wise and foolish

Good morning brothers and sisters,
Jesus tells a parable to show the importance of being prepared for his return and the coming of God's kingdom. A wedding feast is the setting, which is appropriate because God's kingdom will be full of celebration for everyone. Like yesterday's stories the challenge for us is that God calls us to be ready for God's kingdom, but we don't know when it will come. It also feels like it's taking longer than it should. Jesus reminds us that even if it feels like we're waiting for a long time, when the kingdom comes it will come suddenly.

God bless,
Sam

Matthew 25:1-13

¹“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. ²Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. ³When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; ⁴but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. ⁵As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. ⁶But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’

⁷Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ ¹⁰And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. ¹¹Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ ¹²But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ ¹³Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

Getting our heart right

Good morning friends,
Today's reading from Jeremiah could come right out of the Psalms. Through Jeremiah, God compares trusting God to trusting in human things. The foolish trust in themselves, in wealth, or in other material things. The wise put their trust in God, and because of that they thrive even when things get rough or go wrong. Jeremiah's words are beautiful, with striking images that almost show the lesson he is trying to communicate. I particularly like the image of the heart being perverse and devious. Sometimes our desires fool us or make us see the world in twisted ways. No matter how we fool ourselves, God is not fooled. God sees what is really in our hearts and through God we too can unwind the lies that make us do what our better part doesn't want to do. May we seek God with all our heart and mind and soul and strength, and may we come to be like a deeply rooted tree beside the living waters.

God bless,
Sam

Jeremiah 17:5-11

5Thus says the Lord: Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the Lord. 6They shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when relief comes. They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.



7Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. 8They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit.



9The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse— who can understand it? 10I the Lord test the mind and search the heart, to give to all according to their ways, according to the fruit of their doings. 11Like the partridge hatching what it did not lay, so are all who amass wealth unjustly; in mid-life it will leave them, and at their end they will prove to be fools.