The Oil of Courage, Faith, Hope, and Love

 The Rev. Brad Sullivan

Emmanuel Episcopal Church

November 8, 2020

Proper 27, A

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Matthew 25:1-13

The Oil of Courage, Faith, Hope, and Love

Keep oil in your lamps; be awake and ready for God’s kingdom coming among us at any time, in any situation.  There’s the basic lesson Jesus was teaching in his parable of the bridesmaids waiting upon the bridegroom, some of whom had extra oil for their lamps and some of whom did not, so that those who didn’t weren’t actually able to make it to the wedding feast.  

I have at times seen this as a fearful parable.  What if my oil runs out?  Oh no!  That fear certainly plays well in the world today where we seem to have messages of, never don’t be afraid, and always be on the look out for some new thing to fear.  Well, fear not.  Jesus is not adding one more thing to our list of things to fear.   Rather, Jesus is giving a loving reminder for us to remain prepared.  Keep your lamps full of oil, or as a modern Houstony example, keep your car gassed up during hurricane season.  Keep a mask at hand and on your face when you are outside of your home during this time of COVID-19.  Remain ready to accept, receive, and walk in God’s kingdom at whatever moment it may show itself or show itself again in your life.  Keep close at hand oil for your lamps, the oil of courage, faith, hope, and love.  

See, far from fear, attitudes of never don’t be afraid are the exact opposite of Jesus’ message in his parable.  If we’re always living in fear, then we are likely also always living in anger, and if we’re always living in fear and anger, then we’re not living in courage, faith, hope, and love.  Our oil lamps will have run dry.

Now, we get afraid and angry in our lives, of course we do.  We often have good reasons to be afraid and angry, but living in courage, faith, hope, and love we choose not to be overcome by that fear or anger.  We choose not to be overcome by fear or anger, because when we are overcome by fear and anger, we let the oil in our lamps run out, and we miss so many beautiful times when the bridegroom walks among us.  When we are overcome by fear and anger, the oil in our lamps runs out, and we miss when God’s kingdom happens in our lives.

Some folks have been overcome with fear and anger because Joe Biden was elected president last week, and prior to that, some folks were overcome with fear and anger when Donald Trump was elected president four years ago.  In both cases, with both our president-elect and our current president, some of our fear and anger is a natural reaction to things not going the way we want them to go.  For some, however, our fear and anger get us so worked up that our oil runs dry and we become afraid that it’s all coming to an end.  By the way, this last part about the president is quoted almost exactly from the sermon I preached four years ago:  copied, pasted, and edited.  

When we have so much fear and anger, that we lose our courage, faith, hope, and love and are instead overcome by our fear and anger, then we have let the oil in our lamps run out.  While the president and vice president do give many of us courage and hope, the source of our courage, faith, hope, and love need not be the person sitting in The White House, because the source of our courage, faith, hope, and love is a loving God in whom we have our hope, and who gives us courage and faith.  When we lose sight of God as that source that source be eclipsed by the person in The White House (or any other person) we let our oil run low and our lamps go out.  

We need our lamps lit because there is darkness in the world, and there are dark times in our lives.  Being overcome by anger and fear only adds to that darkness, and we cannot see when the bridegroom come into that darkness.  So, we keep our lamps lit to see during the times of darkness, and we keep our lamps lit by keeping them filled with the oil of courage, hope, faith, and love. 

One way some of us have been keeping our lamps lit recently is through praying daily and meeting weekly together (over Zoom) to strive for justice.  This began a couple months ago with a conference on racial justice put on by the Episcopal Health Foundation.  Several of us from Emmanuel attended the conference from our homes, sitting on Zoom calls in front of our computers, and we decided to continue meeting to pray, and discuss, and learn together how we could strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being.  Part of that work is, when we see injustice, not to be overcome by fear and anger, but to keep our lamps lit with courage, faith, hope, and love.  

One of the folks in this group shared an article with me about two pastors who strive together for justice with their lamps lit.  The Reverend William Barber and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove were unlikely friends when they met:  Jonathan, a young white man from a deeply conservative church in the heart of former Klan country and William, a black preacher who strives and works for social and racial justice.  

Jonathan was 17 at the time and associated his faith with right-wing politics, and so he went to Washington to page in Senator Strom Thurmand’s office.  “When [he] came back,” he said “[he] was very disillusioned.  [He’d] been told about how people [in Washington] were representing [their] values and standing up for Christian faith, [but that was not what he found] life in a senator’s office…to really be about. It was mostly,” he said, “about lobbyists coming in and saying what their interests were, and trying to keep wealthy people happy.”

He was rather disillusioned after that, but instead of being overcome by fear and anger, he kept his lamp lit, and shortly thereafter, he heard Reverend Barber preach at an event in North Carolina.  He said he “immediately recognized someone who shared [his] faith, but who lived it out very differently than [he] had ever seen.”  So, with all of the courage and chutzpa of an enthusiastic 17 year old, he asked Reverend Barber to speak at his upcoming graduation.   

Now, Reverend Barber had no intention of speaking at this kid’s graduation in the middle of Klan country, but he said, “Ok, if I get an invitation, I’d be glad to come.”  So he got an invitation.  At that point, put up or shut up time, he could have been overcome by fear and anger, and he was afraid, but he had given his word, so he agreed to go.  His lamp was still burning with courage, faith, hope, and love.  

He spoke at their graduation, was invited over for dinner afterwards by Jonathan’s mother, and they shared some transformative time together.  Years later, they reconnected, and they began working together for social and racial justice and healing bringing people of all races and classes together.  They’ve worked to bring greater equality and justice to the people of North Carolina, and their work continues to this day.  

What if when they had met, they had been overcome with fear or anger, and their lamps had not been lit?  They would not have seen the bridegroom.  They would not have recognized the kingdom of God coming alive in those moments, and they would have missed the opportunity to become brothers and to strive together for justice and healing.  

Thankfully, their lamps were lit, and they had a good supply of the oil of courage, faith, hope, and love.  Be not afraid, that oil told them, and they found even more courage, faith, hope, and love in each other.  

See, we can and do find oil for our lamps in each other.  Our friends and family can provide that oil.  Public figures, authors, musicians, teachers, folks who are experts in their fields of study or work can all provide us with the oil of courage, faith, hope, and love.  Additionally, those who are downtrodden and oppressed and are not overcome by fear and anger can provide us with oil.  Those who strive for justice and peace can provide us with oil for our lamps.  Even presidents and vice presidents of the United States can provide us with oil for our lamps.  

None of these people, though, need to be the source of our courage, strength, hope, and love because we believe in a higher power than any of them.  We believe in God who is the source of all courage, faith, hope, and love.  We keep the oil for our lamps full by continually reaching out to God in prayer.  We keep the oil for our lamps full through service to one another and through fellowship and joy with one another.  We keep the oil for our lamps full by seeking justice and mercy in the lives of the world around us.  

With this oil in our lamps, we can continue walking in courage even when disillusioned.  We can keep hope alive, through faith in God and the resurrection of Jesus, and we can continue to give and to live love for all people.  

That is the oil which we keep in our lamps so that come what may, in dark days and in times of joy and plenty, we are still walking in the light, ready for the many times and ways that Jesus and God’s kingdom come among us to lead us with courage into even greater hope, and faith, and love.  So fear not, and do not be overcome by fear and anger.  Through God and through countless others, through prayer, fellowship, justice, and mercy, keep your lamps full of oil and walk in the light of God’s courage, faith, hope, and love.