Twenty-fourth Sunday After Pentecost • Year A

Historical Collect

Almighty, eternal God, show mercy to your children who humbly pray, that we who have no confidence in our worth may not be judged but tenderly received. Grant this, we pray, through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Gelasian Sacramentary, 7th Century)

Thematic Collect

God of light and life, through your most Holy Spirit, illumine our lives with your grace so that we may be ready for the coming of your Son. Grant that we may bear the light of your love to the world in need, that all may know of your justice and mercy; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

The Common Thread

So much work is put into worship services: hymn choices, sermon writing, special music, decorating, and a variety of lay assistance. Now imagine that those worship services are useless. This is what happens when we seek the things, the feelings, instead of seeking the Lord. Only when we worship our great God is there blessing and rejoicing. Otherwise, worship services are dead, as are the people who attend. But for those who seek the Lord, believing in Christ, there is a glad and encouraging hope of resurrection. True worshipers gather with an eye on that day, and the Bridegroom who has promised to return for his Church. 

First Reading • Amos 5:18-24

Disaster may be imminent even when everything seems to be going just right and the people prosper. This is the season when people grow complacent and worship the gods called Plenty, Affluence, and Prosperity. They sacrifice their lives to their many gods. Such sacrifice is not restricted to the secular. Though this religiosity fools the religious, it does not fool God. Justice and righteousness are the sacrifices of faith that please God. 

Psalm • Psalm 70:1-5

The believer knows her place in life. She is poor in spirit (Matt 5:3) and requires God’s assistance. She seeks the will of the Lord, that it may be done on earth in her life, as it is done in heaven (Matt 6:10). She is hungry (Matt 5:6) and needs the daily bread (Matt 6:11) of the Bread of Life (John 6:35). She cries out, “I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay!” (Psa 70:5).

Second Reading • 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Late in life, my mother-in-law required round-the-clock, specialized care. She got used to that nursing care so much that when my wife visited and made her do things for herself, she would say, “Oh, I’ll do it later.” Her daughter would always reply, “There is no later, Mom.”

There is no later. It is in this life that we come to faith. Faith is not something that happens later. It is only in this life that we believe and trust and wait in hope of the resurrection. Our hope will not be disappointed. Though we die, we will live; though we sleep, we will be awakened. If we have been buried with Christ in baptism, we will also be resurrected like him (Rom 6:4-5).

Gospel • Matthew 25:1-13

This life is the wick. Keep it trimmed and ready. Jesus, the Bridegroom, promised to return for the Church, his Bride (John 14:3). The Bride of Christ must be ready, her lamps trimmed, watchful. As this parable suggests he might, the Lord has tarried. Though many grow discouraged and slothful, Christians must not give up hope. The oil of faith must be constantly replenished, and the wick of life ever-trimmed, because Jesus is returning—though he has tarried by our reckoning—to take his Bride to the wedding feast of the Lamb (Rev 19:6-9).