But at midnight there was a cry, "Behold, the bridegroom comes!" (Matthew 25:6)

I went to the hardware store the other day to buy a snow shovel, because we all were told about a storm coming that night. Needless to say, I was not alone. The hardware store was full of other last-minute shoppers looking to do the same thing. As I stood there in line with my shovel and my bag of salt, I thought about the parable of the ten maidens, which is our text this morning, and I thought about a new way to tell the story: Then the kingdom of heaven shall be compared to ten people who sat down one night to watch the evening news. Before long, the All-Wise, All-Knowing and Always Acccurate Weatherman appeared on the TV set and spoke. "Behold," he said, "the first snow storm of the year approaches, so be …