the 23rd sunday after pentecost
the PRAYER. . .
O God of justice and love, you illumine our way through life with the words of your Son. Give us the light we need, and awaken us to the needs of others, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
the READING. . .
The foolish said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.” But the wise replied, “No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.”
the DEVOTION. . .
“Lost in the night do the people yet languish, longing for morning the darkness to vanquish…” Those are the first couple lines of a Finnish folk tune, Nordic-American Lutherans have been singing, for nearly a century. And if there’s one thing Nordic-American Lutherans know about – especially this time of year – it’s darkness and night! Finland! Sweden! Norway! Denmark! Iceland! Land of the Midnight Sun! But nowadays, Land of No Sun, at all! And tucked away in the second verse of that song is a line that has stayed with me since the first time I sang it… “Shall those who have light no light let us borrow…”
Every time I see the words, I’m reminded of this parable. Five wise bridesmaids. Five foolish. The latter didn’t take extra oil for their lamps! The former did! So, when the unexpected happens and light is needed, only the five wise bridesmaids have it. And they don’t share! What if there isn’t enough? What if they run out? Well, over the years, I’ve looked at the parable. Letter by letter. Word for word. Flipped it upside-down. Turned it inside-out. No matter how I read it, I come to the same conclusion … Matthew got it wrong! The wise bridesmaids should have shared! After all, that’s the first thing we all learned in kindergarten … christian or not! At the very least, they should have shared the light and invited the others to go with them! “Shall those who have light no light let us borrow?” Of course, they shouldn’t! There’s enough light to go around! More than enough for everyone!
Bob Barndt, pastor