Sermon for November 8, 2026, Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Matthew 25:1-13 (Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost/Proper 27—Series A)

“We’re Ready!”

Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer, Enfield, CT

November 8, 2026

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Our text is the Holy Gospel from Matthew 25:

[Jesus said,] ¹At that time the reign of heaven will be like ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ²Now five of them were foolish, and five were wise. ³For although the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, ⁴but the wise took oil in the vessels with their lamps. ⁵Now because the bridegroom kept on delaying, all became drowsy and began to sleep. ⁶But in the middle of the night, a cry happened: “Behold the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!” ⁷Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸And the foolish said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.” ⁹But the wise answered, saying, “No, lest it surely not be enough for us and for you. Go, rather, to the sellers and buy for yourselves.” ¹⁰And while they were going away to buy, the bridegroom came, and the ready virgins entered with him into the wedding feast, and the door was shut. ¹¹And later also the remaining virgins came, saying, “Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!” ¹²But he answered and said, “Truly I say to you, I do not know you.” ¹³Therefore, watch, because you do not know the day nor the hour.

          In first-century Israel, once a bride and groom were “betrothed,” they were committed. They were legally married, like Joseph and Mary in Luke 2: “And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child” (Luke 2:4-5 ESV). However, the bride and groom did not come together until the groom had built the house or established his business. So, the time was, in some ways, unspecified as to when the wedding would take place.

          On wedding day, the groom and his friends would dress in their finest clothes and walk to the bride’s home. The bride’s friends would also dress in their finest clothes and veils. They carried lamps and went out to meet the groom and his friends. The bride, perfumed and beautifully dressed, would meet her groom at the door, and the entire festive procession would then walk to the groom’s house for the marriage feast, which could last a week.

          Jesus’ parable would have resonated with His disciples. They had seen this play out over and over in their towns and villages. Peter would have participated in this wedding custom when he got married. Remember, Peter had a mother-in-law whom Jesus healed, which means he was married. In fact, the apostle Paul tells us this in 1 Corinthians 9 when he writes, “Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and [Peter]?” (1 Cor. 9:5 ESV). As with most of Jesus’ parables, looking for a detail that corresponds to every point Jesus includes is not helpful. For example, it’s not of great benefit to ask questions like, “What do the lamps stand for?” or “What does the oil represent?” Truthfully, in Jesus’ story, the lamps are just that, lamps used in the wedding procession, and the oil is just that, oil that keeps the lights burning.

          We do best by looking at what the whole parable is teaching, the big point of what Jesus wants His disciples to hear and to understand. Jesus began, “At that time the reign of heaven will be like ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.” “That time” isn’t now. It is in the future. “This is what the reign of heaven will be like.” On a day we don’t know, THE Bridegroom, Jesus Himself, will take His bride, the Church, home to the eternal wedding feast. He will bring into His marriage banquet all who are prepared, but the ill-prepared will be shut out in eternal darkness. “Therefore, watch, because you do not know the day nor the hour.”

          In Jesus’ story, the wise virgins were those who were ready for the bridegroom to come. They were prepared because they brought extra oil with them for their lamps. Olive oil was the fuel that kept the wicks burning. No fuel, no fire, no light. The other virgins were foolish. They were not ready or prepared because they took no oil with them. While you and I do our best to prepare for unexpected future events by putting away money in savings for retirement, having extra batteries in the house, or a generator in case of power outages, we can’t always be prepared for every eventuality. But not knowing exactly when the groom would come or how long he might be delayed, it certainly would have made the most sense for all ten ladies to be ready for his coming, whenever it might happen.

          You see, watchfulness is readiness. What did all ten ladies do while they waited? Were they all watching for the coming groom throughout the night hours? No! They fell asleep! Verse 5: “Now because the bridegroom kept on delaying, all became drowsy and began to sleep.” Perhaps you would have expected that of the virgins who were labeled “foolish,” but not the ones called “wise”! But yes, Jesus says that all 10 fell asleep while waiting. Not one of them was awake and watching. But when the cry came, “Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!” five were ready, and five were not.

          All ten awoke with a start and began to trim their wicks. They would have removed the burnt end and pulled more wick out from the lamp so that they could relight it. It’s likely that all ten lamps had gone out while the ladies dozed. But never fear, the wise brought along more oil, so they trimmed and relit their lights because they were ready. But the foolish had none, and their lamps sputtered and immediately went out because of lack of fuel.

          Watchfulness means readiness. Even though all fell asleep, the five wise virgins were prepared for the eventual coming of the groom. Again, we come to Jesus’ point: being ready for the heavenly Bridegroom, ready to honor Jesus Himself when He comes unexpectedly. The foolish virgins failed to know and prepare for Him rightly, and so He in turn spurns any relationship with them, “Truly I say to you, I do not know you.” In the big picture, Jesus is warning us as His followers to remain vigilant and to be ready to honor Him when He comes again. 

          Are you ready? Are you prepared? How often do you and I foolishly ignore God’s warnings of sin? How many times do we choose to ignore God’s Commandments? How often do we also take for granted God’s grace and goodness with all its now-and-eternal benefits, thinking along the lines of, “Yes, I know it’s wrong, but I’ll just ask for forgiveness later.” As Amos taught in today’s Old Testament Reading, none of our offerings to God can prepare you and me and make us ready to receive the Lord Christ at His Coming.

          But the Lord Christ Himself has died and is risen for you. He has forgiven you all your sins by His blood. Jesus did everything to save you and me from our sins, and from death and the power of the devil. He has credited us with His own righteousness. Through Baptism and the Gospel Word, the Holy Spirit created saving faith in us that believes the Word of Promise. We have the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation by grace through faith in Jesus without any merit or worthiness on our part. In the Lord’s Supper, Jesus has already welcomed us into a foretaste of the heavenly wedding feast to come. Jesus has fully prepared you and made you ready for whenever He comes, perhaps today!

          As Christians, we are ready for the day when the Lord Christ comes again. We have been prepared by the Lord Himself for that day and for the eternal feast that will follow. But also remember, there are still so many who remain unprepared. There are many who do not believe and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. They have not yet received His forgiveness and the new life of faith by the power of the Holy Spirit. So far, they have turned aside from the Word or perhaps have not had the opportunity yet to hear it and receive it. It is then for the Church, we who are wise in Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit, to speak the Word of Christ to them. It is our joy to share this Good News so that those who have not known Jesus might receive Him by faith and be saved.

          Until that day, we wait—not in fear, and not in confidence in ourselves, but in confidence in our Savior. We do not know how long the wait will be, but we know the One for whom we wait. So we will keep hearing His Word, receiving His forgiveness and new life in Word and Sacrament, and sharing His Good News with those who do not yet know Him.         

          And when the cry comes, “Behold the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!” we are ready. Our confidence is Jesus: He died and rose for us. He forgives us our sins. He has made us His own people, the Lord’s treasured possessions. Our Savior, who welcomes us today to the foretaste of His eternal feast in Holy Communion, will welcome us on that day into its fullness. Whether Jesus comes today or after a long wait, we’re ready! Not because we have prepared ourselves, but because Jesus has prepared us. Amen.