Wisdom’s Blessing Calls
“Wisdom’s Blessing Calls”
Psalm 78:1-7 Matthew 25:1-13
Twenty Third Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 27, Year A
November 8, 2020
First Presbyterian Church, Sandpoint, Idaho
Andy Kennaly, Pastor
The early church and community Matthew is addressing are living between the Ascension of Jesus to heaven, and his return in glory. Their context is very difficult, featuring suffering, tribulation, and lingering questions that nag at the very notion of faith. This passage, which is part of a larger, eschatological, end of the age kind of section, Matthew’s encouraging them to keep trusting even though there seems to be a delay, to hold fast to hope, and be ready. God will change the world, so don’t be unaware or deceived in the meantime, even though life can be pretty rough.
Earlier, in chapter 24:29 Matthew writes about lights out, saying, “Immediately after the suffering of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken.” What a description! Sounds like a nuclear winter! When the author wrote these words, it’s highly doubtful they could have envisioned a nuclear age that can destroy the world several times over. But in our context, the stakes are high as darkness and light wrestle.
I distinctly remember sitting in my history class during the eight grade and the teacher talking about the arms race which was raging as Ronald Reagan had MX nuclear missiles installed in silo after silo across the United States. Mobile units on trucks in Europe, a continuous airborne patrol, more and more submarines carrying nuclear missiles; international tension with the U.S.S.R. was high. In eighth grade, as a junior higher, I had the conscious thought that I would not live to see a natural death, and my generation would be the last.
To this day, the Doomsday Clock keeps ticking closer to midnight, not further away. Such darkness as Matthew describes in an apocalyptic vision is a distinct possibility given the instability of humanity and the geopolitics of a nuclear age. Technology is advancing faster than relational qualities to handle such responsibilities. Humanity is maturing, but getting beyond tribal thinking and warrior mentality is a long slog.
Maybe Matthew resonates, especially if we’ve given in to pessimism. Not just the thought things are heading for trouble, but deeper. Foundational assumptions are revealed, exposing a lack of faith. Like me in Junior High, at some point in life it is easy to surrender any notion of inherent goodness to a glass half empty type of thinking, one where the water simply runs dry.
Sinful paradigms become empowered, shaping skewed worldviews based on doctrines of original sin. Pain and guilt are products of this negativity, to the point where the inherent goodness is forgotten. People cannot see blessings in plain sight. In other words, sometimes, too often, even I forget I’m a child of light as darkness is assigned top focus in negative ways.
The story of the ten bridesmaids also features the contrasting of darkness and light as five lamps work and five don’t, as the sun goes down and night grows deep, the community is split as uncertainty and delay take hold. Our world is not much different than that of Matthew. Human nature still tends to split the field, taking an us and them approach, dualistically dividing darkness and light, typically assigning that which is bad to the dark side and the goodness to the light. This dialectic is the water we swim in. We talk about the holy in contrast to what is evil. We even split our own bodies from our spirit, and elevate our mind over our creatureliness, just as much as we separate through flawed thinking earth from heaven. Separation, division, us vs. them: oppositional structures we assume are normal, these become the focus, and this is the type of thinking that as led to an overabundance of weapons of mass destruction and paranoid techniques of killing from a distance.
Like I say, this is deeper than pessimism, this is existential angst, an individual and corporate loss of hope built on the foundation of illusions of non-reality. Relinquishment of trust gives in to the original sin paradigm as we fool ourselves. The consequences of abdicating original blessedness dominate and shape Western thought, including religious thought. But like a spark glowing at the bottom of the dark sea of original sin, the power of life as original blessing still holds promise, a light that the darkness simply cannot overcome or understand and the shadowy struggles of external context cannot overwhelm because this light comes from within.
Have you ever considered how English language assigns things? English is a business language, not a relational one. “I’m in a dark time right now,” does not mean you’re enjoying life. “Living in the light,” sounds much more positive. The Dark Side describes a shadowy existence, twisted by evil and deceit. The Dark Web is an internet underworld of high tech crime. The Black Market is a parallel economy, usually illegal and without consumer protections. To put someone on your blacklist means they’re not on your good side. The Black Sheep of the family is the one going astray. English is pervasive in reinforcing racism simply by the way words like dark, black, and shadow are used, often in contrast to light, white, good and shiny.
When I was in college I learned about ideas. College is a time where you meet people you didn’t know in the place you grew up, people with other backgrounds and perspectives. I had a neighbor once who never went to college, thought it was the biggest waste of time and money to sit around and talk about ideas. He was not openminded. When one’s identity is their thoughts, the fewer ideas to deal with, the better. But it was in college that I learned to think critically, not in a cynical way, but in ways that move beyond unhealthy attachments to a thought. With the training of a liberal arts education, thoughts can be analyzed, compared and contrasted, explored, debated, and I found I wasn’t threatened by this. Indeed, my life was enhanced, my ability to connect with others who are different or diverse strengthened, and my appreciation for the depth and variety of life’s expressions grew all the more.
Paradox holds together seeming opposites, and even contradictory things can both be true. Sometimes I awaken, catch a glimpse as deeper Reality, the Wisdom of God, reminds me of who I am, really, at the core of my being united as Being, pulling back the veil. This veil, I usually hold in place, self-inflicting ignorance at my own expense, buying in to assumptions that just aren’t true. But just to catch a glimpse, a reminder, is enough to put all the rest on notice.
In Christ we are given more than optimism. A relationship with Jesus is not transactional, but transformational. We are renewed as children of God. Beyond the context of uncertainties, the core of our soul has always been at peace, has never lost the blessing, and always shines the light.
This passage in Matthew with the bridesmaids trimming their lamps to have a good amount of light so they can participate in the wedding celebrations is one of my favorites when viewed through a mystical standpoint, a contemplative stance. It becomes a metaphor of spiritual growth, enlightenment, of doing shadow work in our lives. That it’s five and five is similar to the balance of yin and yang, a visual of the paradox of our own existence and our participation in that mix of life in all it’s complexities. The play of wisdom and foolishness is a good portrait of what it means to be human. They’re all bridesmaids, all invited to stay alert and come when its time. They all get drowsy and sleep. At midnight they all hear the shout, they all get up, all trim their lamps. The foolish ask the wise for some oil. But the wise cannot give them their oil. This is symbolic, pointing to the importance of spiritual disciplines and growing deeper into wisdom. That they cannot give their oil is another way of pointing out that you cannot do someone else’s spiritual work for them. Each person needs to get in touch with their own soul, and no one can do that for them.
Another aspect of this story that is offensive to some because it involves exclusion, is when the five foolish bridesmaids finally arrive at the wedding banquet and knock on the door. The bridegroom says, “Truly I tell you, I do not know you.” Matthew says, “Keep awake, therefore…”
We have a strong sense of individualism. The Western mindset holds the rugged individual as an ideal, but historically this type of independence did not exist. People form societies, networks of support. A barn raising brought the neighbors together. A school house takes a community. No one can live in isolation and even the air we breath was blown in from across the ocean.
Looking at Matthew’s five foolish and five wise bridesmaids, what if they are not separate individuals at all, but one analogies depicting aspects of spiritual growth? In order to have new insights, to make breakthroughs, to learn and grow, we need to be willing to let go of other things. Some things are worth letting go, some aspects of our lives are self-destructive or deceptive; holding resentments, nurturing wounds, allowing pain to fester.
Ultimately, the only thing with any eternity to it is love. Only love celebrates at a wedding banquet, everything else goes away. What if this is an analogy to spiritual awakening? As Matthew says, “keep awake” its another way of inviting us to trust God’s process of helping us grow, of calling all creation deeper into love, and of reminding us that we are all expressions of the Christ within as Christ lives in us as our life, and to claim original blessing that unites, as the true paradigm, giving shape to the world.
Wisdom is calling. Heeding her voice is a response of love. Following the ways of Wisdom claims our true Essence, the Divine presence at our core, in Christ. This mystical union gives shape to the world as we express unity in our politics, attitudes, and practices.
I invite you to learn the art of letting go, of learning spiritual disciplines to keep your lamp full, and moving beyond dialectics into a deeper unity that reflects Love’s reality that is the framework of all things. Don’t just trade pessimism for optimism, as if a New Year’s Resolution could take care of that. Offer your heart to God, trusting in faith that God does change the world and this is not to be feared.
To close, I’d like to share a poem by Mary Oliver, entitled, Mindful. I hope it helps us all claim original blessing as our operative paradigm in life. Mindful, by Mary Oliver
Every day
I see or hear
something
that more or less
kills me
with delight,
that leaves me
like a needle
in the haystack
of light.
It was what I was born for -
to look, to listen,
to lose myself
inside this soft world -
to instruct myself
over and over
in joy,
and acclamation.
Nor am I talking
about the exceptional,
the fearful, the dreadful,
the very extravagant -
but of the ordinary,
the common, the very drab,
the daily presentations.
Oh, good scholar,
I say to myself,
how can you help
but grow wise
with such teachings
as these -
the untrimmable light
of the world,
the ocean's shine,
the prayers that are made
out of grass?
Mindful, by Mary Oliver. As Wisdom calls, may the vulnerable, humble love of God be with us, NOW, even as forever. Amen.