As the pastor here, I kind of make it a point to know what Sundays and their themes are coming up in the coming weeks. It helps to know what hymns to pick and to make sure I'm covering all the different themes.

Now, I knew the return of our Lord as our theme was coming up before long, but it still seemed to catch me by surprise. In the years past, we have had several weeks marking its coming. 3rd last Sunday of the church year; 2nd last Sunday of the Church year, and then finally the last Sunday. But this year, it just seemed like it was here. No warning. No Sundays leading up to it telling us it's coming; it just snuck up on us.

Which is probably good. I mean it makes a good point. Because the end will be just like that. One moment it's not here and the next it is.

That's what happens in the parable Jesus told. He talks about ten virgins waiting around for a bridegroom to arrive. They watch the sun go down and they light their lamps. "Soon, soon" they tell each other, but it's been a while. One yawns. And then another. Soon, they are dozing off. They can't stay awake any longer, and they give in to the sleep. Meanwhile the bridegroom still delays.

Now, keep in mind, He had lined it up with His bride some time back that this would happen. That's the way they did it in those days. He asked her to marry him, and so they were engaged, but some business had to be put in place before she would become His wife. He had to leave, because He had to go and get the house ready. So they wouldn't see each other for a while. The bride expects this. Every bride of that day expected this. But then one day, she hears He is coming back. The day has come that He has finished getting everything ready. He is coming back to make her His wife. So she lines up her bridesmaids. "O.K. girls, He's coming. I don't know when, but He is coming soon."

So there they are, sitting and waiting. Waiting and sitting. They are so excited for the bride. But the groom takes more time than they had expected. The shadows had gotten longer and now there are no more shadows except for what the light that comes from their lamps makes. And so we're back to where we were before. One yawns. Then another, and soon they are all asleep.

Someone--not one of these ten--makes the announcement. It's about midnight. Probably someone has run ahead and cries out, "He's here. He's here. The bridegroom is finally here. Come out to meet Him!"

The virgins, the bridesmaids had fallen asleep. They had been asleep for some time, and the sandman had already visited them. But the announcement snaps them to attention. This is what they had been waiting for. They are immediately awake.

But even though this is what they had been waiting for, it still caught them sleeping. Just like we knew the end of the Church year and the theme of our Lord's return was coming, it still kind of caught us off guard.

I'm happy it happened that way. Because that is what the end is going to be like. A lot of people are talking about how they expect 2012 is going to be the last year of the world, because the Mayan calendar doesn't go any further than Dec 23, 2012. I understand the Mayan descendants are sick of hearing about it. It doesn't mean anything. Instead, the end will come like a thief in the night. When no one is expecting it, that's when it will come.

But that's for everyone else. Granted, the rest won't be watching for it in the right way, but what about us, His people, the virgins of the story? We're waiting, but are we ready?

It's been a year since we asked ourselves this question. This Sunday and these readings force us to ask the question. Are we ready? It's not an unfamiliar question. Rather, it's a question we ask ourselves every week when we confess our sins. Are we ready? No, not just every week, but every day. Are we ready? That's a great question to ask ourselves, everyday. Am I ready? What does it mean to be ready? Does it simply mean to be awake?

We can't blame the virgins for falling asleep. It took a while for the bridegroom, Jesus, to come. Actually, the sleep described here is not just sleep, but death. They waited and then they died.

Many generations have waited since our bridegroom Jesus returned to heaven to prepare a place for us. He even talked about this with the twelve in the Upper Room the night He was betrayed. "In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to be with myself, that where I am you may be also." You may have heard this reading at a funeral. It's talking about exactly what we have here. The bridegroom comes back to get us, His bride. Many who have waited, have already fallen asleep. Will that happen to us? It may or it may not. So, we have to ask ourselves are we ready? If He were to come back while we are alive, will we be ready?

Now, let's say we are alive when He comes back. Let's say He was to return to the earth in the year 2010, even before that last date on that Mayan calendar. Yeah, it would catch an awful lot of people off guard. I would expect that most of us would still be alive, if not all of us. That means we would be awake, but will we be ready?

It's one thing to be awake. It's another to be alert. We hear about accidents on the road caused because people were texting on their phones. They're awake. That's not the problem. The problem is, they were not alert. It's gotten so bad, some celebrities are getting into the act, warning people. Jordin Sparks, an artist known by many young people, is speaking out against texting while driving. People texting are awake while they are driving, but they can't be alert.

O.K. let's say Jesus does come back next year, and we're awake for Him. Will we be alert? You might think with a theme as readily identifiable as the end of the world, the Collect of the Day would reflect it. It doesn't. Instead, it simply addresses the reality of our sin. We pray and I quote, "Absolve Your people from their offenses..." Yes, Lord, absolve Your people from their offenses. This is what we need.

All through the year, we are presented with our sinful condition and then given the word of absolution which comes in the cross. It comes to a point today. It's like it all comes together this morning as we pray. "Absolve us of our offenses. Forgive us for all we have done to you."

Are we ready? Well, are we? You can say, "Pastor, you say we are ready because we are covered by Christ's righteousness. We are seen as being sinless and holy because of our baptism. 'Blameless' like the bulletin cover says." And you would be right. But what does that mean? Is His righteousness, the righteousness given to you in Christ, your only hope? Are you crying out for mercy, because this is all you have? Do you see your sin and does it cause you great distress or do you simply say, "God has to forgive me, because I asked for forgiveness?"

The Law has a nasty way of not letting us do what we want. We can tell ourselves we are ready, but we can't answer that question really until we have first listened to the Law. The Law tells us, "You deserve eternal death, and there is no way around it."

But do we hear it?

We sin and act like it's no big deal. It is a big deal. You've felt those twinges of conscience. Listen to them. Let the message of that Law wake you up. We feel those twinges of guilt and then just cover them over by saying, "Oh well, I'm forgiven."

We can't just say, 'Forgive me, Lord," and be done with it. Jesus says, "Blessed are those who mourn." We can't help but be mournful.

It may sound like I am saying we earn forgiveness by being disturbed by our sin, but I'm not. I'm not saying that at all. Mourning is simply doing what the Law causes in us. It causes us to mourn. It causes distress. Our only relief is Christ. When we say, "Oh, no big deal," we are clearly not ready. We have not heard the Law. We may be awake, but we are definitely not alert.

Five virgins were ready. Five were not. This is a chilling detail we can't pass by. A number of those who were baptized and communing regularly and faithfully were not really ready. I would imagine those five were shocked out of their minds to see the door shut and hear the bridegroom say, "I do not know you."

Some of us could be those five. Does this cause you some alarm? It should. It should bother us at night. It should wake us up to the reality of what we are dealing with. We may say, "I'm covered," but really not care.

Who of us really does care? Who of us is terrified by our sins? Instead, we all become complacent about the whole thing. "Yeah, I'm ready." Our very complacency, our nonchalant approach ought to terrify us. It ought to have us asking, "Am I one of the foolish five? Could I see the Lord shutting the door on me? Until we ask that question, and answer it with a "Yes, this is what I deserve," then we may be awake but we are not alert. Don't be surprised if you find the door shut on you.

It sounds like heresy that I should say this. To talk to the people of God this way seems out of line. My job is to comfort you and that is what I want to do. That's what our Lord wants to do, but He doesn't want to comfort you when you really don't want it. He's not going to force Himself on you. He doesn't want me to just say, "No, I'm kidding about all this. There's nothing to worry about." I can't do this because five of the virgins were not ready. He wants to make sure you are ready--not just awake, but alert.

He wants you to want to see Jesus, the crucified One, crucified for you. He wants you to see when you are sure you really have no hope, this has been done for you. This is what it means to be alert.

The coming of the bridegroom is a joyous thing. This is the One who was here before. He is the One who was here to do what needed to be done so He could rescue you from the condemnation of the Law you have just heard. Now, He is coming back. How could we be anything but excited about it? The One who loves you so much that He gave up His life and soul, is coming for you. The bridegroom comes, your bridegroom. He is coming to take you home. This alone, should be enough to put a joyful song in our heart. Simply to be with Him, the One who loves us so much should put a spring in our step. But when He comes it will be more.

The bible is filled with talk about what it will be like. Isaiah gives it to us today in our first lesson. "No more shall be heard the sound of weeping and the cry of distress." Using terms that meant so much to them, he goes on, "No more shall an infant live but a few days or an old man who does not fill out his years." The idea of building a house and having someone else live in it, was unthinkable, and yet it happened. The promise that it would happen no more is also part of the joyous description. And the Lord Himself speaks for Himself as He says, "Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear. Peace will be the rule of the day as it is made apparent when the wolf and the lamb graze together, and the lion eats straw like an ox.

The descriptions in Revelation are a little more as we would relate. He will wipe away every tear from our eye. There will be no mourning, no more sorrow, no more pain. This is what He comes to bring. Sin will be gone. The pain from sin will be history. This is what Jesus comes to bring. He accomplished it when He was first here. He completes it when He returns. This will truly be a joyous day. Come Lord Jesus, come quickly.

AMEN