Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Give Us This Day

Home
Evangelical
Thursday of Trinity 22 – Matthew 25:1-13

Thursday of Trinity 22 – Matthew 25:1-13

Last updated on: November 19, 2014 at 5:29 pm by Fr. Charles Erlandson

Thursday of Trinity 22 – Matthew 25:1-13 2014-11-19T17:29:17-05:00 Fr. Charles Erlandson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Matthew 25:1-13

One of my favorite shows growing up was Batman. My favorite archvillain was King Tut (Julie Newmar’s Catwoman was a close 2nd). I think Victor Buono was a comic genius! Anyway, King Tut was in real life a mild-mannered Harvard professor of Egyptology, but when he got hit on the head, for example with a flower pot, he turned into King Tut. In one episode, he actually figures out that Bruce Wayne is Batman. He mumbles to himself, mulls over what he’s seen and heard, calculates and says out loud to himself, “carry the 3 – ergo, Bruce Wayne . . . is Batman!”

At the end of the episode, however, he gets hit on the head again and turns back into the mild-mannered Harvard professor of Egyptology. When he sees Commissioner Gordon and Police Chief O’Hara and others looking at him, he looks up at them and says, “Oh dear! Have I done it again?”

Well, that’s the way I feel today.

Do you remember what yesterday’s lesson was about? I know: I, too, have to scramble to think what it was about. Oh yeah – I remember. It was about no one knowing the day or hour when Christ will return, and I applied it to mean that God is our boss and we should work like He is, so that whenever He comes, He’ll find us doing what’s pleasing to Him.

And then we come across today’s lesson – and it’s exactly the same thing! I mean, the characters in the parable are changed and so on. But it’s really still all about the master/ bridegroom being gone and what we’ll do in His absence. Why can’t Jesus move onto something else?

And another thing. He’s now spent a chapter and a half on answering the disciples’ small question about the temple and when it would be destroyed. They didn’t expect a sort of Spanish Inquisition!

But the reason I feel like King Tut – “Oh dear, have I done it again?” – is because I’m the one who’s done it again. It’s hard to believe that 24 hours have expired and transpired (and perspired). But in that time, in spite of my spending so much time having written yesterday about watching for Jesus throughout my day – guess what? I haven’t done a very good job. My whole day was about things I’m sure He wanted me to be doing, and yet so little of the time was spent thinking about Him.

The truth is, that I need to hear this message about always being prepared for Christ in my life again. A second reminder, after I bungled the first one, isn’t such a bad thing after all.

In retrospect, I feel like a kid who’s a picky eater. I turn my nose up at leftovers, and I don’t like what I get served, even if it’s good for me! God never fails to feed His children with His daily bread, but that doesn’t mean we always like it. This is one of the things I like about using a lectionary system: I don’t get to keep going back to my favorite verses but instead have to find what is good about what God has just served me.

Left to myself, I’d probably go back to my old favorites time and time again: Psalm 19, Psalm 27:4, Matthew 16:24, 1 Corinthians 13, Philippians 2, Revelation 1, and so on. Left to myself, I could eat pizza almost every day. In fact, during one summer I worked at Pizza Hut, I did! But a strictly pizza biblical diet would not be such a good thing!

So today, I’m supposed to be one of the wise virgins. What was the difference between the wise and foolish virgins? One cared enough to prepare, and one didn’t.

Don’t you know that one day, when He returns, you’ll be re-united with Jesus, the bride with the bridegroom? This life is to prepare for the next, eternal, life. But if you’ve been a foolish virgin who has not prepared and has not cared enough to bring extra oil, you just might be surprised when He does return!

You sometimes hear stories of soldiers being reunited with their wives after a long period of separation, sometimes years. I’m blessed, in that I’ve never been away from Jackie more than a week at a time. So I can only imagine how joyful and exuberant such a reunion must be. Imagine the joy we’ll all have when we’re completely reunited to our Lord in heaven!

The way we prepare for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is to prepare for His coming to us today.

Thanks, I needed to hear that again. And I won’t complain, Lord, if you serve it to me again sometime soon in the future.

Prayer: My spirit longs for thee,

within my troubled breast,

though I unworthy be

of so divine a Guest.

Of so divine a Guest

unworthy though I be,

yet has my heart no rest

unless it come from thee.

No rest is to be found

but in thy blessed love;

O let my wish be crowned

and send it from above. (John Byrom)

Points for Meditation:

Are there ways in which you’ve been complaining about the daily bread that God gives you each day?
What are some ways in which Jesus is likely to show up in your life today?

Resolution: I resolve to spend today looking and longing for the presence of my Lord.

Book of Common Prayer

Fr. Charles Erlandson

Give Us This Day daily devotional

meditation Anglican

prayer

preparing for Christ’s return

the Second Coming

wise and foolish virgins

Previous Post

November 18, 2014

Wednesday of Trinity 22 - Matthew 24:42-51

Next Post

November 20, 2014 Friday of Trinity 22 - Matthew 25:14-30

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Book Reviews Featured Give Us This Day Give Us This Day Devotional love me love my wife Love My Wife Reformed Catholicism Blog Spirit-Reality Take This Cup Uncategorized

Select a Month February 2022 November 2021 October 2021 August 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 September 2018 July 2018 March 2018 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How many people were saved in Noah's Ark?

Select your answer to see how you score.

6 12 8 10