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- From: "Micheal J. Mc Evoy" <chewy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: amc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 16 Feb 2006 23:40:11 -0600
Give Us of Your Oil
http://emerginganabaptism.blogsome.com/2006/02/07/give-us-of-your-oil/
--text follows this line--
Matthew 25
1 Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who
took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them
were foolish, and five were prudent. 3 For when the foolish took their
lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the prudent took oil in flasks
along with their lamps.
5 Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began
to sleep. 6 But at midnight there was a shout, "Behold, the bridegroom!
Come out to meet him."
7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish
said to the prudent, "Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going
out." 9 But the prudent answered, "No, there will not be enough for us
and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves."
10 And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom
came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast;
and the door was shut. 11 Later the other virgins also came, saying,
"Lord, lord, open up for us." 12 But he answered, "Truly I say to you,
I do not know you." 13 Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day
nor the hour.
First we must define the "Kingdom of Heaven". The historic Anabaptist
belief is that the Kingdom of Heaven is contemporary. Peter Riedemann,
the Hutterian leader, wrote in 1545: "Christ, the Prince of Peace, has
established His Kingdom, that is, His Church, and has purchased it by
His blood. . ."
Now let's consider what the virgins may represent. The common
application would be Christianity as a whole, but I'd like to relate
them to historic Anabaptist vision and belief.
The first wise virgin of the Anabaptist vision is Discipleship. The
Anabaptists could not accept a Christianity in which holiness was an
intellectual or subjective experience and doctrinal belief rather than
the transformation of the entire life of the believer. The Anabaptists
did not proclaim a lonely faith as did the reformers but preferred
"following". The theology was a means not an end.
Next we have the wise virgin of Voluntary Church Membership. This
principle is one that has had the most effect throughout the Protestant
world. It seems to most to be a given fact. Part of this voluntary
membership was a true conversion and a commitment to holiness. This
principle is the basis for the name Anabaptist, as it by necessity
required that baptism be reinterpreted and re administered. Instead of a
passive acceptance of God's grace, it became a dynamic element of
commitment to Christ.
The third wise virgin is called Separation. It follows the belief in
commitment to discipleship that a Christian should be separated from the
world. On this principle of separation Menno Simons says: "All the
evangelical scriptures teach us that the church of Christ was and is, in
doctrine, life, and worship, a people separated from the world." The
Swiss brethren testified "The true church is separated from the world
and is conformed to the nature of Christ. If a church is yet at one with
the world we cannot recognize it is a true church." Within this
separation came the expectation of opposition from the outside world.
The fourth wise virgin is Brotherhood. This sense of community was not
just a fellowship of like minded belief, but a practical, material
community. In 1557 a question asked of Swiss Brethren baptismal
candidates was: "Whether they, if necessity require it, would devote all
their possessions to the service of ther brotherhood, and would not fail
any member that is in need."
The fifth wise virgin is Love in all human relationships. The Anabaptist
Brethren included complete rejection of all warfare, feuds, violence,
and taking of human life. Conrad Grebel, the Swiss. said in 1524: "True
Christians use neither worldly sword nor engage in war, since among them
taking human life has ceased entirely, for we are no longer under the
Old Covenant". The Gospel and those who accept it are not to be
protected with the sword, neither should they thus protect themselves.
Pilgram Marpeck, the South German leader, in 1544, speaking of Matthew
5, said: "All bodily, worldly, carnal, earthly fightings, conflicts, and
wars are annulled and abolished among them through such law ... which law
of love Christ ... Himself observed and thereby gave His followers a
pattern to follow after.
Peter Riedemann, the Hutterian leader, wrote in 1545: Christ, the Prince
of Peace, has established His Kingdom, that is, His Church, and has
purchased it by His blood. In this kingdom all worldly warfare has
ended. Therefore a Christian has no part in war nor does he wield the
sword to execute vengeance.
Menno Simons, of Holland, wrote in 1550: [The regenerated do not go to
war, nor engage in strife.] ... They are the children of peace who have
beaten their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks,
and know of no war. Spears and swords of iron we leave to those who,
alas, consider human blood and swine's blood of well-nigh equal value.
So here we have five principles within we prepare for the return of
Christ. In the Parable, the foolish virgins asked to borrow some oil
from the wise virgins when they discovered their own oil was insufficient.
Let's think about some ways the Anabaptist faith community is
relinquishing it's precious oil.
The first foolish virgin is Pacifism. The modern Mennonite Church has
adopted Pacifism as a replacement for true nonresistant practice.
Pacifism seeks to coerce or force the government through protest,
legislation and lobbying etc, to abandon war. This is really attempting
to establish peace through the civil force rather than by the redemption
of the soul and transformation of life.
The second foolish virgin is Legalism. The fact is, the safeguards put
up to keep the world out in turn provide a cover for spiritually dead
church members. Rather than following Christ and experiencing a complete
transformation, it is possible to merely conform to a lifestyle. A
lifestyle which, if you are reared within it, is fairly comfortable even
if you don't believe in it. The plain life can be substitute for
discipleship.
The third foolish virgin is Financial Independance. No longer is there a
pledge to commit our material resources to the brotherhood. Instead we
prop ourselves against financial disaster via worldly means. State Farm
is our Shepherd, Blue Cross Blue Shield is our brother. Insurance has
two negative aspects. It is self reliance. One is not accountable to the
brotherhood for investments and risks. The other is that it robs the
brotherhood of the opportunity to share with each other. If the
insurance company cares for all your needs, what does the material
commitment of the brotherhood have to offer?
The fourth foolish virgin is Kingdom confusion. We are no longer willing
to be identified as a Child of the Kingdom. We adapt to the view that we
should be civic activists. We follow the trends in politics. We adapt to
the idea that the Kingdom is our country rather than the Church. We seek
to feed the poor through food stamps. We expect the government to
educate our children and if they don't do so according to our Christian
belief, we sue to get that changed. We reform criminals through the
penal system rather than through the transformation of a true conversion.
The fifth foolish virgin is Worldliness. We set our standards by the
world. We follow spectator sports, dress according to fashion, mimic the
world's music. The Christian's opinion of the super bowl should irritate
his worldly friend, and not because he's rooting for the wrong team. Our
clothes say, sports, hip urban, or cowboy instead of radical disciple of
Christ. How about the SUV that has never been off pavement except when
parked in the grass at a volleyball game?
Today there are many nominal Christians claiming the Anabaptist
heritage. They have doctrines and lifestyles that are insufficient so
they desire to borrow from the truth to give themselves some
credibility. We must reject these half truths just as the wise virgins
did by saying "go get your own oil, because if we lend to you we will be
short ourselves."
Structure of Anabaptism from "The Anabaptist Vision" by Harold S. Bender
---
Micheal McEvoy St Brigid's Gate Farm
chewy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Mahomet, Texas
Micah4 Consulting -- Appropriate Technology for Sustainable Community
"And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice,
and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"
-- Micah 6:8
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Austin Mennonite Church, (512) 926-3121 www.mennochurch.org
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