Jesus said the Kingdom of God is like a group of bridesmaids getting ready to meet the bridegroom to enjoy a grand wedding reception. Half the bridesmaids are very wise and fill their lamps with oil. The other half are foolish and forget to fill their lamps. Then, when the groom, “Love himself,” shows up to take them to the party, the ones who ran out of oil are left in the dark, while the ones with oil in their lamps go to the wedding banquet and have the time of their lives.[i] Later, when the bridesmaids who forgot to check their oil somehow find their way in the dark to the dance, they find the door to the banquet hall has been shut, and no one any longer knows who they are.
How many times have you heard “You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone?” You don’t know what you’ve got until a relationship ends, a moment is lost, a freedom is taken away, a right is relinquished, a democracy dies, a window is closed, a door is shut.
I once visited a man in the hospital who one day found himself completely paralyzed from the waist down. After he had a successful surgery to remove two cysts on his spine and had regained the use of his body, he said; “One day, you are going about your business taking everything in life for granted; then the next day, everything is gone.” Then he said, “You better believe, I will never take anything for granted anymore!”
A woman who was suffering with cancer and lost her the ability to perform even the most mundane tasks to take care of herself once told me: “It is amazing how much we take for granted every day. Oh, how I would give anything in the world to be able to get up out of this bed, walk into my kitchen and just pour me a bowl of Froot Loops.” She went on, “You know, when I was healthy, when I could get out of bed and walk to the kitchen, when I could feed myself, when I could chew and swallow my food, I don’t believe I once ever thanked God for a bowl of Froot Loops.”
Who in the world even thinks about the awesome gift of being able to do something as mundane and as boring as pouring a bowl of Froot Loops? Someone who can longer pour a bowl of Froot Loops.
Who thinks about the miraculous gift of being able to walk? Someone who has lost the ability to walk does.
Who thinks about the gift of healthy lungs? Someone living with COPD or asthma does.
Who thinks about their kidneys or their liver? Someone on the way to a dialysis treatment. Someone living or dying with cirrhosis.
And who truly thinks about the miracle that is their life, the miracle that is this creation? People diagnosed with a terminal illness do. Those who have had a close encounter with death do or those who have a loved one on the verge of death or those who lost a close friend or family member to death.
In the epistle of James we read: “What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14, ESV). In other words, life, creation, appears for a little time, then the window closes, the door is shut.
Frederick Buechner has said: “Intellectually, we all know that we will die, but we do not really know in the sense that the knowledge becomes a part of us. We do not really know it in the sense of living as though it were true. On the contrary, we tend to live as though our lives would go on forever.” In other words: “We know we are going to die but we don’t live as though we believe it is true. We live as though we are going to live forever.[ii]
In other words, we are really good at taking life for granted. Most of assume that we will be here tomorrow, at Thanksgiving and Christmas, even next year. We live as if we assume that nothing truly ever ends.
About 15 years ago I walked into an AT&T store to talk to someone about getting a new cell phone. As I as waiting in line, I could not help but to hear the conversation that was taking place between the salesperson and another customer. It went something like this:
“Here’s my phone that no longer works. Will you be able to retrieve my contacts and put them om my new phone?”
The salesperson, who appeared to be a college student, responded: “Sir, that all depends. Did you back up your contacts on the computer with the USB cord that came with your phone?”
“No,” the man answered with a very frustrated tone. “I was not expecting my phone to just one day die.”
The salesperson said: “Oh, that’s too bad. Then I am afraid your contacts are lost.”
The man was flabbergasted. “What do you mean ‘lost’? This was a very expensive phone. It was the best and latest version on the market when I got it. This phone was not supposed to die!”
It was then I noticed the clerk getting a little exasperated, and then, she responded: “Sir, everything dies. People die!”
There’s nothing like being reminded of your mortality by a college student selling cell phones.
It was about this time of the year in 1997 when the doctors told my grandfather, who had been suffering with lung cancer for over a year, that he would likely not be here for Christmas. Looking back, I remember Granddaddy living more during those last few weeks than he did his entire 74 years on this earth. He no longer worried about the insignificant things that occupy the majority of our time. He took nothing and no one for granted. He traveled to Florida to visit his brother whom he had not seen in a decade. He made it a point to spend precious time his family and his friends. He gave more of his money to the church.
Granddaddy was of that generation, or of that mindset, that didn’t do anything that would cause anyone to accuse him of being soft. For example: I don’t remember him ever holding or playing with my little sister. In fact, never remember him ever holding or playing with any of his grandchildren. I never remember getting a toy from him; but I do remember getting a pocket-knife or two and a BB gun.
It is remarkable then when I think about the picture I have of him that was taken right before his last Thanksgiving. He is holding my daughter Sara in his arms, who was about 5 months old. In the picture he is looking at her as if she was his very own. I will never forget taking that picture and watching him adjusting her tiny dress, touch the ruffles on it with his tough, weathered hands as he held her and smiled.
Granddaddy appreciated each new day as he never had before. He cherished each breath. He was grateful for every bite of food and he relished every sip of drink. He treasured watching sunsets, cherished the frost on cold autumn mornings, and revered his friendships. He took absolutely nothing for granted. During those precious weeks, Granddaddy didn’t miss anything.
Jesus said that the foolish bridesmaids forgot to check their oil and missed the whole dance. They never believed that the door to the banquet was one day going to be shut. And he ends the parable with these words: “Keep awake” (Matthew 25).
Keep awake. Check your oil. Keep your lamp burning. Keep watching and keep looking, recognizing that we are never promised tomorrow. Check your oil. Keep your eyes wide open. Take nothing for granted. Treasure your lungs, your kidneys, your liver. Cherish the ability to walk into the kitchen and pour something as mundane and boring as a bowl of Froot Loops. Relish every taste. Revere every sight and every touch. For in life, nothing is ever mundane. It is never boring. It is all miracle. It is all gift. It is all grace. And it all will certainly one day come to an end.
As you may know that I spent the last four years planting a new expression of church in the Greater New Orleans. My salary was funded by the First Christian Church of Mandeville which had made the decision years earlier to close their doors for good. A few of the former members of the church helped me with the new church plant. I would often here them say: “You just don’t ever think that a church will close, that its ministry will come to an end, that the doors would be shut, and shut for good.”
Keep awake. Check your oil. Keep your lamps burning. Keep worshiping the God of love. Keep following the way of Jesus. Be grateful for every opportunity you are given through this church to serve others. Cherish every chance to love your neighbors with this congregation. Relish every ministry team meeting. And revere every board meeting. Although it is a little work, be thankful for every year we’re able to host the Interfaith Thanksgiving Service and have a Christmas Eve Candlelight service. Be grateful for even what appears to be the mundane or the boring aspects of church, because the truth is, nothing in this world is mundane. Nothing is boring. It is all miracle. It is all grace. And one day, the doors will be shut.
Let’s check your oil. And let’s keep your lamps burning and not miss the bridegroom, Love, love’s self. And let’s dare not miss the dance!
[i] Paraphrased from Frederick Buechner: http://frederickbuechner.com/content/weekly-sermon-illustration-once-upon-time-our-time
[ii] This quote and the remarks in the paragraphs above came from and were inspired by: http://jbailey8849.wordpress.com/2010/07/15/taking-life-for-granted/
Just Love 