January 23, 2014: Matthew Chapter 25

The Gospel According to Matthew Chapter 25

Originally posted Friday, February 1, 2008

General Comment: It may be difficult for many of us to identify with cosmic signs and wonders, clouds descending from heaven or imminent tribulation, but we can relate to the idea of being alert and on task as the previous chapter and all of this chapter emphasize. As aspects of faithfulness, we can appreciate an exhortation on being found doing what we are called to do as followers of Jesus. All of us have wondered at one time or another just what it is we are called to do? The easy stuff is obvious - worship, pray, study, give, serve. But just what is worship anyway and what am I suppose to get out if; or is that the wrong way to understand worship? What should I study and where can I find help with how to study? What do I pray for, how do I pray, and what good does it do? What are my offerings accomplishing and how should I decide what to give? Is it a matter of the heart or head? And serve? Isn't it more than just doing something good for somebody else? Isn't that just altruism? Tell me how the doing can be an act of my feeling an emotional connection to God. Perhaps I ask too much. Maybe I should listen to Yoda, "There is no try, there is just do." Let's not try worshipping, praying, studying, giving and serving, let's just do them, and keep doing them until we get it right.

Matthew Chapter 25:1-14 The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids

In MT 24:36 Matthew writes of the uncertainty, even hiddeness of the "Hour" of the coming of the Son of Man. This uncertainty served as a corrective to the impulse that members of his community may have felt, to latch on to any natural disaster or war or famine, or even an eclipse, as the sign of the end. Anyone who has paid the least bit of attention to televangelists (and the "least" the better) knows that events of modern history are constantly being trotted out as evidence that the end is near. At the same time, for the last 100 years and longer End Time enthusiasts have been updating the meaning of the visionary symbolism of the book of Revelation as previous models become out dated. We remember at the height of the Cold War the Soviet Union was considered by some as The great beast. For Matthew and all Christian communities of his time, the delay of the Second Coming (Parousia) was problematic. Thus the theme shifts to alertness and readiness, and making the final hour more the stuff of mystery than prediction.

The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids (virgins in Greek) is a case in point with regard to faithfulness, alertness and being prepared. Part of the rites of marriage were the festive arrival of the Groom at his home. After he had traveled to the Bride's home, received her from her father, he returned with her to begin the seven day marriage party (read John 2:1-11, the wedding at Cana of Galilee). We can assume that Matthew is treating the parable as an allegory, in which Jesus is the Bridegroom (Paul uses this metaphor as well), returning as the Son of Man. The wise and foolish Bridesmaids are believers and nonbelievers, the faithful and unfaithful, about to be judged. Of interest is the oil for the lamps. In the Mishnah (early Jewish commentaries on the books of the Old Testament) oil was representative of good deeds. Those who have no oil are those without good works - the unfaithful disciples. The setting of such a party at midnight is a warning that at some point it will be too late to get ready for the Son of Man's return. That can be a warning to church members who have lapsed, or could be part of the preaching to the Gentiles.

It is always of interest to me to find within the Gospel writer's treatment of a parable the original core meaning as intended by Jesus. The main elements are all his, including the surprise arrival of the Groom/Son-of-Man, alertness and a readiness demonstrated by one's good works. The greater emphasis would have been on the wedding festivities. In early Judaism the wedding party was a symbol of the Messianic Banquet which was to occur at the coming of the Messiah, to begin the complete Reign of God in the world. It represented the reversal of the typical lives of poverty and oppression by the wicked into abundance and freedom. His point would have been that the banquet is about to take place, make your preparations to attend.

Matthew 25:14-30 The Parable of the Talents.

Although this parable is much longer than the first, the point is essentially the same. Each of three slaves are given large sums of money (weights of silver or gold) in various amounts, 5, 2 and 1 talent respectively, according to their abilities. The intent is for each slave to make use of it for the benefit of the Master, who has now gone on a journey. Two of the slaves invest their talents, the third buries it. The first two double their investment. The third gets nothing extra. After a long time the Master returns, congratulates the two who have given him a return on their investment. Then he calls the third a wicked slave and throws him into the outer darkness. Instead of oil as a symbol for good works, it is the ability of the two slaves to produce more with what they have been given in the interval of time while the Master is away. The third produces nothing. Understanding the parable as part of the return of the Son of Man/Judgment theme, it is not difficult to interpret it in the context of waiting, as with the bridesmaids who wait for the Groom - some have done well and some have not. The two slaves who have doubled their investment represent those Christians who have used their waiting time in productive good works. The third has not. It will be the first two who hear, "Well done, good and trustworthy disciple...enter into the joy of your Master."

For Matthew's community the message is clear. If the return of the Son of Man seems delayed, occupy your time in keeping with your faith as disciples so that when he does return you will be found doing that for which you have been called. Although most of us do not spend much time either thinking of or worrying about the end of this age, as disciples we certainly can take seriously the idea of "producing" good works (acts of compassion, mercy, justice, generosity etc.) according to our abilities. Paul writes a lot about this in several places, putting it in terms of spiritual gifts, something each of us has been given. The question for us becomes, to what degree are we using those gifts on behalf of the work God has given each of us and our church to do? I do not find anywhere in either the Old or New Testaments an exemption from this return on God's investment. The Church and the world are full of opportunities. The farmer was asked how he found work on the farm. He replied, I just roll out of bed in the morning and there it is." We can bury our gifts or we can invest them. At least, at the end of the day, we can ask ourselves if we have been one of those good and faithful servants.

Matthew 25:31-46 The Last Judgment

This passage is well known and quoted when the subject is good works. As such it summarizes the two parables of this chapter and several others we have considered before. The setting is the gathering of all the nations of the world to be judged by the returning Son of Man according to their good works. Those who have been productive are the sheep who are at the Son of Man's right hand, the place of honor. They are rewarded for their good works with entry into the Kingdom. Those who are not productive are the goats who are at the Son of Man's left hand, the place of dishonor. They are "accursed" and sent to a place without air conditioning. Both groups in turn, the blessed and the accursed, question the criteria of judgment, characterized as having done or not done good deeds that indirectly affected the welfare of the Son of Man. In what I find to be a profound understanding of the unity of humanity, the Son of Man, Jesus, has become both the advocate for and the collective presence of all humanity - the brothers and sisters of vss. 40 and 45. Matthew would have understood these words as referring to the Church family, particularly those missionaries that went out into the world to proclaim the Good News and were rejected. As our understanding of the global commonality of all peoples of the world as the family of God matures, we see that every person is a brother or sister worthy of our attention. So it is true for us that to serve another person is to serve Jesus. When any person is made whole, he is made whole. When any person is left to suffer, he suffers. He is the collective Christ who embodies all humanity. If we may be so bold as to paraphrase the Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would do unto Christ."

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Notes

1) The parable of the Ten Bridesmaids really belongs in Chapter 24 as far as content is concerned. In fact Chapters 24 and 25 could be merged without any harm to the flow of reading. The original manuscripts and copies thereof were written on parchment made out of papyrus reeds and later on vellum (lambskin). New Testament documents were all written in Greek. Originally there were no chapter or verse divisions. Actually there was no punctuation or spaces between sentences either, and the writing was all in capital letters. By the year 325 CE the text had been divided into paragraphs, but not as they are now. After some 20 years of experimenting by Archbishop Stephen Langdon, by the year 1248 the modern chapter divisions were established. The first Bible with verse numbering and chapter divisions was printed by 1546 in Greek.

2) Talents could be either silver or gold. A talent was a measure of weight, usually in a flat disc shape. Assuming we are dealing with a silver talent, its relative value would be worth 15 years of the typical income of a day laborer at 1 denarius a day.