Watching for Jesus

1"Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6But at midnight there was a cry, 'Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' 7Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' 9But the wise answered, saying, 'Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.' 10And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, lord, open to us.' 12 But he answered, 'Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.' 13Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour."

Out of curiosity, I entered the phrase “End of the World” in an online search engine. Can you guess the number of results that came back? How about one billion, 860 million? Yes, it is safe to say that lots of us are keenly interested in, if not obsessed with, the end of the world. Just think of the disaster movie genre—if it’s not a volcano or flood, it’s a radioactive monster or alien invasion that threatens to destroy the world as we know it. Right now the hip end-times date is the year 2012. Because of a link to an ancient Mayan calendar, many of our new age friends are pointing to the year 2012 as, well, that’s when the accounts part ways: for some it’s when the flying saucers will descend, for others that’s when the mega-asteroid will slam into earth. Still others take a more soothing tack: they claim that is the year when humanity will take a huge evolutionary leap forward, all at once, I guess. I am not making this up. What I find amusing and ironic is that these type of books have a special shelf on which to sit at your local bookstore. These books are filed under the heading: Speculation. And that is precisely what they are. Speculation. Guesses. Daydreams in print. Human beings go a little bit nuts when their thoughts turn to this world coming to an end.
Now, that doesn’t mean that it won’t happen. It will, without question. The master teacher Jesus tells us that it will. He doesn’t tell us this to scare us out of our wits, though. He wants us to be prepared. I even think he wants us to look forward to it a little, because of what will happen after this world’s end.
Jesus tells the story of the wise and foolish virgins in order to make the larger point, “Watch therefore, for you don’t know the day or the hour” when the end will come. Jesus wants his people to be watching and waiting for His return. But what does that mean? What does this watching consist of?
Well, one thing it does not consist of is speculation. Nowhere in Scripture does Jesus challenge his followers to unscramble the puzzle that reveals the secret date of the world’s end. That hasn’t stopped Christians from trying. In the first generation of the church, the Apostle Paul had to correct the Thessalonians on this very point. At the end of the first millennium there were those were convinced that Christ would return in the year 1000. In our day, there have been no shortage of those who have attempted to set a time for Jesus' return only to be put in a position of having to recalculate. As surely as our Lord came in flesh and blood to suffer and die for the sins of the world, so surely will He come again as Judge. But His consistent teaching is that we do not and will not know and we do not need to know the day or the hour. God calls us not to speculation but to preparation.
Jesus says, "Watch." What does this watching consist of? Let’s not imagine that it means gazing up at the sky day after day, or being paralyzed with fear that “today might be The Day.” Our watching is active and purposeful. Our watching consists of vigilant attention to the voice of our Good Shepherd as He speaks to us in His Word. We are living in that evil age which Paul spoke about when he said, "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, and will turn away from the truth to wander into myths" (II Tim. 4:3). We are to watch wisely by focusing our attention on God's Word, hearing it, learning it, taking it to heart, and living it out while there is still time.
But have you and I been foolish? Have we fallen asleep on God? Are you procrastinating when it comes to paying attention to God’s Word? Do you think of God’s Word as something you’d like to get into “once things slow down a little bit”? If so, I plead with you to reconsider. The foolish virgins in our story believed that there would always be enough time to get the oil they needed. They were wrong. Imagine their shock seeing that closed door and hearing the voice from behind it saying, “I do not know you.” But they were part of the wedding party! They were dressed the same—had the same kind of lamps, probably. Going by appearances, they should’ve been let in too—but they were not ready. They were not prepared. They thought they had all the time they needed. They were busy and distracted and they missed it. May God’s Holy Spirit prevent us from making the same mistake--and may that same Spirit ignite an urgency in us—an urgency that causes us to take action—an urgency that causes us to obtain the spiritual fuel that we need—an urgency to break through the things that hold us back from serving Jesus.
We are living in the time when the oil is still available. In fact, there is more than enough oil. For the oil-- the forgiveness of sins purchased by Jesus through His death on the cross-- is for you and for the whole world. There is no shortage of supply, no decrease in production of His grace and mercy. This oil is distributed now in the preaching of the Gospel and the giving out of Jesus' body and blood in the Holy Supper. This oil is distributed now in the ongoing blessings of your baptism. This oil is distributed now through Christian people looking to make a difference in their families and churches and communities. The wise cannot get enough of these things for they always give us more of Jesus, and the more we get of Him, the more ready and eager we are to receive Him when He comes again in glory.
As we wait for our Bridegroom to come, we have time to tell all who would listen about how great He is. May that be the spirit in which we wait and watch for Jesus.