A Sermon on Matthew 25:1-13

Preached November 10, 2002

By Donald M. Tuttle

Country singer Kenny Chesney has released a new song from his No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem album. It is called "A Lot of Things Different." It is not his best song. It can’t compete with "Young" or "You Had Me from ‘Hello," or the classic "She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy."

But "A Lot of Things Different" has its own appeal because it is a story of regret. The singer looks back over his life and remembers moments that, if given the chance, he would now change. He would have gone to the Elvis concert, even though his mother said he couldn’t. He would have gone skinny dipping with Jennie Carson when she dared him. He would have gone to church more with this grandmother. And if he had known that it would have been the last dance he would ever share with his wife, he would have asked the band to play on and on and on. He says that although people say they wouldn’t change a thing, he would. If he had the chance, he would do a lot of things differently.

I suspect the sentiment of this song is a lot more accurate than Sinatra’s "Regrets? I’ve got a few, but too few to mention." I suspect a lot of us have regrets. It is not that we are unhappy about the way life turned out. It is just that we recognize that we missed opportunities. We wish that along the way we would have done some things differently.

I imagine that it is even true of our spiritual journey.

A few years ago I read a study that showed that the chances of making a confession of faith and being baptized decline as people grow older. In fact, if someone doesn’t decide during their teenage years to follow Jesus Christ as Lord then the odds are against them ever doing so.

I’ve met folks who regretted not making that decision when the opportunity first presented itself. Later in life, they came to faith, but it was harder to come before a congregation and be welcomed. It was intimidating to think about being baptized before folks on Sunday morning. And that is not to mention the regret they felt at not beginning their new life in Christ earlier.

But there are other such regrets. Do you know one of the main reasons people give for not attending Sunday School or Bible study?

"I don’t know enough about the Bible."

How many of us have thought that way? How many of us have privately lamented the fact that we didn’t learn the Scriptures when we were younger? How many of us have been embarrassed by our lack of knowledge? We missed an opportunity and we regret it.

For many of us there may be regrets over not sharing a word of hope with a despairing friend. We may regret failing to express God’s love to a member of our family. We may even regret not inviting that new family down the street to come to and experience God in our worship or at Boar’s Head.

Of course, we can do little about the past. Unlike one of the characters in a new TV show, we are not going to wake up on our birthday to discover that we have been transported back in time and given another chance to share the faith or save a friend from trouble. No, there is little we can do about missed opportunities. But Jesus calls us to be ready for future one’s. Jesus calls us to prepare for those moments when God asks us to serve.

Is not that a point of today’s parable?

We don’t know a lot about first century Jewish wedding customs, but one theory was that the 10 bridesmaids were to serve the bride. They would gather at her home and then, when the groom drew near, they would rush out to meet him, lighting the way to the bride’s home. From there, they would all go to the groom’s home for the wedding and the celebration to follow.

But Jesus said that in this case, the groom was late in arriving. Maybe negotiations were delayed. We don’t know. But he was late, so late in fact that all 10 bridesmaids fell asleep, their small clay lamps still lit. When the lookout announced that the groom was coming, the bridesmaids arose, reached for their lamps, ready to trim the wicks and refill them with fuel. The problem was that only five of the 10 were prepared. Wisely, they had brought extra oil. They had brought extra fuel, just in case. It was not enough to share, but enough that at least five of them could greet the groom. When the opportunity arrived, they were ready to serve.

Of course, the parable is about the kingdom of God. And it is an admonition for those of faith to be ready for those moments when they are called to serve. It is a call to be prepared when opportunity comes.

It was shortly after Pentecost when Peter and John went to the Temple to pray. As they neared it, there was a lame man lying near the Beautiful Gate. Friends brought him there each morning so that he could beg for money. On this day, he asked Peter and John for help. But what were they to do? They had no silver or gold, and Peter told him so. But Peter also knew this was an opportunity to serve, he said to him: "What I do have, I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk."

And the man did. He was healed because Peter was ready when the opportunity to serve came. He had a storehouse of faith upon which to draw.

And then there was Philip. A messenger of God told him to go down the road between Jerusalem and Gaza. It was a main thoroughfare, especially for those traveling back to Africa. There, as he was walking along the road, Philip spied the treasurer from the court of the Ethiopian queen. He had been in Jerusalem to worship. Now he was heading home, reading a copy of the scroll of Isaiah as he went. Philip asked him, "Do you understand what you are reading?" And the treasurer said, "No," and invited Philip to join him. Philip recognized this was an opportunity not to be missed. Drawing on all that he had learned, all the reserves of knowledge he had built up—he told the Treasurer about Jesus Christ and how he had fulfilled the Scriptures from Isaiah, suffering for that all who believe in him might be saved. God gave Philip the opportunity to serve, and Philip was ready for it.

In his comments on the song "A Lot of Things Different," Kenny Chesney notes that regrets can define us. Those small things that seemed scary at the time or those things that didn’t seem to matter but really made all the difference in the world can become that which shapes who we are. But he also notes that when we can live every day with our regrets behind us, then we have a pretty good game plan for life.

The best way to keep our regrets in the past is to be ready for the chances God gives now and in the future. The best way to move beyond those missed opportunities is to be ready for the opportunities still to come. We do that by being prepared—by praying for God’s guidance, by studying God’s Word, by learning from God’s people, by trusting in God’s ways.

I know that I have often mentioned our 2:7 Discipleship Groups. I must do so again, because one of the observations to have emerged, at least from the two groups I lead, is that we are preparing ourselves for service to God. We are getting ready so that when the time comes, we have a word to speak, a faith to share, a hope to offer. When the time comes, we will be ready to light the way for someone in need.

My prayer is that all of us might be prepared for such service to God.