The Wedding, Part 1

The Wedding, Part 1

Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins,

which took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 

And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

Matthew 25:1-2

Picture the story in your mind:  Ten lovely girls, all of them friends of the bride, are part of an ancient wedding party.  Beautifully dressed, they are the bridesmaids that are to meet the groom at his home and escort him to the church.  This was an evening wedding, and they each had an oil lamp to light the way.  When they arrived at the groom’s house, however, everything was in turmoil.  The bridegroom had been detained and was not even there yet.

The girls made themselves comfortable, utilizing the surrounding garden furniture to be able to kick off those uncomfortable high heels. Speculating as to what in the world was delaying Mr. Right, they gossiped and dozed, then eventually fell asleep.  Suddenly, at midnight, a harassed groomsman shouted the news that the groom’s arrival was imminent, and it was time to go – NOW!  It was clear that there was no time to check their hair and refresh their makeup.  Each girl reached for her lamp.  All of them discovered that their light had gone out.   

Five girls stared at their lamps, hardly believing it possible that they were empty.  Five girls calmly reached into their evening bags and pulled out a little bottle of extra oil.  The girls who didn’t make this preparation cried, “Wait!  If you each just use half of your oil, you can give the other half to us, and we will all have light."

To be continued…

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This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine,

Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Won’t let Satan blow it out, I’m gonna let it shine.

Won’t let Satan blow it out, I’m gonna let it shine,

Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

The United Methodist Hymnal, No. 585