For those of you who don’t frequent social media or work with young people, telling people to “get woke” or “stay woke” is a new slang for being aware of what’s really going on in your community and in the world. As “woke” grammatically is what you become after the act of waking up, it’s a state of being awake and fully engaged. It is usually used in connection with social justice issues. Today, we are going to appropriate it to being aware of what’s really going on spiritually. It’s a challenge that Jesus gave us in Matthew 25. It’s has been a long-standing challenge to the church through various periods of war, hatred, and the worst moments of humanity but also in the lulling comfort of financial security of “First World Problems.”
In short, it’s time to be active, to really see what’s going on around us, and to be actively pursuing our Savior as even now He prepares the final chapters of human history. It’s time to become active characters in the story that God is telling in our chapter of history.
Matthew 25 has Jesus sharing two stories--one about 10 virgins with lamps and various amounts of oil and another about some apparently rich dude who leaves to go on a journey and gives his talents (also known as money) to 3 servants in varying degrees based on ability.
Now, most people in this day and age that read these passages have no idea what we are talking about. Virgins with lamps and oil and some dudes with bags of talents. It’s enough to make a hipster scratch his beard in confusion.
I’ll let a Google search or a chat with your local theologian fill you in on all of the details of why virgins needed lamps and oil, or what the heck talents are. The point in both stories, however, is clear. It speaks of being spiritually “woke.” In the first story, 5 of the 10 virgins were ready for the bridegroom by having already prepared the oil for the lamps, and 5 were not despite all 10 knowing that the bridegroom could return at any time. In the talents story, 2 of the 3 servants doubled the amount of talents in preparation for the master’s return. One just buried it and waited in fear for the master’s return. In all cases, they knew who the master/bridegroom was, and that he was returning. That part was not a shock for any of them. Some of them prepared for that and worked actively toward his eventual return and some did not.
As you are not likely to be in a gaggle of virgins lighting lamps or in a fellowship of servants burying gold in your backyard, you might be wondering what this has to do with you. Let Jesus break it down:
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” (Matthew 25:13)
This speaks to awareness that our time here is limited and that Jesus could return at any moment.
It goes beyond just watching the clock though and standing ready for Jesus to return. If you were playing in the Superbowl and you knew that the clock was running out and you still needed to score a winning touchdown, you wouldn’t just stand there watching the clock run out. Spiritual awareness is good, but it needs to be paired with action.
If you finish Matthew 25, you see that this is the famous passage where Jesus talks about separating goats from sheep and tells a bunch of folks that they left Him starving, homeless, and without any clothing. Of course, this came as a shock to many of them. Questioning when exactly it was that Jesus came to their doors, they are confronted with this powerful truth:
“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me...Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.” (Matthew 25:40,45)
Many Christians are aware of what the Bible says, what their salvation hinges on, and many of the
Following Jesus also means seeing others the way that God sees them. Jesus walked that out for us in his time on earth. He loved the unlovable, the forgotten, and the outcasted. He broke social barriers and challenged the status quo. He made every moment of His earthly life about serving God and serving others. He didn’t have a fancy home, a great car and a cool online social media presence. That stuff didn’t matter to Him.
The lesson of the virgins and the servants with the talents is clear--God wants you to live out your faith and to continue in the work He has for you to complete. And the call to action is bigger than just avoiding getting caught slacking when Jesus returns. Jesus’ call to action is about what your apathy does to you and to the others your apathy leaves naked, starving, and afraid in a world of darkness. If your faith consists of just attending church you are doing it wrong. Faith demands action. The Bible is very clear that faith without works is dead. It’s not a call to legalism or works based salvation. It’s a call to a faith that permeates every aspect of your life and to being “woke” to the call on your life and the very specific part in that work that God redeemed you for.
The servants in the story were rewarded because they took what the master left them and they doubled it. God wants to double the redemption and grace at work in your life to spill into those surrounding you. Don’t miss what God has for you and for those you are meant to serve.
Get spiritually woke, church!
