Matthew 25:1-13 (NRSV)
Read Matthew 25:1-13 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 25"Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Verse 2Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. Verse 3When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; Verse 4but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. Verse 5As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. Verse 6But at midnight there was a shout, 'Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' Verse 7Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. Verse 8The foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' Verse 9But 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.' Verse 10And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. Verse 11Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, 'Lord, lord, open to us.' Verse 12But he replied, 'Truly I tell you, I do not know you.' Verse 13Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
Devotion
In waiting for Christ's Advent, it is easy to get caught up in foolishness and find ourselves lost in the night. In this parable, the five ill-prepared bridesmaids are shut out from the wedding feast and abandoned to the dark because they fail to keep their lamps of faith trimmed and burning, ready for Christ's return.
It is a sobering story, but it is not the final word. For it is the nature of the Bridegroom to come to his own people who are lost in the darkness in order to bring them into the light of God's presence, even if it means his undergoing the utter darkness of death. As we await, whether foolishly or wisely, Christ's coming again, we look to the light from his cross that shines its power, truth and love into every darkened corner of our world and into the recesses of every human heart. In faith and hope we join our voices to the ancient Advent prayer, "Come, Lord Jesus:" "Come, our crucified and risen Bridegroom. Come and save us soon."