Don’t be a Moron, be a Gregory! - Sermon for the 24th Sunday after Pentecost

Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
November 12^th, Year of Our + Lord 2023
Our Redeemer and Our Savior’s Lutheran Churches
Custer and Hill City, South Dakota
Good Advice for End Time Living: 
Don’t be a Moron, be a Gregory! 
Matthew 25:1-13

   Good news, Gregory is not a moron!  Gregory is not a moron.  O.k., I’m a coward.  I should have preached this sermon when my good friend Greg Westerfield was still an elder at Our Redeemer.  But I’ll send him a copy, I promise.   

   More fun with words this morning, but this time, we will look at some words that we actually know and maybe even use in common conversation. 

   Our words of focus this morning are ‘foolish,’ and ‘watch!’  These are two of Jesus’ most important words in His parable today, which could be summarized in a bumper sticker:  Don’t Be Foolish, Be Watchful!  And here’s where the fun with words begins.  The foolish virgins are morons.  The Greek for foolish is ‘moros,’ which descends directly through the centuries into English as moron.  You didn’t know you were insulting people in Greek, did you?  No, no, you don’t call people morons, I hope.  As soon as we far-from-perfectly-wise people start categorizing the wisdom and intelligence of others, bad things start to happen, for them and for us.  But Jesus, who knows all things, who is the Wisdom of God in the flesh, does call some people morons, fools, because He wants to save them from their foolishness. 

   The Greek to English connection of the command “watch!” isn’t quite as direct, but we do use the Greek word behind it, as the name Gregory.  The development of this name is a decidely Christian Church thing.  Gregoreite, is the Greek command “Watch!”   And watchfulness is such an important command from Jesus that Christians started using it as a name: Gregory, a watchful one.  As in St. Gregory of Nazianzus, and Pope Gregory the Great.  And of course, centuries later, our friend Greg, now residing in Buffalo, WY. 

   And so, we could distill this parable of the wise and foolish virgins into an even more striking bumper sticker: Don’t be a Moron, be a Gregory!

   Jesus teaches this parable to His disciples just days before His crucifixion.  Watching their Lord and Teacher suffer and die was going to seem like the End of the World to them, which is perhaps why Jesus teaches so much about the Last Day during that first Holy Week. 

   An important theme in Matthew’s presentation of the Cross is the occurrence of End-Times-like events.  In the first Gospel, God’s judgement against human sin at the Cross of Calvary comes with earthquakes, darkened skies, and bodily resurrections of the saints.  ‘Day of the Lord,’ or ‘End Times’ phenomena provide the backdrop for Jesus’ great work of Atonement.  We can and should consider the Last Day and the Final Return of Christ through the lens of Good Friday, especially because in Good Friday we find hope.  Because of the darkness of that Day, and the glorious light of the Resurrection on the third day after, now all who are in Christ have nothing to fear.  In Jesus, you have nothing to fear, not even of the frightful events leading up to the End of this world.  

   But perhaps the parable of the foolish and wise virgins disappoints us, as it seems to burden us with a task of watchfulness that we don’t completely understand.  We may even fear it.  All ten virgins appear to be Christians, part of God’s people.  They are collectively a symbol of the whole visible Church of Christ on earth, waiting for His Final Coming.  But according to the parable, there is a requirement, a wise action necessary for these virgins to be welcomed into the wedding feast.  And half of them fail at the task.  Is Jesus teaching against salvation by faith, apart from human works?  Is He saying that in the end there is some work required of us, in order to be saved?  It almost seems that way.  We better dig deeper. 

   Jesus is teaching His disciples, and us, about how we are to live in the End Times, in order to be prepared for the Day of the Lord, His Final Coming.  The End Times, by the way, began at Christ’s Ascension and continue until He appears again.  And Jesus is not saying anything contrary to the rest of His teaching, which clearly proclaims that our salvation depends solely on God’s grace, revealed in Christ’s saving work.  Even faith, which we must have to receive forgiveness and entrance into the Kingdom of God, even saving faith is a gift, created in us by the Holy Spirit, working through the Word of the Gospel. 

   The parable of the 10 virgins says the same thing, using a dramatic metaphor to heighten our understanding of the stakes.  Because the sad and frightening truth is that we are capable of wandering from the faith, of losing our gracious connection to the Savior, and bringing condemnation down upon ourselves.  Indeed, by our own reason and strength, we are only capable of squandering the gift of the Gospel.  We need the Holy Spirit’s constant help to stay in God’s kingdom. 

 

 The wise virgins understand this reality, and so they keep their lamps and flasks full of oil, which is to say, they keep filling their faith with the Word of Christ, which is what created their faith in the first place.  The Word of God is the only fuel capable of keeping the fire of faith burning. 

   To use a different metaphor, if you were drowning, and then from up above a hose and mask was thrust onto your face, giving you life-saving air to breathe, you would be very focused on keeping that mask on your face, until you could reach the surface.  Christian faith works in a similar way.  The Holy Spirit comes to sinners with the Word of Christ, and breathes new life into us.  The new creature, the believer re-created in you and me, naturally craves that Word, stays close to that Word, breathes that Word to stay alive.  Or, to switch back to our parable, wise virgins keep their lamps of faith filled with God’s Word, so that their light will still be burning, no matter how long the Lord tarries before returning, no matter how long your earthly life endures. 

   Godly Wisdom is this: first, to know and cherish your dependence on the Word of Christ, which rescued you through Holy Baptism, and second, to then order your life so that you are being regularly filled with that Gospel, in the Word proclaimed, sung, heard, read, prayed, and connected to Wheat and Wine.  This is to be a Gregory.  This is to be watchful as Jesus intends. 

   Watchfulness does not involve trying to determine when our Bridegroom Jesus will return.  Christ has specifically told us no one will know the day or the hour.  Neither does watchfulness involve scurrying about, trying to do enough good things to make ourselves look worthy in the eyes of the Bridegroom.  He has already loved us perfectly, unto death; nothing we can do could make or break His love. 

   The only way for us to be lost is for our faith to die, for our lamp to be snuffed out.  So, watchfulness is to dwell in the courts of the Lord.  And we don’t need to go to Jerusalem to dwell in God’s House.  In the New Testament Church, we are incredibly blessed, as the Lord comes to us.  We are blessed to be able to receive Jesus through Hi Gospel, again and again, in the weekly gatherings of God’s people, and also on a daily basis.  Wisdom is to fill up our souls with the Good News of Jesus, which lights our fire of faith, and keeps it burning.      

   Foolishness, moronic behavior, on the other hand, is to take faith for granted, like a lucky rabbit’s foot that can be left in a drawer to wither and decay.  The foolish virgins fumbling to get their empty lamps burning represent outwardly Christian people who have cut themselves off from God’s Gospel for so long that they no longer know it or believe it.  On the Last Day, when the trumpet sounds, and Christ returns visibly, it will be too late to kindle faith. 

    So, are we wise or foolish?  Are we Gregory’s, or are we morons?  The evidence cuts both ways, doesn’t it?  We are here today, that’s good.  To attend a faithful church is the centerpiece of wise Christian living, God’s ‘Plan A’ for keeping your flask full of the oil of the Gospel.  Weekly attendance at the Divine Service is our Biblical baseline.  God grant us hearts that rejoice to gather with His people, around His Word. 

   What about the rest of your week?  Are you letting the Word of Christ dwell in you richly Monday through Saturday?  We have, today, many advantages over Christians of earlier times.  Accessing faithful translations of God’s Word has never been easier.  From Portals of Prayer to the devotions included in our weekly readings insert, to a dozen other faithful resources that I will gladly point you to, there is no good reason that any of us should not hear and ponder God’s good Word, every day. 

   But we do have our destractions, don’t we?  Time slips through our fingers like sand.  Rushing around like head-less chickens seems like a normal state of affairs.  And there are so many distractions.  Light and sound and flickering images surround us, 24/7 if we let them.  And there’s always more that we could do at our job, or for our home, or on our favorite hobby.  There’s always another quick video to watch, another snack to get, another score to check. 

   Many of our distractions are harmless, or even beneficial, in limited quantities.  Others are shameful, sinful denials of who we are called to be in Christ.  Who among us doesn’t spend time and attention on worthless, foolish things? Who among us would not benefit from 10 more minutes a day, quietly spent with God and His Word?  That would be wise.  Lord, save us from being foolish morons!    

   I warned against taking faith for granted, that is, to remember that your faith is a living thing that needs feeding.  Ironically, to do this, we need to remember that faith actually is granted, that is, given.  Faith is given to us sinners by God’s grace.  But God protect us from thinking faith is just a dry truth that we acknowledge, but then tuck back in a dusty shelf of our mind, like multiplication tables or the names of state capitols.  True faith in Christ is front of mind, a living connection of mutual love between Savior and Saved.  True faith is a communion with God that grows and grows.  This is the only way for us dying sinners to be kept alive.    

   One last thing from our parable.  I am always a bit troubled to read how the Wise Virgins would not and could not share their oil with the Foolish Virgins.  It seems uncaring.  But remember, Jesus always tweaks the earthly stories and institutions that He uses for His parables.  For example, real first century farmers did not willy nilly cast their seed in the rocks, among the weeds or on the hard ground along the roadside.  Earthly shepherds are unlikely to leave 99 sheep alone on the mountainside to go look for one moronic sheep that gets lost.  And the bridesmaids invited to a literal 1^st century wedding feast didn’t have to stay up all night waiting at the gate, in order to enter the feast. 

   Jesus describes the wedding preparations this way because, as Scripture teaches in many places, on the Last Day, Christ will come suddenly, and the opportunity to repent and believe the Good News will be gone.  And, whether our moment of truth comes at the Last Day, or on the last day of our earthly life, each of us will have our own faith.  We will have either true faith in Christ, or a false faith in something else.  And this difference will determine our eternity.  Either we will trust in Jesus and His forgiving love, or we will trust in something else, some idol, which cannot forgive us, and so cannot save us. 

   And, as much as I might want to, I cannot believe in Jesus’ forgiving love for you.  You cannot believe in Jesus’ forgiving love for me, nor for your spouse, nor for your children or friends.  Our sinfulness isolates us, and only the grace and mercy of God can bring us back into communion, into community, into a forever family, with God and all the saints.  This is why the Wise Virgins of the parable could not and did not share their oil, not once the trumpet had sounded. 

   But, we can share our oil now.  Keeping our flasks full of the oil of God’s Law and Gospel is our wise and joyful task, for our own blessing, today and for the rest of our lives.  And yet the Christian’s oil flask is made to leak; it overflows, actually.  Your light can shine with the fire of God’s love.  Your mouth can share the faith-igniting story of Jesus, our Bridegroom, who has written our invitation to the eternal feast in His own blood.  Every Christian has a role to play in spreading His oil around, of supporting and participating in the telling of the Good News of Jesus. 

   Christians of every time have wondered why the Lord delays His Final Coming.  Often elderly Christians and others who suffer from painful diseases wonder why the Lord tarries in taking them home.  Part of the answer is always that the Lord is still seeking to win more hearts, to fill more flasks, and so fill more seats at the Heavenly Banquet.  And He does this work through us.  Yes, the Holy Spirit is always the One who changes lives, bringing sinners to repentance and creating saving faith in the heart.  But He speaks His Word through us, through His Church, through all the Gregory’s, all the wise, watchful virgins, men, women and children, who watch for His return by daily filling their flask with His Word of Promise.   

   Don’t be a moron, be a Gregory!  Fill your flask daily, resting in the promise of all that Jesus has done for you.  Watch for His return by hearing and reading and praying and singing His Word, and by feasting at His Table, for your eternal blessing, and to have oil to share, until our Bridegrooms appears.

In the Name of Jesus, Amen.