Oil in My Lamp

Matthew 25:1-13

Many decades ago, I spent my summers at a Christian summer camp known as Westminster Woods. Paula and I both served on summer staff there, and our kids attended summer camp there for many years. Because I was a guitar player, I was often one of the staffers leading campfire songs at night. One of the songs we sang every week was, “Give Me Oil in My Lamp.” Anyone familiar with this song? The first verse and chorus go as follows:

“Give me oil in my lamp; keep me burnin', burnin', burnin'; give me oil in my lamp, I pray, Hallelujah! Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burnin', burnin', burnin'. Keep me burning till the break of day. And I will sing Hosanna, sing hosanna, sing hosanna to the king of kings. And I will sing Hosanna, sing hosanna, sing hosanna to the king of kings.”

 I admit I had no idea what the song was about, and the kids who sang it all wanted to come up with their own rhyming verses, such as:

Give me gas for my Ford, keep me truckin’ for the Lord

Give me hot sauce for my taco, help me witness in Morocco. Etc…

The idea of coming up with new rhymes was more important than the song's original message.

Memories of singing that song hundreds of times at campfire came back to me as I looked at this morning’s passage for the first time: the old camp song and this passage concern Christ’s return and our preparedness for that event. Jesus’ parable of the ten bridesmaids is a vivid image of spiritual readiness and the call to live as “light” in a world often in darkness. Theologian Adrian Rogers says, “Our faith looks backward to a crucified Savior. Our love looks upward to a crowned Savior. And our hope looks forward to a coming Savior.” The parable for this morning helps us look forward in hope to a Messiah who will return, and what to do in the meantime.

The wedding banquet symbolizes God’s kingdom and the inclusive call to all who believe. All ten bridesmaids were invited — a reminder that God’s call is open to all, regardless of background or status. Five of them took their lamps with them to meet the bridegroom, but did not bring any oil. Five other bridesmaids were wise enough to bring lamp oil with them.

The “wise” and “foolish” were not defined by identity but by how they prepared their lamp — a metaphor for our inner spiritual life, which we will explore a bit later.

We take light for granted these days. Almost everywhere we go at night, we find lights guiding us to where we need to go. It was not like that in the ancient Biblical world.

For thousands of years, until the advent of electric light, the oil lamp was humanity’s primary answer to darkness. These simple yet ingenious devices – typically clay vessels with an oil reservoir and a wick spout – did far more than illuminate homes. They enabled people to extend their activities beyond daylight hours, lit sacred spaces, guided travelers through dark streets, and accompanied the deceased in their tombs. Here is an example of one of those lamps that I got in an Archaeology and the Bible class back in seminary. This lamp dates back to the 2^nd century A.D. (Please be careful with it!) The typical lamp burned olive oil, which was abundant in the region of Judea and Galilee. A full lamp could burn for several hours.

The oil lamp served as both a practical tool and powerful symbol in Jesus’s teachings. In Matthew, chapter 5, Jesus used the image of a lamp on a stand rather than hidden under a basket to illustrate how believers should let their faith shine openly (Matthew 5:14-16). Jesus also spoke of the eye as “the lamp of the body” (Matthew 6:22), connecting physical and spiritual illumination.

In this morning’s passage, the oil lamps symbolize spiritual preparedness, contrasting the wise bridesmaids who brought extra oil with the foolish ones who ran out. These metaphors resonated deeply with his audience, who relied on oil lamps for daily lighting and understood their vital role in hospitality and nighttime activities.​​

So, let’s move on to verse five of this morning’s parable. For reasons we do not know, the bridegroom is delayed, and the bridesmaids all fall asleep. Who ever heard of such a thing? A Groom being late to his own wedding? Well, as someone who has done well over 100 weddings before, you might be surprised. I recall one wedding when the bride did not arrive on time for the wedding I was leading on a beach in Mendocino, CA. It was time for the wedding to begin, but we had no bridal party on the beach. The bride and bridesmaids were up at a beach cabin, “Still getting ready,” according to a friend who called them. An hour passed. The bride's friend called them again, and she said, “I will be there… soon.” Another half hour passed, and I asked that she be called again. Still not ready. FINALLY, after two hours of waiting, the bride came down to the beach; I did the ceremony and got them hitched. Someday, I’ll write a book…

This verse addresses early Christians in the first century who believed Christ’s return should have occurred quickly. Matthew’s audience had been waiting for the bridegroom for more than just two hours- some 50 years. Someone call Jesus on his cell and ask if he is on his way! For us here this morning, Christ’s delay has gone on for a very long time. The bridegroom’s delay reflects the uncertainty of Christ’s return and the need for sustained readiness.

 When the Bridegroom finally shows up unexpectedly at midnight, those bridesmaids are wise to have olive oil for their lamps, light them, and go into the wedding banquet tent, providing much-needed light for the celebration. Those without oil begged the others for some but were denied and left outside the celebration.

What then is the lesson for us in this parable of Jesus?

This parable has often been taught as being solely about judgment. Some get into the wedding tent; others do not. My focus this morning is not on judgment but on how we live now — in ways that add light to the world while we wait for the bridegroom’s return. Ultimate hope lies in that future return, when Christ will come to fully make this world as God intended- on earth as it is in heaven.

The moment of Messiah’s arrival is unpredictable; it’s a call to respond with light, not darkness, and to keep our lamps full of oil while we wait. The foolish bridesmaids’ lamps did not light because they had no oil — a metaphor for a life with faith that runs out of oil. I think the idea here is that we people of faith are called to shine our lights before others. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:14 that we are the light of the world. The light does not shine without oil. Our faith does not shine without fuel. We get that fuel from worship, regular prayer time, study of the Word, fellowship together as the body of Christ, and service to others in our community and world.

The second message is to place your hope in the Messiah's return. Some folks place their ultimate hope in election results. Don’t get me wrong. If your team wins, it all feels pretty great. What should Christians do with election results? Look for ways to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly. Support the teachings of Christ where you can find them in the results. That is something I try to do after every election, whether my team wins or not.

It is easy to place our ultimate hope on politicians and parties. They have a lot of power to shape our world. But politicians and parties often let us down, and our political system limps along, corrupted by money and in need of fixing. If we try to make political results our ultimate hope, we’ll eventually come away burnt out and disappointed. We can’t create lasting political hope in a world where all things eventually pass away.

Sojourner’s Editor Ethan Myers, in his article from Sojourner’s magazine, “What Should Christians Do With a Blue Wave?” writes: “ There’s certainly a place for politics to be a vehicle for biblical justice and peace: The way we choose to organize our society dictates who is a stranger and who is welcome, who goes hungry and who is fed, who is sick and who is cared for, who is forgotten in prison and who is remembered. We should all think through the implications of our vote for the most vulnerable whenever we step into the ballot box.

But even while we desperately try to do the right thing, we must recognize that we can only do so much to restore our broken world. No matter how good a system we create or how much individual good we promote, we will always live in a world affected by the evil of sin, at least until Christ’s return.”

Ultimate hope does not lie in a blue or red wave, in a ballot box or in our latest favorite politician. It must be planted firmly in the hope of heaven, and that, in a time only known to our Creator, Christ comes to make the world fully what God intended it to be.

There have been some throughout the centuries who have hoped for Christ's coming again to set the world right, and have said, "Why do anything then? Jesus will make it all peaceful and loving on his return. Let’s hang out and wait.”  Paul found an entire early Christian community who chose to do just that.

In 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Paul addresses a young church in Thessalonica that had been deeply excited about Jesus’ return. The letters were written in 51 A.D. This Christian community was convinced Christ would show up at any moment and began to quit work, live off others’ generosity, and spend their time in anxious speculation and navel-gazing.

Paul’s corrective is clear:  In the second letter (2 Thessalonians 3:6, 11-12), Paul tells them, “We command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition we gave them…Then he writes, “For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, not doing any work. Do your work quietly and earn your own living. Kindred in Christ, do not be weary of doing right while you wait!” Theologian Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza (1938–2023) wrote, “The Second Coming is the ultimate act of God’s justice and mercy, and it calls the Church to live in the tension between the already and the not yet — in hope, in vigilance, and in service.” No navel gazing while we wait.

Our message from the parable this morning is twofold.

1. Be the light in the world while we wait for Christ’s return. Share Christ’s compassion, mercy, and justice in what you say and do. Do that by keeping your lamp fueled — nurture your relationship with God daily. Share your light — be a place of hope, mercy, and reconciliation in your community.
2. Live your lives anchored in ultimate hope. The bridegroom is coming to set things right, to make the world as God intended in the fullest sense.

President Jimmy Carter was a man with an incredibly active faith. He taught Sunday school in his congregation for some 50+ years and worked out his faith regularly, building homes for Habitat for Humanity even in his 90s. Jimmy said, “We should live our lives as though Christ were coming this afternoon.”

So, while we wait and live our lives in expectation of Christ’s return, may God give us gas (hopefully cheaper gas) for our Ford so that we can truck for the Lord, hot sauce for our taco so we can witness in Morocco and here, and oil for our lamp, so that our faith keeps burning, and so we can keep shining in a dark world. Alleluia! Amen.

Helpful scripture passages

Key Scriptures

• James 5:7–8 – “Be patient, then, believers, until the Lord comes. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the soil—how patient he is for the fall and spring rains. You too, be patient and strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near.” This uses the farmer’s patient waiting for harvest as a metaphor for trusting God’s timing.
• Romans 8:25 – “But if we hope for what we do not yet see, we wait for it patiently.” Paul links hope and patience in the unseen future, including Christ’s return.
• Hebrews 9:28 – “So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” This shows that the waiting is for those who have faith and are ready to receive Him.
• Matthew 24:42 – “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” Jesus commands believers to remain alert and prepared, not idle.
• Titus 2:13 – “While we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” This affirms the hope that motivates the wait.

Benediction- Here comes the Son, doo doo doo doo, Here comes the Son, and I say…

It’s alright 😊