Alistair shares from Matthew 25:1-13 on the parable of the ten virgins as part of KNEC Online on Remembrance Sunday 2020.

www.knec4jesus.org.uk

“Saints are those who wake up while in this world, instead of waiting for the next one”.

(Richard Rohr, For the Good of the World, 6/11/20)

“I totally get the “foolish” bridesmaids in this narrative moment.  I get how hard it is to stick around when my “light” is fading and my reserves are low.  I get what it’s like to scramble for perfection, to insist on having my ducks in a row before I show up in front of God, or the church, or the world.  After all, it’s scary and vulnerable-making to linger in the dark when my pitiful little lamp is flickering, my once-robust faith is evaporating, and my measly, leaky flask is filled with nothing but doubt and pain and grief and weariness.  Only a bridesmaid who trusts in the groom’s deep and unconditional compassion, only a bridesmaid who knows that the groom has light and oil to spare, only a bridesmaid who understands that her presence — messy and imperfect though it might be — is of intrinsic value to the groom, will find the honesty and the courage to stay.”

(Debie Thomas)

(https://www.journeywithjesus.net/lectionary-essays/current-essay?id=2503)