Homily, The Outcast Bridesmaids
The Twenty-Fourth Sunday after the Pentecost, Proper 27A (2026)
St. Peter’s Episcopal Church
Plant City, FL
The Rev. Derek M Larson, TSSF
Today’s Lectionary Readings:
Wisdom of Solomon 6:12-16
Psalm 70
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Matthew 25:1-13
In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Do you ever feel like the whole world is against you? Do you ever feel like you can’t do anything right? Do you ever feel like one thing goes wrong after another, after another?
I imagine that’s how five of the bridesmaids felt in the parable from today’s gospel passage.
Nothing seems to go right for them. They show up on time to greet the bridegroom, but he is late, so they have to sit there and wait. They thought they packed enough oil, but evidently they didn’t, because they are quickly running out. They thought the other bridesmaids were their friends, but it turns out they aren’t friendly enough to help them out in their need. They go to buy more oil, but it’s midnight and it takes forever because everything is closed. And then, when they finally get to the party, the bridegroom says he doesn’t even know them and won’t let them in. Evidently it’s okay for him to be late, but not them.
So now it looks like the whole thing was for nothing. And on top of it all, the one telling their story calls them foolish and lectures them about staying awake, when everybody fell asleep! Not just them! Could this night get any worse?
What do we do with a story like this? How is this good news? When Jesus says, “the kingdom of heaven will be like this,” what does he mean?
The core message of this passage is simply about the importance of being prepared, alert, and ready for the coming of Christ. It’s an important message. But the story itself—the way we get there—seems awfully difficult to reconcile with some of the other teachings of Jesus in the Gospels.
For example, while here in this parable five bridesmaids are called wise because they have packed something extra in preparation for the unexpected, in Matthew 10 Jesus sends out the disciples with the explicit instruction to take nothing extra for their journey so that they might be solely dependent on God and the hospitality of others.
While here in this parable five bridesmaids refuse the request of the other five to give them oil, in Matthew 5:42 Jesus says, “Give to the one who asks of you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.”
And while here in this parable the five bridesmaids who arrive late are shut out from the party by their lord, the bridegroom, just two chapters earlier in Matthew 23:13 Jesus criticizes the religious leaders for locking people out of the kingdom of heaven.
And how does this passage fit with the story Jesus tells about leaving behind the ninety-nine sheep just to find the one that is lost? Or Luke’s story of the prodigal son? Are these not five bridesmaids who have come home after finding themselves lost?
Now parables are not meant to be read as allegories in which every little detail teaches us something about the character of God and what God wants for us. For example, the fact that the wise bridesmaids refuse to share their oil doesn’t mean Jesus is teaching us to be selfish.
But still, I think the tension is worth noticing. Because if we are not careful, we can come away from this parable with a rather troubling image of God: a God who demands that we get everything right, who shuts the door when we make mistakes, and who refuses to recognize us when we finally come home.
And is that really the God we have come to know in Jesus Christ?
This story is about the importance of being prepared for the second coming of Christ—the day of judgement—just as the bridesmaids should be prepared for the coming of the bride groom, yes. And yet, later in this very same passage, Jesus is also described as first coming to us in the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the prisoner.
Now isn’t that interesting?
At the beginning of Matthew 25, Jesus tells a story in which the Lord is the bridegroom who shuts the door on those who have come up short. But at the end of Matthew 25, Jesus tells us that he himself is present among those who have come up short.
In one story, Christ is the Lord on the inside who closes the door. In the other, Christ is the stranger standing outside, waiting for the door to be opened.
What do we make of that?
Perhaps the answer is that both stories have something to teach us about Christ. That the one who calls us to be prepared for his coming is also the one who comes to us in the least and the lost. The one who calls us to faithfulness is also the one who seeks us out in our failures. The one who warns us about being shut out is also the one who knows what it means to be shut out.
After all, this is the same Jesus who will soon be betrayed by his friends, abandoned by his disciples, condemned by the authorities, and crucified outside the city walls.
The Lord of heaven and earth is himself an outcast.
And so whatever else we may take away from this parable, we must never forget that the Lord who calls us to be ready is also the Lord who stands with the rejected.
The reality is, there will always be times in life when we come up short. At some point in our lives we will be left out in the cold and forgotten. Whether it be because of a mistake or a bad decision we make, whether it be because of someone else’s prejudice or cruelty, whether it be because of tragedy or a natural disaster, we can’t always be the “winners.” We can’t always be the wise. Sometimes we will be the foolish. Sometimes we will be the ones who don’t have enough oil.
And if we hear this parable only as a warning to make sure we are among the wise, we might miss something important about the good news of Jesus Christ.
The good news of Jesus is that he is a Lord who eats with sinners, who welcomes the outcast, who searches for the lost sheep, and who runs to embrace the prodigal son.
The good news is that we follow a Lord who knows what it means to stand outside a closed door.
This parable commends us to be ready for the second coming of Christ. But the whole gospel tells us that Christ first comes to us, even when we are not ready.
And so today, as you hear this parable, if you find yourself identifying more with the foolish bridesmaids than the wise, hear this:
Yes, be prepared. Stay awake. Be ready for the coming of Christ. But remember that the one for whom we are preparing is the very one who has already come to us in our foolishness and failures, in our brokenness and need. The one who calls us to be ready is the one who first comes to us when we are not.
Amen.
Questions for Reflection
- When have you felt like one of the “foolish bridesmaids”—unprepared, left out, or unable to meet expectations? Where did you encounter God in that experience?
- How does it change your understanding of Christ to remember that he comes to us not only as the bridegroom, but also as the hungry, thirsty, stranger, sick, imprisoned, and outcast?
- What might it mean for you to “stay awake” and be prepared for Christ’s coming in your ordinary daily life?
- How can the knowledge that Christ meets us in our failures and need give you courage, compassion, or hope this week?
