Color: Green\r\rOld Testament: Amos 5:18–24\rPsalm: Psalm 70; antiphon: v. 4\rEpistle: 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18\rGospel: Matthew 25:1–13\rIntroit: Psalm 84:1, 9–12; antiphon: v. 3\rGradual: Revelation 7:14b; Psalm 84:5\rVerse: Matthew 25:13\r\rThe Gospel Prepares Us for Our Heavenly Bridegroom’s Coming\r \rThe Day of the Lord is “darkness, and not light” (Amos 5:18, 20) for all who trust in their own righteousness and piety. The Lord will not accept their “burnt offerings and grain offerings,” nor will He look upon their “peace offerings” (Amos 5:22). Instead, He desires a heart of faith that trusts in Him, which lets “justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5:24) in love for the neighbor. In order for the “lamps” of our lives to burn brightly with such love, we must be filled with the “oil” of forgiveness through faith in our Bridegroom, Jesus Christ (Matt. 25:1–4). Therefore, as we await His coming, wisdom directs us “to the dealers” (Matt. 25:9), that is, to the ministers of His Gospel. Thus we wait upon the Lord, and we “encourage one another with these words” (1 Thess. 4:18). Waking or sleeping, we are prepared to meet Him when He comes “with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God,” and “we will always be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:16, 17).\r\rLectionary summary © 2021 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Used by permission. http://lcms.org/worship