Waiting in Faith for Jesus

Summary

Back in 1992 I studied for a semester here in Oslo.  I think I have shared occasionally about my time while here.  I lived up at Kringsja studentby, studied at Blindern, and traveled throughout Scandinavia with my cohort of fellow students, it was a great four months.  But, while I was learning and growing here, I had left a girl friend back in Minnesota.  And no, she was not the woman whom I married and is sitting here.

Anyway, in my coming to Norway we were forced to enter into a long-distance relationship.  In retrospect it didn’t seem that long of a time to be apart, only four months, but when I left it seemed an eternity.

We had of course promised to wait for each other, to write long letters, and speak on the phone at least once a month, remember, there was not Skype, FaceTime or inexpensive trans-Atlantic phone calls in those days!  And so, we did, at first.  Yet, as time went by, the letters started to be written and received at a slower pace, and probably each of us, could feel that our relationship was…well, what is a good analogy, ‘slowing down’ or, ‘being lost to distance’.  So, to make a long story short, pretty quickly upon my return home my girlfriend and I broke up, and I vowed to never, ever enter into a long distance relationship again.

As I analyzed that relationship later, with the benefit of time and maturity I realized that we had entered into that autumn apart without much going for us, other than a desire to be boyfriend and girlfriend.  We had not dated long before my departure, and we did not have that much in common with one another, and, well, in retrospect I knew that it was not to be, probably from the beginning.

Though the flame of our relationship had burned bright at the beginning, it soon grew dim and burned out.  Why, well there was not much fuel for that fire, or oil for that lamp.

Now, do you remember the vow that I had made to myself after the ending of that long-distance relationship?

Well, let us fast-forward in time five years.  On nearly the exact date in August that I had departed for Oslo to study, I was bidding farewell to another woman, but this time she was leaving me, and not just for four months, but for a year!

This girlfriend was flying off to the Hawaiian Islands to live, and work for a year as an intern, as a student worker.  We were hoping to see each other sometime around Christmas, and then again in the spring, but possibly not more often than that.  As she walked away from me, I remember thinking, “I vowed never to do this again!  Am I crazy?”

I won’t answer that question.

Well, as before, I promised to write; letters and emails, that was a new thing in the late nineties, and we had found calling cards that allowed us to speak for something like .10c a minute.  So, we were going to speak twice a week to each other…but, that only lasted for the first two weeks…for soon, we were speaking almost nightly!

I did fly over to see her, before Christmas actually, and during that trip a ring was given and received, and when I flew home, I left my fiancé behind.  So, yeah, this time I am speaking of my wonderful wife, Emily, the woman sitting here.

The question that I am getting at with this long, drawn out story of my dating life is this, what did my relationship with Emily have, that my first long-distance relationship lacked?

Emily and I had the fuel needed to feed the fire, to keep it going, and make it grow.

We had become friends an entire year before we started dating.  We discovered common interests, we enjoyed each other’s sense of humor, we had common callings that each of us had received from God, to serve and minister as pastors, and we shared deeply with one another our faith in Jesus Christ. In other words we were prepared to wait for each other.

Whereas the flame of my first long-distance relationship had sputtered out because of a lack of oil in the lamp, my second one is still burning bright.

Like the bridesmaids in Jesus’ parable I have learned what it is to wait.

Many people listen to Jesus’ parable of the ten bridesmaids with ears of judgment, trying to discern what belief or dogma the second five bridesmaids lacked, that the first five held.

Was the lack of oil in the story indicative of a lack of righteousness?  Did it highlight the absence of good works?  Did the second five, not have enough faith?  What part of their belief was lacking?

Well, I think it was none of these things actually.

I read recently an anecdote in which a Jewish rabbi shares with a Christian pastor an observation.  The rabbi said, “I have noticed that you Christians read parables, and stories from the Bible in such a way that you are constantly trying to learn things about belief and theology from each story.  We Jews read parables and stories from the Bible to learn what they may have to teach us about life, and how to live it.”

Let’s look at today’s parable in the Jewish manner.  In today’s parable, the ten women do everything exactly the same, except for the point concerning the reserves of oil.  All ten take their lamps, and go to meet the Bridegroom.  As they waited, past when they expected, all ten became drowsy and slept.  The difference is revealed after the shout awakens all ten from sleep, “Look! Here is the Bridegroom!”

It is only then, that the foolish women realize that their lamps do not have enough fuel to keep their fires burning.  At this the wise women cannot supply what is desired, for they need that same oil to keep their flames bright.

You see, one thing we can learn from this parable is simply how to wait.  One needs to wait with expectation, and with realistic plans, based on hope.

As we wait for Jesus return, we need to realize that we need to keep our flames of faith lit.  If we’re using our lamps, then we’re going to be paying attention that they are ready and able to be used at all times.  As Christians, we’re living in the ultimate long-distance relationship, and so we cannot allow to happen, what happened in my first long-distance relationship, which is to begin in hope, but without any realistic plans to realize the expectation.  And so, gradually that relationship lost its vibrancy, for there was no plan to replenish its oil.  Rather, we need to look back in Matthew, and remember what Jesus taught during the Sermon on the Mount.  “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”

Our lamps are our Christian faith, shining out and illuminating the glory and love that is Jesus, so that the world may come to understand and see who Jesus is, and how he loves them. As we shine our lamps of faith in the world, we will always remember to bring extra oil, for we’ll always need to refill our lamps.

Professor Susan Hylen writes, “The wise bridesmaids keep the vision of Christ’s return, and all that it stands for, alive through their faithful waiting in the midst of delay. By preparing for the day, the timing of which no one knows but God, they proclaim that God’s promises are true.  They act out their hope for that day when God will establish justice and righteousness and peace.”

You see, the waiting itself, our waiting to celebrate Jesus as the Bridegroom of his people, our waiting, becomes a proclamation to the world.  In it, we proclaim that we believe God’s promises to us. In our waiting we plan for what we need to be expectant in our hope.

What do I mean?  I mean, that we cannot simply hope that we have what we need to keep the lamp of our faith burning bright, rather we need to conscientiously prepare to do that.

Like Emily and I dating long-distance, we need to keep talking to the Lord.  Our prayers are not simply about what we want or need, but about everything, for then, like couples learn to do with one another, we create honesty in our relationship with Jesus.  I know, I know, that sounds weird, telling people to be honest with Jesus, but it’s a common thing, that we even try to be a bit dishonest while praying to God.  We’ve got to be honest, with God and ourselves.

Secondly, we’ve got to take the time to read what God has sent our way.  The Bible can teach us so much, it can also inspire, make us weep, convict us, sometimes even confuse us, but always remind us that we are not alone, and that we’re not the only person to have lived life.

Thirdly, we need to continue to commit ourselves to Jesus, each day, if need be.  Like two people in love, separated by an ocean, we need to keep hearing Jesus say, “I love you.” And we need to keep saying it back.  True love can never be spoken too often, or heard enough.

So, as we learn to wait, we learn to be faithful in our waiting and live and love in the long-distance relationship that is faith, for Jesus is worth it.

Amen.

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