Preparing for the 'Big Day'

Weddings are very common in our culture and are an important event to be celebrated within our Church community as it is celebrating the unity of a husband and wife in Christ. A bride is joined with the groom in front of God, Church Clergy and all their family and friends in a Church Service. The majority of us can say we have been involved in preparing for a wedding somehow, whether we were the bride, a bridesmaid, a relative of one getting married or even just a friend who has been invited to attend a wedding.

Having been a bride myself, I can honestly say I do not envy any ‘brides to be’ in regards to wedding preparation!  I remember that from the moment my husband and I set the date, it took us approximately one whole year to busily plan and prepare for the Big Day! And of course, like many women, I had been thinking of this day and daydreaming about it for a while, so every little detail had to be PERFECT!

As many women know, it’s not just bride’s that prepare themselves for the wedding. Some of us who merely attend weddings spend hours shopping for the right outfit, accessories etc. And then we contemplate whether or not we’ll have time in between the Church service and the reception to get our hair done at the hairdresser!

Now, as I sit back and ponder all this activity, I cannot help but think about Jesus being the true Bridegroom, and we the Church being His Bride. Thinking about all this hectic preparation has made me recall Jesus’ parable about the 10 Virgins that He spoke of to teach His disciples about being prepared for Judgement Day. In Matthew 25:1-12; Jesus tells a parable about 10 Virgins who are waiting for the Bridegroom.  All ten virgins think they are prepared to meet the bridegroom by carrying oil lamps, just in case He comes at night, however five of them are extra prepared as they carry extra oil for their lamps and the other five did not carry extra oil.

How many of us just like preparing for a wedding, spend one year preparing for the unexpected coming of the Lord by deciding to read and complete the Bible in one year? Or dedicate a year to studying theology or our Church History? Or simply set a goal to partake in Church activities for a year? How many of us dedicate 2 hours of our time a week (or the time of a shopping day) to spend with God? Whether we are partaking in the Eucharistic Service on Sunday for 2 hours, going to Bible studies or preaching, or taking time out from our week to charitably serve others in Christ’s love?

If we compare the priority we place and the time we dedicate to preparing for earthly weddings to the priority and time we dedicate to prepare for the true 'Big Day'; Judgement Day, many of us will shamefully come to the realization that we do not think about or dedicate enough of our time to prepare for the Judgement Day of the Lord that we are all invited to, and will all inevitably see.

When we contrast and compare the actions of the “wise” and “foolish” virgins, our Lord Jesus is teaching us how we are to live every day in preparation for His awaited return. The wise virgins were prepared for the coming of the Lord, as they knew His arrival would be at an unknown hour. So they packed extra oil for their lamps to be able to see the way to meet Him. We must ask ourselves if we, like the wise virgins are prepared for the unknown hour of Christ, our Bridegroom’s return. Are we ensuring that the path to Christ in front of us is alit with light so we are walking on the right path to meet Him? And are we equipped to keep our lamps burning if He takes longer than we anticipated?

The analogy Christ uses here is to be wise and prepared for His return, we are to remain in Him through partaking in His body and blood (John 6:54-57), we are to heed His words and do them (Psalm 119:105) as they are “a lamp for our feet and a light for our path” in this dark world, and we are to continue to work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12-13) until our last day, or until we see our Lord’s return.

The spiritual significance of the oil can also be viewed as being of utmost importance in my opinion.  Throughout the Bible, oil was used to anoint and sanctify through the Holy Spirit for God’s good purposes (e.g. David’s anointing and receiving of the Spirit to serve God and His people 1 Samuel16:13). In the Assyrian Church of the East, one of our seven Sacraments is the Oil of Unction or Oil of Chrismation.  H.G. Mar Awa has dedicated a whole chapter in his book ‘The Mysteries of the Kingdom’ to explain this sacrament along with the other six important sacraments of our Holy Church and I highly recommend reading this book.

H.G. Mar Awa states; “The importance of the Oil of the Apostles [Unction]may be summed up in its awesome Scriptural and theological significance as the sacrament representing the Holy Spirit, with which Christ was anointed (in His humanity) and which is perpetually present in the Church.”  ¹

With this in mind, we can view the 5 Virgins carrying extra oil as those who were living their lives in the Spirit. In faith and in good works (Galatians 5:22-26) which promise us the inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven.

In contrast, the foolish virgins were not carrying extra oil with them, and were ill prepared for the Lord’s return. Similarly, the early Galatian Church were also living their lives in the flesh, and not by faith and in the Spirit and were called ‘foolish’ or unwise by St. Paul (Galatians 3:1-4). The virgins carrying the lamp without oil represent those who call themselves Christians but whose fruits or acts in life show otherwise… as they do not live their lives by the Spirit. Christ clearly says to these foolish, ill-equipped virgins, “Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.” (Matthew 25:12)

These verses clearly confirm to us, that we alone are responsible for our own salvation. We cannot rely on another person or blame another person for losing our salvation, and we cannot take the "extra oil” from someone else on that Day the Lord arrives unexpectedly. Each of us must be equipped and prepared each day (2Timothy 4:2).

We too can be “foolish” when we think that by merely being baptized Christians, we will be accepted by Christ into His Kingdom even though our works are evil. For as baptized Christians who are children of God, and co-heirs with Christ, we have been sealed by His Holy Spirit and are to act as Children of God throughout our lives (Ephesians 5:1) in preparation for the unknown hour of His return by living in the Spirit by whom we have been sealed; in faith, love and good deeds.

Have you spent enough time preparing for the true wedding celebration where Christ the Bridegroom will be eternally united with His Church, the Bride? If not, start today. As St. Paul says “Behold, now is "THE ACCEPTABLE TIME," behold, now is "THE DAY OF SALVATION" (2 Corinthians 6:2).

So let us prepare for the ‘Big Day’ by attending Church to partake in the sacraments, reading God’s Word and acting upon it and beseeching His forgiveness while we still have the chance.

This week’s song: You are my forever love – Francesca Battistelli

1.       Bishop Mar Awa Royel, The Mysteries of the Kingdom, The Sacraments of the Assyrian Church of the East, CIRED 2011. PP 231