Tuesday: Readiness
It’s Tuesday and Jesus has an extended encounter with a group of Pharisees and teachers of the law, men who will be the final opposition force to Jesus as the Christ.
These are the men who will lead the charge to “crucify him.”
During their Passion Week conversation, Jesus tells a parable in Matthew 25:1-13 about ten engaged ladies waiting for their beloved.
25 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And 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. 11 Afterward 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.’ 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
The primary application of the parable is for the bride to be ready for the appearance of the bridegroom. Scripture uses the imagery of the Church as the bride of Christ, with Jesus as the bridegroom of the Church. In the parable, the virgins, as disciples of Jesus, would be longing for the day of anticipated union with the beloved.
Affection consummated and joy fulfilled.
It is this kind of joyful anticipation for which the church should be known. Longing for his appearance. Desire for his return. Anticipation for consummation. But the bridegroom has been delayed as it were, and the bride has grown drowsy, seduced by the temptations of the world’s pleasures, which array themselves with the empty promise of fulfilled joy.
In an oft-quoted statement by C.S. Lewis in his famous essay, “The Weight of Glory,” he writes about this deceptive lull into the sleep of worldly satisfaction, saying,
“It would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
Rather than keep our hearts tuned to living in vital faith union with the Risen Christ, we sleep and dream, with dreams of comfort, control, ease, riches, authority, recognition, and praise. It may be that the most pervasive religion in the west is Christian atheism. We profess to believe in a crucified Savior and risen Lord but live as if this world is devoid of the divine.
My worry gives me away. My lack of generosity shows my hand. My desire to avoid hardship like I control the air conditioner reveals my eyes are firmly fixed on the here and now.
In Colossians 3:1-2, Paul says,
“1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”
Peter joins the chorus, exclaiming in 1 Peter 1:3-4,
“3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.”
Our hope is not here. For those in Christ, our best life is yet to come. Always. No matter how bad it gets, it could have been worse. No matter how good things become, they will get better. C.S. Lewis says that “infinite joy is offered to us.”
How can our hearts be awakened to the infinite joy that awaits the bride of Jesus? I can think of two ways.
SUPERNATURAL AWARENESS
Only God can give us this kind of taste for greater glory than what we are able to experience in this life. But when we taste “heaven’s joys,” nothing else will satisfy the soul. Only the person and presence of Jesus.
PRACTICAL ANTICIPATION
Being ready takes intentionality. Anyone can fall asleep. But staying awake takes focus and determination. Refusing to let the mud pies of our slums be our greatest joy requires keeping an eye on the metaphorical holiday at the sea.
After all, what did Jesus say to the believing thief on the cross? “Today, you will be with me in... paradise.”
Paradise! Really? But I’m a criminal with nothing to show for my life except a mound of shame and guilt.
“Yes, but that’s why I am here hanging next to you.”
The righteous for the unrighteous. Nailed. Groaning in agony. Feeling the weight of the law’s wrath pressing, suffocating my body and soul unto death.
But this suffering was not born of guilt or duty or obligation. It was the compelling love of Jesus for the Father and for his bride. As the author of Hebrews says, “It was for the joy set before him that he endured the cross.”
It was joy that drove the Bridegroom, who loved his bride with such passion that he would die a thousand deaths to be with her forever.
But it only took one.
It is this Jesus, the Bridegroom, for whom we await with the readiness of “it could be today.”
Discussion Questions
Why are the Pharisees and teachers of the law important in the context of Jesus' ministry?
How does C.S. Lewis describe the deceptive lull into the sleep of worldly satisfaction, and what does he suggest is the solution to this problem?
Why does Paul exhort believers in Colossians 3:1-2 to set their minds on things that are above?
What is the significance of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, and how does it relate to our hope for the future?
A Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for your unfailing love and mercy towards us. Forgive us for the times when we have been half-hearted, when you have been so full-hearted for us.
Help us to keep our hearts tuned to living in union with the risen Christ, and by your power within to resist the temptations of the world's empty promises.
Fill us with your Holy Spirit and awaken our hearts to the infinite joy that awaits. May we taste that joy even today.
In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.