Above: Parable of the Ten Virgins, by William Blake
Image in the Public Domain
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For the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year 2, according to the U.S. Presbyterian lectionary of 1966-1970
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Lord Jesus, Judge and Savior: put thy Word within our hearts
that we may be saved from disobedience and,
in the time of thy coming, be found faithful to thee. Amen.
—The Book of Common Worship–Provisional Services (1966), 126
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Zephaniah 3:17-20
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Matthew 25:1-13
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Zephaniah 3:16, in which God is the King, encourages Zion to
have no fear
in the context of divine rule. Oppressors should be afraid, we read, but the faithful should have no fear.
The other two readings encourage preparation for the parousia, whenever it will occur.
The passage of time has disproven many expectations of when the parousia will occur. Those who made predictions could have learned from Jesus that only God (the Father) knows when that time will be.
A bumper sticker reads,
GOD IS COMING BACK. LOOK BUSY.
It is either a good joke or a bad joke, depending on one’s sense of humor. The message is definitely terrible theology.
Each of us has received a divine mandate to live according to the Golden Rule and to be salt and light in the world. Details of how to do so have always varied from person to person. God has told us what to do.
May we do that every day. God will attend to the other details, such as the parousia.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 25, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JAMES BAR-ZEBEDEE, APOSTLE AND MARTYR
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