Since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died

1 Thessalonians 4:14

I don’t want to ignore today’s gospel reading (Matthew 25:1-13), but I also don’t want to start with it. I want to start instead with our second reading from Paul’s Letter to the Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). In part because it reminds us of why it’s important not to be late for the wedding banquet.

The wedding banquet that Jesus is talking about in this parable is the celebration that will take place when he returns in glory, and we don’t know when that will be. In fact, that is what Paul is dealing with in his letter to the church that he founded in Thessalonica. This is a church that has been wrestling with a simple but troubling fact: Their brothers and sisters are dying, and Jesus has not yet returned in glory. He’s late, in their minds, too late to prevent the death of their loved ones. And they are upset about it. 

Wasn’t the whole point of Easter that Jesus would put an end to death? So why are friends still dying? Where is Jesus? When will he return, just as he promised? This passage from 1 Thessalonians offers one of Paul’s answers to that question. It is a helpful answer, and I think it’s worth revisiting today. 

Grieve with Hope

Paul begins this passage by writing: 

“We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.” 

What does he mean by that? When a loved one dies, we as Christians do grieve, but we grieve with hope. We grieve, you might say, like Jesus grieved outside the tomb of his good friend, Lazarus. Jesus wept there, he grieved, even though he knew that he was getting ready to raise Lazarus from the dead. That’s a different kind of grief, isn’t it? It is the grief of a temporary goodbye. It is still grief, even though we have no doubt that we will see that person again. 

I can tell you that when I drop off one of my kids, at the airport or at college, there is still grief. But I also know that unless something terrible happens, I am going to see them again, even if I don’t know exactly when. Grief with hope is like that. That is what Paul means. As Christians, we grieve when a loved one dies, but we grieve with hope, because we know that we will see them again. 

The Promise of Easter

How do we know this is true? Why should we believe it? Paul begins answering that in the very next verse of this passage:

“Since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died.” 

Easter is why we believe that we will see our loved ones again. Jesus died and rose again. And so will we. That is the promise of Easter. Because Easter happened for Jesus, Easter will happen for us.

The Promise of Paradise

But what does that mean? What happens when we die? Don’t we all want to know that? We cannot know precisely what happens. We’re not supposed to, because then there would be no need for faith. But we have a pretty good idea of what will happen, based on Scripture. 

One of the many places where we get a glimpse of what to expect is in Luke’s Gospel (Luke 23:39-43), when Jesus is on the cross. In response to the repentant thief asking Jesus to remember him when he comes into his kingdom, Jesus says:

“Today, you will be with me in Paradise.” 

Today. We close our eyes in death here, and we open our eyes in Paradise with Jesus. Instantly. And Paradise with Jesus is going to be wonderful! So much so that Paul told the church in Philippi that to him:  

“Living is Christ and dying is gain … I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better, but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you.” (Philippians 1:21-24)

It is far better to depart and be with Jesus in Paradise, for Paul and for all of us, but we are here in the flesh because we still have work to do. When that work is complete, we get to be with Jesus in Paradise, and that will be a very good day! You might even say, the best day of our lives. 

It reminds me of what a wise member of a church I served said to me at the funeral of his wife: “Pastor, this is the worst day of my life, but the best day of my wife’s.” That is grieving with hope. 

Returning in Glory

Okay. But what about all the passages about Jesus returning to raise the dead? What about this next part of Paul’s Letter? 

“For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died. For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will be with the Lord forever.” 

How can we understand these words? Jesus is coming back in glory, just as we say every Sunday in our Creed. And when he does, the dead in Christ will rise and be with the Lord forever. Yes, but aren’t they already with the Lord? Yes they are. Their souls are with Jesus now. But when he returns, Jesus will unite our souls with our raised bodies, and he will put an end to death once and for all. 

Caught Up in the Clouds

When Jesus returns, Paul says, some of us may still be alive. It may happen today, or tomorrow. We don’t know. But when he returns, the living and the dead will be together in a way that we can only begin to imagine. We who are alive will be caught up in the clouds together with those who have gone before us. Why clouds? Perhaps because clouds have always symbolized the presence of the Lord. But the important point is that the living and the dead will be united and will meet Jesus together, and be with him forever. Therefore, Paul concludes, “encourage one another with these words.” 

Yes, these words are very encouraging, and repeating them is a way to remind us all of God’s promise. Death is not the end. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Everyone who believes in him, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in him will never die. Just as he himself said outside the tomb of his friend, Lazarus. And that is why we grieve with hope. That is why our goodbyes are always just temporary. Because we believe what Jesus tells us, and because his resurrection shows us what awaits us all. 

The Wise and Foolish Bridesmaids

Okay, with all of that in mind, let’s turn for a couple of moments to today’s gospel reading. It is a parable about ten bridesmaids getting ready for a wedding. Their task is simple: to meet the bridegroom with their lamps and accompany him to the festivities. Easy enough, right? Well, it turns out that half of the bridesmaids forget to bring oil for their lamps. Oops. 

The bridegroom was delayed, they all fell asleep, and when the bridegroom approached, they woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish asked the wise for some of their oil, but the wise realized that if they shared their oil with them, all of their lamps would go out. They are wise, after all. So, they advised the foolish to go to a dealer and buy some oil. 

While the foolish bridesmaids were away, the bridegroom came, went to the wedding banquet with the wise bridesmaids, and the door was shut. When the foolish arrived, the bridegroom would not open the door, saying, “Truly I tell you, I do not know you.” “Keep awake therefore,” Jesus tells us, “for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

Don’t Miss the Party!

So, what is going on here? Why does Jesus tell us to keep awake? All ten bridesmaids fell asleep, but five still joined in the festivities. Maybe Jesus simply means, be prepared, don’t forget your oil. You never know when he is going to return in glory, so always be ready. Maybe. But what I am left wondering is: What if the foolish did not leave to buy oil, but showed up without it? Would the bridegroom have cared? Wouldn’t the oil from the five wise bridesmaids be enough? Why risk missing the wedding just to make sure they had enough oil? 

It reminds me of a birthday party my family all went to back when I was a kid. It was a big party, and my mother lovingly prepared a large watermelon fruit bowl. She emptied out the watermelon carefully and filled it with all kinds of different fruit. In my memory, this project took hours. It was finally ready. My younger brother pleaded and was allowed to carry the completed watermelon fruit bowl out to the car. And you can probably guess what happened. He tripped, fell, and ruined my mother’s beautiful watermelon fruit bowl. 

So what did she do? In my memory, she told my brother that it was an accident, and got us all in the car and went to the party. There would be no watermelon fruit bowl at the party, but we would be there. Imagine if she decided that we couldn’t attend the party without the promised fruit bowl. She could have spent the next couple of hours making a new one, and we would have missed the whole party. Just like those foolish bridesmaids. 

So, maybe the problem wasn’t that they ran out of oil, but that they left to get more. Maybe those bridesmaids missed the whole party because they didn’t think the bridegroom would forgive them. They didn’t trust that his grace and mercy would be sufficient. If Jesus is the bridegroom, we can certainly trust that his grace and mercy will be sufficient. We don’t have to miss the party. And it is going to be an amazing party! What is heaven, after all, if it is not a never-ending party for Jesus? 

Closing

And the very best day of our lives will be when we depart to be with Jesus in Paradise. Or, for some of us, it might be when Jesus returns in glory, to put an end to death forever. Either way, it will be the party of all parties. So let’s stay awake, keep our lamps trimmed, and get ready for the joyous day when the bridegroom arrives. To the glory of God. Amen.