11-10-96	Therefore, Keep Watch	Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Matthew 25:1-13

The Gospel lesson for today that talks about the 10 virgins who took their lamps out to meet the bridegroom. Half of them were foolish and didn't bring any extra lamp oil with them. The other half had brought along enough only for themselves.

You know, this story kind of reminds me of going to church camp. Several years ago I had the opportunity to be a camp counselor at one of our church camps. I soon found out that most kids who came to camp came with a lot of energy. But, besides this, it is amazing what other things they brought to camp. And some of them really prepared for the week. I was amazed to see how many kids brought a stash of candy with them – from chewing gum to candy bars, perhaps as much as $30 worth of candy just to last the week. And then are were the kids who brought radios, tape players, cd-players, electronic games, and even computers, even though most of these things were supposed to have been left home. But, the funny thing about it is that even with all of these preparations, there was always one thing that the kids would forget to bring enough of – batteries!

I remember the first campfire on the first night of camp. Each youth in the camp brought his or her own flashlight to the campfire. And it was almost comical! Before the campfire even got started the kids were shining their lights into the sky, into the trees, into each other's faces, and just about every other place you can imagine. It was a regular light show. And even after the campfire had been lit, the kids kept their flashlights on, as though they were afraid of just sitting there in the light of the campfire. And, then, after the campfire was over they all filed back to their cabins to get ready for bed, each of them guided by their flashlight, even though there was plenty of other lighting available for them to see where they were going. And, then, all night long while these kids were supposed to be sleeping, they stayed awake, shining their flashlights at each other, at the candy they were eating, at the comic books they were reading, and at the radios, cd-players, and games they were playing.

Well, needless to say, by the second night of camp we didn't have this problem, anymore. By this time, all the batteries in the flashlights were dead. Only about half of the kids had brought extras. And, not only that, most of the radios, cd-players, and games that the kids were not supposed to have brought to camp had been confiscated the night before. So, suddenly, about half the kids who came to camp had to learn how to sit by the campfire in the dark, walk back to their cabins in the dark, and make it through the night in the dark.

Our gospel lesson for today is about ten young women who were on a mission: An eligible bachelor, no doubt a rich nobleman, had sent word to his hometown that he was returning to find a good wife, and start a home. And what is amazing about this is that evidently, he had told them to get their young eligible bachelorettes together to meet him when he came; for he would take them with him into a banquet hall, interview each of them, choose the one he wanted to marry, and then marry her that night.

And, so this is the setting of our Gospel Lesson. The eligible bachelorettes of the town, ten of them, gathered on the night set for the bridegroom's return. Now, if you had been one of those ten eligible bachelorettes, what would you have done to prepare for the bridegroom? Well, probably all of them had their hair fixed. And probably all of them had bought a new dress. And then they probably spent several hours in front of a mirror putting on makeup. They probably looked the best they had ever looked in their life! So, no doubt, they did a lot to look good. Problem was, how was the bridegroom going to see them if he came in the darkness of night? What good would all their primping have done if he couldn't see them? Even if they greeted him he wouldn't be able to see how pretty they were. And, of course, first impressions are most important!

So, as the night wore on, and five of the ten lamps went out, you can bet that there was quite a bit of panic on the part of the five. Not having enough oil for their lamps would betray their foolishness and lack of planning. Certainly, the bridegroom wouldn't even consider any of them to be his wife. So, they made a mad dash to the local oil merchant to buy some more.

Of course, this morning's Gospel Lesson is about how we need to keep enough oil to keep our lamps burning. Rather, it is about how we need to be doing what it takes to be constantly open and ready and receptive and alert for those times when God's Spirit may come into our lives. How important it is for us to keep from being distracted from this duty! For God does come into our lives when least expected.

I was disappointed, as I'm sure most of you were, that Michigan voters approved casino gambling in Detroit in the last election. I know, money from the gambling has been promised for educational programs and the like. And, thousands of jobs for the unemployed people of Detroit have also been promised. The problem is the likelihood that most of that money promised for schools will never get to the schools. And, worse, most of the good jobs that have been promised will more than likely go to skilled and already employed persons from outside of Detroit. And, even worse, the Casinos will actually displace the poor, forcing many of them to move farther out into the, away from the jobs they were supposed to be able to get.

But what I think is the absolute worst thing about Casino gambling is the distraction this will have on the lives of persons already have more distractions than they can cope with. How many people on their way home from work won't want to swing into the local Casino to see if they can win the jackpot, or at least a few extra bucks? And then the money they lose won't be available for their children's educations, or for their family's groceries, or for the rent. And we'll see more social problems for Detroit than they already have. And Lord knows they have enough.

But maybe the most devastating distraction of all will be the distraction gambling has on a person's spiritual life. When I was first starting out in the ministry, I remember one family in particular who would come to Sunday School, but would always leave about five minutes after the worship service began because they wanted to get to Baltimore in time for the horse races. They wanted their attendance in church to be counted, but they never got to sing a hymn, or pray a prayer, or hear a sermon, or see a child baptized, or hear the choir sing the anthem because they had to gamble. Gambling at the horse races was more important, more meaningful to them than being prepared and open for God's entry into their lives on Sunday morning.

And have you ever seen how a gambler acts as they watch the horses run, or as they're scratching the stuff off a lottery ticket, or as they play bingo, or as they roll the dice, or as they pull the arm on the gambling machine? Either they're praying to God or to some other deity such as Lady Luck. Or they talk to the horse they put the bet on, or they talk to their lottery ticket, or to their bingo card, or to the dice, or to their gambling machine as though these could hear their prayer. A lot of psychic or spiritual energy goes to waste. And even though it may be fun, recreational, and all that sort of thing, don't think for a moment that this doesn't do quite a few persons a lot of spiritual harm.

Certainly, there are many other things that keep us from being ready for the coming of God into our lives. How many other things do we allow to distract us from God's presence? Are we able to sit alone in a quiet place, waiting for the touch of God's Spirit? Or does it make us nervous even to think about it? Are we able to meditate, or do we have to have the radio or TV on? Are we able to listen to God's still, small voice, or do we have to chatter with someone all the time? Are we able to stay through the night for the bridegroom to come with our lamps burning, or do we keep running off to find more oil all the time?

In our Gospel lesson for this morning, Jesus tells his disciples that after the five foolish young ladies come back from buying oil they find that they have missed the bridegroom. And so they knock at the door of the wedding hall. But the bridegroom tells them, "I don't know you." What haunting, frightful words those were!

Does the bridegroom know you? Does Jesus really know you? Have you let him into your heart? Do you talk with the Lord constantly as you go through the day, as you share that day with others, as you work and as you play? Do you let Jesus walk and talk with you in your life, or are you so full of other things, so full of yourself and your own thoughts, that you have no room for him? Does the bridegroom know you?

Words to think about, aren't they? "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour."

Amen.