You know neither the day nor the hour

The parable of the wise and foolish virgins, William Blake (c1799-1800)

Reflection given at Morning Worship with the Community of Brendan the Navigator on Friday 28th August 2026 in St Flannan's Cathedral, Killaloe

Jesus tells his disciples stories taken from everyday life to illustrate his teaching. They are memorable, and his disciples ponder over them to extract the meaning. In church talk we call them parables, and we still ponder over them today. The reading we’ve just heard (Matthew 25:1-13) is one such.

The background to this one is the marriage customs of that time, quite different to our own. Today the bridegroom might go out on a stag night with his friends, and the bride might gather her friends together for a hen party, before the marriage ceremony is held in church or registry office, before a reception. Then the bridegroom went to the bride’s house to bring her to his own house. Her friends, the bridesmaids, would go out to meet him and accompany them both to his house. The bridegroom often contrived to be late, to catch the bride and her bridesmaids napping to surprise them. Then, after the marriage ceremony, came the celebration, the wedding banquet, which might go on for days.

Jesus’s story is full of humour, isn't it? Half of the 10 bridesmaids were wise, but the other half were foolish. The wise ones came prepared. They brought extra oil for their lamps in case the bridegroom arrived late at night, but the foolish ones did not. The wise ones would not share their oil with the foolish ones, in case they would not have enough for themselves. The wise sent the foolish ones away to buy their own. But the bridegroom came and carried the bride away to his house in the company of the wise ones before the foolish ones returned. When the foolish ones finally arrived at the bridegroom’s house, he turned them away, saying ‘I do not know you’. So they missed the wedding and the banquet.

Jesus tells his disciples, ‘The Kingdom of heaven will be like this… Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour’. He tells them they must be prepared. I’m reminded of the Girl Guides’ motto. 

This story is traditionally interpreted as about the last days, the second coming of Christ. Christ Jesus is the bridegroom, the Church his bride, the bridesmaids ordinary folk like you and me, and the wedding banquet the eternal life in heaven we are promised as faithful Christians. Because we do not know the day or the hour, we must be like wise bridesmaids who are at all times prepared for the second coming. If we are foolish, if we are unprepared, we will hear the bridegroom say, ‘I do not know you’, and we will be shut out of eternal life. 

Now, I do not believe in the Rapture, the belief that at any moment those that are predestined to be saved will be drawn up into heaven, while the damned are left behind. I see it as heresy. 

When Jesus talks about the end times, I believe he is talking about a time which will come to us all; our own death. Then our God, who is not constrained by the four dimensions of space and time, will see us as we truly are, from our very beginning through to our final end. He will judge us by the love we have shown throughout our lives to him, to our fellow human beings, and to all his good creation. Then, firmly held in his loving embrace, we will enjoy eternal life. But we will also suffer the shame of remembering those times when our love has been insufficient, when we have failed to repent, when we have not sought his forgiveness. Even in the security of his eternal love for us, we will be pierced by his words, ‘Truly I tell you, I did not know you then’.

We know neither the day nor the hour, so we must at all times be prepared. We must not put off examining our conscience, repenting, and seeking God’s forgiveness. We must be wise, not foolish.

Humble children and the good shepherd

Christ showing a little child as the emblem of heaven, Benjamin West, 1790

Reflection on Matthew 18: 1-5, 10, 12-14 at morning worship with the Community of Brendan the Navigator 0n 11th August 2026

‘(Which of us) is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?’, the disciples ask Jesus.

He does not reply directly. Instead, he calls a child to him, and tells them, ‘Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven’.

The world in Jesus’s time was just as competitive as our own. People were just as ambitious. They jostled for position and recognition, just as we do. And Jesus’s disciples were no different. Each one of them wished to be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. They still did not understand the nature of the kingdom.

We often make the mistake of thinking that our children are guileless, completely innocent. But those of us who have had the privilege of raising children know this is not true. Children are often wilful, spiteful and jealous, they find it hard to share, and they tell lies. Even so we love them. And as they grow to adulthood, they learn from our own behaviour to become good, generous, and loving adults. We owe so much to our loving parents, don’t we?

So, what is it that makes this particular child a candidate for greatness in the kingdom of heaven, a model for the disciples to follow? Surely not because s(he) is a model of goodness. Rather, this child is humble, meaning I think, (s)he is shy. (S)he does not push herself forward, unlike the disciples pressing Jesus to tell them who is the greatest. In the kingdom of heaven, the first shall be last, and the last first.

As Christian disciples, we are on the wrong track if we push ourselves forward as better than our fellows. Those who do deceive themselves. We must be humble. We must acknowledge our failings. And we must never despise those who are not pushy, but shy and modest in professing their faith. Because Jesus tells us, ‘In heaven their angels continually see the face of (their) Father in heaven’. It was a common belief in Jesus’s time that each person had a guardian angel who spoke for them before God, and guided them in the right way. We may use different words today, but I believe the Holy Spirit works within each one of us through our God given conscience to do just that.

Jesus goes on to tell the parable of the lost sheep. Sheep are valuable, but in some ways they are childlike, skittish, liable to stray. If one goes missing, a good shepherd will go in search of it, to bring it back to the safety of the fold. And he will rejoice when he does so. In just the same way our Father in heaven will seek us out, his little ones – he will even hunt us down – when we stray from him.

I finish with this comforting thought, in Jesus’s own words. ‘It is not the will of our Father in heaven that (even) one of these little ones should be lost.’

 

Walking on water

Jesus and Peter on the water, Gustave Brion, 1863  

Address given at St Mary's Nenagh and Killodiernan Church on Sunday 9th August 2026, the 10th after Trinity

Have you ever been out on the water at night in a small boat in a gale? If so, were you frightened? I have been, and I can tell you I was terrified!

I was a teenager, and it was a wild night. To get back to a cottage on an island in Lough Derg, my mother and I had to row less than a hundred yards. It was blowing a gale, with a big sea running, and waves breaking. With one oar each, side by side, we pulled against the wind, inching forward, often being thrown sideways as the wind caught the side of the boat, shipping water all the while. We made several attempts and were thrown back, but eventually we made it to calmer waters, and arrived safely on the other shore. By that time I was shaking like a leaf. My mother probably was too, though she never let me see it of course. It taught me a lesson I’ve never forgotten: respect for the water. It’s not our native element, and we underestimate the power of wind and wave at our peril.

Today’s reading from St Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 14:22-33) brings this memory back to me. The same event is recorded in Mark’s and John’s Gospels. I feel I can identify with the disciples, even though I suppose I wasn’t in real danger, as they must have been. The Sea of Galilee is renowned for the fierce and dangerous storms that suddenly appear out of nowhere, and abate just as quickly. I see it in my minds eye as rather like our Lough Derg – it’s about 40% bigger in area and wider, but not so long. And sailors know how quickly a squall can blow up on Lough Derg.

The disciples had got into trouble in one of Galilee’s notorious storms.

Immediately after feeding the 5000, Jesus sent the disciples off in a boat, while he told the crowds to go home, and went off up the mountain to pray by himself.

The disciples had set out in the evening light, unaware of the coming storm. Mark tells us that Jesus ‘saw that they were straining at the oars against an adverse wind’. I imagine the night was bright and moonlit for Jesus to be able to see the little boat.

‘Early in the morning’, Matthew tells us, Jesus ‘came walking toward them on the lake’. The Greek words translated as ‘early in the morning’ literally mean ‘in the 4^th watch of the night’. In those days, with no clocks, time during the night was counted in 4 watches of 3 hours each. So sometime between 3 and 6 am, just before dawn, Jesus, walking on the high ground after praying all night, saw the little boat struggling through waves and spray, and came down to help.

But what is this about Jesus walking on the lake?

Should we imagine Jesus far from land, in the middle of the lake, walking on the water, stepping over the waves? This is how most Christians have imagined the scene, and many artists have depicted it. But we should be aware of a possible problem with translation here. The Greek words translated as ‘on the lake’ could equally mean ‘towards the lake’, or ‘at the lake’, that is by the lake shore.

The truth is that there are two perfectly reasonable interpretations of this passage. The first describes Jesus miraculously walking on the water in the middle of the lake. In the second, the disciples’ boat is driven by the wind to the shore, Jesus comes down from the mountain to help when he sees them struggling in the dim light of dawn, and Jesus walks through the surf towards the boat. Both interpretations are equally valid, I suggest. Some will prefer one and some the other.

When the disciples saw Jesus they were terrified, believing him to be a ghost, until Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid’. However we interpret the story, the significance to the disciples is perfectly clear: In the hour of their need, Jesus came to them, to help and reassure them.

Only Matthew adds the detail about Peter trying to walk on the water too.

It’s a charming vignette, and so in character for Peter, from the other things we know of him. He was brave and impetuous, but he often found it hard to live up to his good intentions. Remember, it was Peter who swore undying loyalty to Jesus, only to deny 3 times that he knew him the very next day.

When Jesus said ‘Come’, Peter bravely ‘got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus’, we are told. But his courage failed him and he started to sink. ‘Lord, save me!’ he shouted, and ‘Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”’

Whether Jesus was miraculously walking on water, or whether he came through the surf on the shore to help the disciples in the boat, Peter surely learned this: It is not always easy to follow Jesus, but Jesus is always there to catch you when you stumble and sink.

Is there anything we can learn from this story today, 2000 years on?

Well, surely the same things that Peter and the disciples learned! They were privileged to know Jesus the man and to sail the Sea of Galilee with him. When Jesus saved them, they ‘worshipped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God”’. But we are privileged too, to know the spiritual reality of the living Christ.

In life the wind is often against us. Life for every one of us sometimes feels like a desperate struggle, with ourselves, with our circumstances, with temptations, with sorrow, with the consequences of decisions made. But none of us need struggle alone. In the hour of our need, Jesus will come to us as he did to the disciples long ago, to help and reassure us. Just listen for  his voice saying, ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid’!

If we seek to follow Jesus, we will find like Peter that it is not always easy. It will test our faith at times. Our faith will not always be enough and we will have doubts. But when we feel ourselves going under, if we cry out ‘Lord save me’, Jesus will be there for us, just as he was for Peter, reaching out his hand to catch us. Jesus is always there to save us when we are sinking. Just listen for his voice saying, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’

Finally, I shall finish with the Collect of the Word set for today

Mighty God and ruler of all creation,
give new strength to our faith,
that we may recognise your presence
even when all hope seems lost.
Help us to face all trials with serenity
as we walk with Christ through the stormy seas of life
and come at the last to your eternal peace.
We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen