So it’s no secret that occasionally parts of the service at Marsh make me uncomfortable or just clash with what I believe. This week the Gospel reading, which came from Matthew, made me really angry. Here’s the text:
Matthew 25: 1-13
“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
When I first heard this, I didn’t understand what could possibly be valuable in this passage. It sounds to me like it condemns those who make bad choices. It celebrates people who were unwilling to share what they had with others. And presents a vision of god where god turns away from those who made a mistake. What? My faith is so opposed to all of these ideas. I believe that everyone makes bad choices sometimes, and deserves second chances. I believe that if I have more than I need and someone has too little, I am obligated to help them. And I absolutely believe that there is divinity within each person that can’t go away even if that person makes a mistake. Needless to say, I was hurt by what I read in this passage.
Thankfully Dean Hill did a good job of pulling something valuable out of a verse that seemed so damaging. He emphasized patience and persistence in his sermon, using the metaphor of the bridesmaids waiting patiently and persistently for the bridegroom. (I guess maybe if I’d had a little more patience to begin with, I might have been less upset by this passage.) His sermon spoke to me though because of my work here at Marsh. As a religious educator, I have learned how to be patient with kids. Children need a lot of patience and persistence, but for me it comes naturally to be patient with them. But as a non-Christian intern working at Marsh Chapel, I’m still working on being patient with Christianity. Soren and I have talked a lot about my misconceptions about Christianity, and I know for myself that one of my biggest problems is that I tend to make snap judgments about Christianity particularly when I encounter pieces that make me uncomfortable or feel threatening to me. Deep down though, I know that there is so much of value in this tradition, and even more so there is so much for me to learn in my experience at Marsh. So now I guess I am working to find more patience in my heart. To listen before I judge. And to recognize that the little things that make me uncomfortable are so much smaller than the message of love, generosity, and forgiveness that affirms my work here.