The Bride Must Make Herself Ready

Speaker: Archbishop Loren Thomas Hines

November 13, 2023

in Spritual Growth

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November 12, 2023:
Readings: Amos 5:18-24
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Matthew 25:1-13
24th Sunday of Ordinary Time 2023

Christ teaches us out of His love and compassion for us. His purpose in coming was to restore man back into His Kingdom. The people at this time was living in fear because they had not been following the principles of God but were worshipping other gods. Adam from the beginning, created in the image and likeness of God, was ruling ang reigning. But when sin came, man began to be in slavery instead of being in dominion. Looking at our lives today, although we have been delivered, we still live in fear. We tend to listen to the news instead of listening to God. Christ in the past weeks spoke to us in parables so we could comprehend more easily.

In the time of Christ, weddings were celebrated through feasts. Today’s parable speaks about the ten virgins who were supposed to meet the bridegroom and accompany Him to the house of the bride to meet her. While the bride was still waiting, the virgins were there to attend to the bride’s needs. In this particular event, the bridegroom was delayed. The virgins were assigned to fetch the groom so it was important for them to be prepared and have extra oil for their lamps in case the bridegroom came at night. Five of the virgins were prepared and the other five were not. God sets a pattern for us. Nothing just happens by chance. What took place in the old weddings was that the bride was the one waiting for the groom. The weddings of today are focused more on the bride instead of the groom. So it came to pass that when the groom arrived, there would be a sign to announce His arrival. Five of the virgins who had their lamps ready went out to meet Him so that they could accompany Him to the house of the bride. The other five were late because they were complacent and did not prepare. In our lives, there are forces of evil deceiving man to not follow God’s ways just like how the five foolish virgins were deceived into believing that they need not be prepared.

After the wedding feast, the bride and the groom would go around the village to meet the people and be one with the community. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 “According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” When Christ comes, we will have to present ourselves as the bride to meet our groom. Revelations 19:7 “Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.”

We have the responsibility as the bride to make ourselves ready. We’ve been given clean garments to show forth God’s love and righteousness so that we are ready to meet Him.