Isaiah 25:1-9 Psalm 23 Philippians 4:1-9 Matthew 22:1-14
One of the commentaries writing about this Gospel reading suggested that a good title might be ‘how to get yourself killed’. This was intriguing in our house, because we were really looking forward to the new Bond movie, where the context is usually ‘stand too close to James Bond and you are sure to be killed or seriously injured!’ But in Matthew’s Gospel, it is about the ongoing controversies between Jesus and the Pharisees, and the inevitable outcome.Yet oddly, this particular parable is of a wedding feast.
Truthfully, I have not conducted a single wedding this year, although I understand completely why many may choose to defer their celebration until the current restrictions are lifted. Weddings are usually times of great celebration and joy, where each service is unique and special for the bride and groom, and family and friends involved. in church, the relationship is expressed as a covenant, in which there is space to grow and develop within the bonds of love. And Jesus tells the story of a great feast.
The Invitation
In simplest terms, there is no need for anyone to miss the feast – there is an invitation with your name written on it!
The parable spoke first of all, of the invited guests: the oddest part of this story, because the invited guests very rudely refuse to come when the feast was ready.
Some years ago, a small cartoon showed a little boy preparing to do a wonderful dive from the high board. And because it was a cartoon, he leapt so high as to go right over the wall of the outdoor pool. Not at all daunted he promptly tries to re-enter the pool, but the pool attendant insists:
You may be at the right place, at the right time appropriately dressed, but NO TICKET – NO ENTRY!
He is left dripping outside, in his bathing costume
Among those who heard this parable first, were those who realised that its message was aimed at them: they appeared to be doing the right thing, but somehow missed the mark. they believed attendance at the holy club was all that was needed. Yet know they find themselves excluded from the very banquet, by refusing to honour the invitation. And it’s not just those who did not recognise the itinerant preacher from Nazareth as one sent from God. Many today sit in church pews who ignore the implications of the good news about Jesus, and in the words of F.W Faber:
But we make his love too narrow by false lints of our own;
and we magnify his strictness with a zeal he will not own.
Jesus is identifying his own mission with that of the prophets who were rejected before him. There is a direct accusation against those who obstruct the kingdom of God, and according the Matthew’s account, the chief priests and the Pharisees had already worked out that Jesus was speaking about them. (Matthew 21:45) That ancient prophetic theme: God calls, but his people reject the call and the prophets who speak the message.
Right at the heart of the Good News is a personal invitation: personal because it comes from God himself and it points to Jesus. We are invited to come and follow, to share his way of life.
The Feast
At the risk of sounding rude, I am not altogether confident in stating that the community of Christ, sharing together Sunday by Sunday, reflects that sense of joy and wonder so evident at a wedding! (Sometimes congregations look as though they are in the dentist’s waiting room rather than sharing a foretaste of a heavenly banquet!)
Yet as long ago as six centuries before the birth of Christ, the prophet Isaiah spoke of the kingdom of God as a feast:
On this mountain the LORD of Hosts will prepare
a banquet of rich fare for all peoples,
a banquet of wines well matured,
richest fare and well-matured wines strained clear.
On this mountain the LORD will destroy
that veil shrouding all the peoples,
the pall thrown over all the nations.
He will destroy death forever.
Then the LORD GOD will wipe away the tears
from every face, and throughout the world
remove the indignities from his people.
The LORD has spoken. Isaiah 25:6-8 REB
Message to the team
In that sense, this parable challenges us to be deeply committed to the mission of the church. I realise, of course that the very word ‘commitment’ strikes fear into the hearts of people everywhere. From football teams and youth clubs to the WI, the problem is the same – there is often a lack of people offering to take on tasks requiring responsibility, and many groups close as a consequence. So this is not a unique church problem!
And yet I can’t help wondering what on earth the church exists for – other than to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
Matthew 28:19ff
The words of the Great Commission echo our parable, where the great king’s servants are sent out with the invitations to the guests: Go, make, baptize and teach
Gathering together always precedes being sent out; the dismissal at the end of our communion service very rightly says “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord”.
We come together, in order to be sent out strengthen to serve
The dress code
For many activities, there is a dress code: what is appropriate for gardening is unlikely to win favour if worn to a wedding. Imagine how the happy couple would feel, if on being offered the carnation or rose corsage to wear at their wedding, you were to refuse; instead of looking out your finest dress or your best suit, you came in your gardening clothes or overalls!
And just like the prophets before him, Jesus turns his sharpest critique on the leaders of the community – the people who often did not match their privileges with responsibility, who neglected compassion in their pursuit of power. And so for this wedding reception, there is an understanding that the clothing would be appropriate.
I understand that in the days of Jesus, it seems that the garments for the wedding were provided by the host. It is certainly true for those who accept the invitation to God’s banquet; God will provide beautiful garments for all who accept the invitation to the banquet. Once more it is an image found throughout scripture: those who know God are clothed in garments of righteousness, faithfulness and obedience. Here are just a two such passages to reflect on.
I delight greatly in the LORD
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
Isaiah 61:10
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:12
The invitation is to the marriage supper of the lamb, and God wants us there as God intended that we should be, not as the mess we have made of ourselves.
The invitation is generous and broad, and when we respond, the grace of God transforms and redeems and refines, so that we bear the image of Christ. Or as Charles Wesley put it:
... Changed from glory into glory, till in heaven we take our place...
Have you received your invitation?
Have you responded?
Prayers
Lord God, prepare our hearts and minds to hear your invitation to that great feast; and to be transformed in order to be able to share this invitation with others. Help us to live day by day in such a way that that we enable transformative living in our communities, in our land, and in our environment. We remember all for whom a crust of bread would be a feast today. Help us to actively seek a fair distribution of resources. We remember all today who slave away to make clothes for our shops, when we have more than enough. We remember all today who have little rejoicing in their lives at present. May your kingdom come in our lives, in your world with justice and righteousness for all. Amen
Worship at home 