most part, they’re free. They’re free because we ourselves—human beings—are the product. We and our information are what’s being sold. And if we are not careful and learn to set limits—to wake up and realize what’s going on—then we will never be rid of it. I’m not saying we have to get rid of screens and social media completely. They have their place. My point is that I want you to take a step back, remember how things were before all of this and all of the biased media that’s being spoon-fed to you so that you will realize that what’s going on out in the world is not as bad as what you’re being told by your television or your phone. We all need to be warned about this. To recognize what is going on around us and take this seriously, as seriously as we should be in safeguarding our faith, in growing in our faith, which is called “sanctification.”
With that being said, the world around us is failing. We live in a world filled by and corrupted with sin. Things are not getting better. But at least, where we live, it’s not as bad as we are being told. At least, not yet. So wake up. Keep watch. Talk with your neighbors. Engage in conversation and meaningful discourse with other people in person. Stop being so offended by everything and everyone who disagrees with you! Play board games with your families. Again, read a book. Listen to sermons and do the work to meditate upon what’s being said, even if it may sometimes be boring.
The Bridegroom is coming soon. We don’t know when that will be. So we need to stay awake and keep watch. Renew your Confirmation vows by making your faith the most important thing in your life, day in and day out. Because the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When do thieves break in and steal? At night when everyone is asleep. But we know that the Lord is coming soon. Hopefully, sooner than later.
And at the same time, we want this to happen. Christians want to be with Jesus. We are waiting now for the consummation of the age and for His coming again in glory. When He comes again, He will create a new heaven and a new earth where there won’t be any suffering, any sickness, any death.
“O come, Thou Blessed One, Lord Jesus, God’s own Son! Come quickly, Lord Jesus, come quickly.”
In +Jesus’ name.
