Aug. 3 (Janice Kreider)

Janice spoke about the parable of the foolish bridesmaids who ran out of oil for their lamps before the wedding feast. She looked into why the wise girls wouldn't share their oil with the foolish girls who didn't bring enough oil. Also, the bridegroom seems harsh in denying entrance to the foolish girls after they return from buying oil. But the wedding customs of those days likely involved a procession of dancing by lamp-light, so the role of the maidens included providing enough light for the celebration. The foolish ones assumed that they could rely on others and assumed that they would be accepted even if they failed in their task. The foolish ones were caught off guard; like the people at the Judgement Day who are surprised to learn that they didn't do what was expected of them. The parable of the talents (5-2-1) includes a warning to use the period of waiting responsibly. One may enjoy the gift of the present if you are prepared for the demands of the future. Some of our failures are irreversible and injustice may result; there is no UNDO button in real life. Janice challenged us to watch out for instances where doing the reasonable or pragmatic thing results in the exclusion of others from the Kingdom of Heaven. We shouldn't forget to follow Christ's command to take care of the least of those among us. [KJH] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday August 3rd, 2008 using your browser's preferred media player.