1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and Matthew 25:1-13

Have you ever been caught out because you were not ready for what was about to happen? I have. In fact there have been loads of times when this has happened. I remember when we started Brightwaves back in May and one of the first people to walk through the door was Paula. At the end of the service she asked me how she could become a member which threw me totally as I was not ready for that question. I think I sputtered my words out to her, not really knowing what to say. You see the last thing I expected to happen, was that someone on their first visit to Brightwaves, would ask about membership. I can assure you that from that moment on I knew what my answer would be and after that I was totally prepared, but at that first service, it had been the one thing furthest from my mind.

The bridesmaids in our reading tonight had the same problem. Well, some of them did. Jesus was teaching His disciples about being prepared in life and in death. He had just left the temple area, having had a dig at the Pharisees and Sadducees about the fact that they refused to believe who Jesus was and the fact that they were blinded by their own ignorance. As usual they didn't listen but Jesus knew He had to get the point home to the disciples if they were to continue His teaching after His death. If they did not understand who Jesus really was, then they would not understand why it was so important for people to have a personal relationship with God.

So, why did Jesus talk about a wedding to His disciples, in the parable we heard tonight? Well, Jesus often talked about everyday occurrences that everyone could relate to. Weddings in Palestine, both then and now, were a huge celebration that could last anything from two days to two weeks! When a couple got married, everyone turned out to accompany them to their new home and they'd go by the longest route possible to receive the best wishes from as many people as possible. There could have been hundreds of people following them and instead of going away on a honeymoon, they stayed at home and kept open house for a week being treated like a royal couple. Depending on what happened along the route to the home, and how many people there were, no-one knew when they would arrive. It could have been any time of day or night and the bridesmaids awaiting the arrival of the bridal party could easily be caught napping. Someone always went ahead of the procession to announce the arrival of the bridal party to warn the bridesmaids to be ready. If anyone went out at night in Palestine, the law stated that they had to have to have a torch with them; also if anyone was late to a wedding ceremony, they were not admitted. So everything that Jesus said was very true to life but as ever, He had another meaning to portray.

To be asleep awaiting the procession, was quite the norm, but once woken to the call, they should have been ready. The ones who had taken oil with them were but the others only thought about preparing for the bridal party when the call came, so it was too late. A well-soaked lamp would burn for about 15 mins, whilst one with little oil on it would go out almost as soon as it was lit, so it was important that they had plenty of oil with them all the time. I believe that Jesus was indicating that we too, as Christians, should be prepared for God's calling at any time.

As individuals we need to give God a chance. You might be sitting here tonight thinking: "Here we go again. They want me to be committed to God but I'm quite happy just to sit here from time to time and enjoy the service and the company." That's fine, but God wants to give us so much more fulfilment in life than we have and God can only do that if we invite the Maker, Son and Holy Spirit into our lives, to be there whatever happens.

Looking back at the parable that Jesus told in our reading, you might think that the wise bridesmaids were rather mean in not giving any oil to the others, but I think that Jesus was trying to warn His disciples both then and now, that we cannot rely on others to be prepared for meeting God instead of doing it personally. We can hardly send someone else when we are about to meet the God of this Universe can we. "Oh, I'm sorry, Joe and Mary Bloggs couldn't come today as they had other things to do - sorry God!" The responsibility belongs to us as individuals, not to those around us. We cannot ride on the faith of others, we need to go out and get it for ourselves: experience it first hand and enjoy it to the full. I can guarantee that you will not be disappointed. We cannot borrow a relationship with God or live on a spirituality that others have gained. Like the foolish bridesmaids, if we leave it too late, some things are a total disaster: like sitting an exam or training for an important race. It's no good thinking about it on the morning it is about to take place is it? There is little chance of coping with the moment if that is the case. (Volleyball final) If we want to get the most out of life and death, we have to be prepared for all eventualities and prepared in our relationship with God.

There may have been times when many of us here have been addicted to things like drink, sex, drugs, cigarettes, chocolate etc, but for any of us who have been released from that addiction to any degree, we realise that before we can find freedom from the hold it has over us, we must first recognise the addiction. We all have blind spots don't we - like in the car when we look but we can't see? Most of us look at ourselves and we often can't see the need to change - either our attitudes or our way of life. Our brains are very good at self-deception and at protecting us from the truths that we do not wish to hear. So when anyone hits a raw nerve and strikes anywhere near the truth, we often appear to react with what seems like irrational anger and irritability. It's a bit like anyone who knows that they are snappy in the morning because they are not morning people, and someone says "You don't seem very happy today" at 7am when it's still dark; and they snap back: "Well it's early and you know I'm not awake yet!" They are not really being irrational at all because they have already warned others and they know that they are snappy when they are tired, it's just that a raw nerve has been struck at the wrong time.

Unfortunately many of us are blind to the truth. Blindness is a recurring theme throughout the Bible. Not necessarily physical blindness but spiritual blindness. Jesus often indicated that it was only those who knew they were blind that could be healed. Those who thought they didn't have a problem would stay blind as they did not think they needed healing.

But you know, the less we deny who we really are, and the more we face up to our problems, (not that being grouchy in the mornings is a major issue here), but the more we face things, the more integrity we will have as people and that must help society at large and the church in which we worship. A group of people with self-knowledge can make huge changes and have a huge impact on situations around us. Perhaps this is what we want to do in Brighton? I know I do. God has put us here to make a difference; perhaps even to be saints, as Pressley spoke of last week, in a place that needs God more than it realises.

By being unprepared, we can be sure of the lonely possibility of being outside of all that God wants to do, and that would be so sad as I've seen God do some incredible things over the years, both in my life and in the lives of others. It would be tragic for any one of us to live in denial of God's love and truth that is freely available to us all. It takes a brave person to be honest with themselves about the areas that we may have hidden away for whatever reason, but God can reveal them and heal them if we allow it.

I would urge us all tonight, to ask God to reveal to us the areas that are still hidden so that we can live as people totally free from guilt and remorse, and also to be open to getting to know God personally because if we don't then we are missing out on so much. Please don't get left outside of God's Realm here on earth or in the life beyond just because of being unprepared.

Amen