A Sermon based upon Matthew 22:1-14
In the name of Jesus; amen.
Over the last few weeks we have been focusing on our mission statement. Here it is again: Our Mission is to Proclaim Christ through Worship, Fellowship, and Caring for our Neighbor. This Mission will specifically focus on ministry to Families, Children and youth, and the Poor.
Last week we distributed Financial Commitment Cards in order that we could have the opportunity to commit to this mission through giving of our treasures. This week the Stewardship Committee is asking us to consider supporting our mission through the giving of our time.
To help us they have come up with Time Commitment Sheets for us to fill out so that we know what ways people are willing to serve through the gift of their time.
It’s fitting with today’s gospel: Jesus’ parable of the Wedding Banquet. In the parable there is a King who’s son is being married. Now I have been to some pretty fancy weddings in my day, but weddings that took place in Jesus’ day were amazing spectacles. They could last for days, everyone was invited, wine flowed, there was food aplenty… families would spend everything they had in order to impress the guests.
So one might imagine that a wedding thrown by royalty would have been exceptional… a thing not to be missed under any circumstances. The food would have been the best, the wine would have been the best, the entertainment would have been the best. Anybody who was anybody would have been there.
It would have been a party that no one would want to miss.
Now, last week I told you that parables were stories that Jesus used to explain something about God or the kingdom of God. They weren’t meant to be true to life stories, but stories that taught us something about how God operates.
Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: “The Kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.” And like any proud parent whose child is about to be married he sent out invitations: “Mr. and Mrs. King request the honour of your presence at the marriage of their Son, the Prince to Miss Princess etc… etc…”
One might imagine that getting such an invitation would be a great honor, a reason to celebrate and go shopping for the appropriate attire and china patterns. But in Jesus’ story those invited don’t even RSVP; they simply go about their day and when servants are dispatched by the king to find out why no one is coming some of the invitees make fun of the situation and go about their business while others mistreat the servants to death.
Now if you have ever thrown a party that no one has shown up for you can imagine that the King must have been pretty upset and he was. In fact he’s so upset that he sends in his troops and once the original guests to be are properly dealt with he makes a decision. He decides that they weren’t worthy of such an honor as coming to his son’s wedding celebration and sends his servants out into the streets to bring back whoever they can find to celebrate his joy.
So the servants go out and bring back everyone they can find both good and bad and the wedding banquet takes place.
It’s a funny thing, but I often have the hardest time preaching on what might seem to be clear-cut passages from scripture. Up until this point the story seems rather easy to figure out. God is the King in the story and the wedding is a metaphor for faith is his son. The invitation is given to those that God expects will most want to celebrate Jesus’ message of love only to discover that they don’t wanna, they’d rather go about doing what they always do.
So God invites others, people who might not look worthy on the outside, but who are willing to accept the invitation and come to the party.
And what makes this hard to preach is that you all have shown up. You are here. You’ve come to the party! Somewhere along the line you got the invitation and decided that this was where you wanted to be, or at least where you were willing to be today. Parables like this I want to preach to the people that aren’t here.
But then, Jesus’ parable isn’t over is it? The King decides to do some smoozing with his guests only to discover that one of them isn’t dressed in a wedding robe.
Now this part of the parable isn’t cut and dry. According to tradition people attending a wedding always wore their best clothes, even if they were very poor and had to borrow clothes dressing for a wedding was a must. Wedding robes were not everyday clothes… they were special.
And even if you remember the days gone by when everyone had their Sunday best that they put on once a week to attend church… this is not a parable about proper attire or looking pretty. Wearing a wedding robe was a symbol of honoring your guest by giving him or her your best.
If the first group of invitees dishonored the King by not accepting their invitations then this one guest dishonored his king by not putting on the best he had.
It’s not enough to just show up whether you are wearing sneakers or heels, jeans or a suit. Just like it’s not enough to just say that you are a Christian, you also have to live like one.
The first people invited to the wedding banquet didn’t want to go. They were offered a great opportunity to sit at a king’s feast. But the one who didn’t wear a wedding robe at the banquet didn’t want to be there. And they missed it; they missed their chance to celebrate with God.
Coming to church on Sunday mornings is wonderful, but if you go home Sunday afternoon and think that’s all God wanted from me, you’re wrong. The wedding banquet that God has invited us to is life-long and daily.
The invitation is free, but what good is a party you do nothing at? God wants us to be at the party and to dance and sing to eat and drink and be a part of it.
And in case you wanted to know what the party looks like, Isaiah gives a pretty accurate description:
6On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. 7And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; 8he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken. 9It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation. (Isaiah 25: 6-9)
Here we are… let’s live the gift that God has given us.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment