The only thing that saves anyone is the call at midnight: “Behold, the bridegroom!” The voice wakes them—not their readiness, not their vigilance, not their superior discipline. The Gospel call creates readiness. It wakes the dead. It puts the lamp in your hand and light in your darkness. But that fear kicks in for the foolish. “What if our lamps don’t last? What if we aren’t enough? What if He is angry? What if He won’t accept us?” This is the reflex of the Old Adam. It’s the voice that always says, “Run. Fix yourself. Get more oil. Get worthy. Get prepared.” And that is the one thing that condemns them. They leave the groom behind. They run from the very promise meant to save them. The wise don’t refuse oil out of selfishness—they simply refuse to take part in the foolishness of unbelief. “Go buy oil” is not a cruel command. It’s Jesus revealing the futility of trying to buy what only He can give. You can’t buy readiness. You can only receive it. View Article →

Thanksgiving is supposed to be a day when we stop and admit something we usually avoid: the best things in life aren’t things we made for ourselves. They’re given. We didn’t invent love. We didn’t manufacture the people who care about us. We didn’t earn the food on our table as much as we like to pretend. Even our breath is borrowed. View Article →

And if you can’t forgive—then the place to go is not deeper into your resentment but deeper into Christ. The lack of forgiveness is not a moral deficiency; it is a spiritual emergency. It is unbelief expressing itself in hatred. The fix is not to “try harder.” The fix is to repent—to receive again what Christ won for you on the cross, what He pours on you in Baptism, what He puts into your ears through Absolution, what He sets upon your tongue in the Holy Supper. His forgiveness is the only thing that makes your forgiveness possible. View Article →