Matthew 22.1-14, Philippians 4.1-9 & Isaiah 25.1-9
I was at one of those large formal dinners earlier this
week, where around 1000 people all sit in a grand hotel to eat, hear talks and
see awards dished out.
The person that invited me said ‘let’s meet in the pub
beforehand and I can give you your invitation’.
Later as we were going to the dining area I said to a
colleague that as usual no one had asked to see my invitation to which he
replied ‘if I ever find myself destitute I’ll make my only possession a penguin
suit and work my way around the London hotels from one formal dinner to the
next enjoying 5 courses with wine each evening and feigning an interest in
whatever industry is celebrating that evening.’
As I considered our reading from Matthew’s gospel this
week it made me think ‘how important is it to look the part’? In most cases
dress codes are now as relaxed as they have ever been but from a practical
point of view if your builder turned up in a 3 piece suit and shiny shoes to
start digging foundations it might cause some concern before you even start
thinking about the health and safety implications. It disturbed me to hear that
the only man who turned up to the King’s banquet without a wedding robe was
bound hand and foot then thrown out into the darkness.
If I was invited to dinners like the one in in our gospel
reading I’d be pretty worried, it all seems rather extreme. Firstly invitations
are despatched, sounds like it will be a cracking do, but rather strangely no
one invited seems interested. Then a reminder is sent stating that a delicious
feast has been prepared even giving some menu samples to get the taste buds
going but some are too busy with their daily lives whilst others take offence
at being asked twice and it all turns ugly with the messengers being beaten and
killed. Like most male cooks I get fed up if the family or guests aren’t
readily seated to receive my great creation when it’s ready to serve but things
haven’t yet reached the extremes we heard of when the king gets so hacked off
with the people’s behaviour that he sends soldiers to kill the murderers and
burn their houses down. It all makes the likes of Gordon Ramsay seem quite mild
mannered.
Despite all this fighting and bloodshed dinner is still
on, though it might be a bit cold by now. The slaves that weren’t killed last
time went out again (anxiously we assume) to invite all and sundry. The guests
accept this time, perhaps because they saw what happens when you refuse or is
it because they are readily grateful for what is being offered and excited to
receive an invitation?
It’s one of those parables which, if you think you can
neatly explain what Jesus intended you probably haven’t thought about it
enough.
I don’t think we should be taking the detail too
literally but would be better to think about the context in which those hearing
the parable found themselves. Clearly it was a time of some serious tension
between those starting to understand (or at least be prepared to listen to ) what
God’s kingdom might be like and the other Jews who were not prepared to listen,
not prepared to consider change or accept a message that that bestowed
credibility upon Jesus.
One commentator describes the time as the low point in an
intense family feud and we all know they can be among the most ugly.
The parable is the last of 3 and follows that of the ‘two
sons’ and the ‘wicked tenants’ each aimed at illustrating that Jesus and the
kingdom of God are inseparable and that to reject Jesus makes it impossible to
share in the kingdom. . The same parable can be found in Luke’s gospel but it
is simpler, less detailed and less violent.
Many commentators will say that the king in this parable
is God, and the invited guests were his chosen people, the Jews. The servants
God sent to them again and again included the likes of John the Baptist who had
been rejected and beheaded.
The
temptation is for us to sit smugly and think how stupid the Jews were to reject
Christ but in doing so we can fall into the same trap. As soon as we think we
have God all worked out with systems and patterns of worship which are closed
to new possibilities we become similar to those who rejected the invitation
making God very small. It follows that we can only be open to a fraction of the
love he wants us to know.
In
describing the invitation to a wedding banquet Jesus was using the analogy of
the biggest party that anyone would ever get invited to. This wasn’t just any
wedding banquet is was the king's sons wedding banquet the biggest of the big, a once
in a lifetime opportunity. The hint is that the kingdom of God is big, there’s
no reference to a maximum capacity and if we partake fully the kingdom of God
is joyful in a depth that goes way beyond day to day happiness.
Paul’s
letter urges the two ladies in Philippi with difficult to pronounce names to
reconcile their differences as it seems they have fallen out. The implication
is that we should focus on getting on with the things we know to be right and
pleasing to God and not waste our time and energy on in house feuds which distract
us from meaningful activity.
Paul urges the Philippians to ‘rejoice
in the Lord always’. Bearing in mind that he was prison when he wrote the
letter it shows that he will has not let worldly matters or personal suffering
suppress the inner peace that comes from a true knowledge of God’s love.
You
may be thinking that’s all very well but what about this God that kills his
enemies and has people bound and thrown out? We all have family and friends
that we have invited to share in our faith but they have chosen to reject the
invitation. Should we be telling them that this is what will happen to them
unless they change their minds?
That guy
who isn’t properly dressed it seems a bit harsh the way he was treated. After
all if we were invited to a formal dinner at 5 minutes notice would we have our
dinner suit or evening dress immediately available? Matthew seems to be warning
that it’s not enough just to turn up and accept the generous invitation, once
you come into this new inclusive community God expects some effort on our part
and we are provoked into thinking what it would mean to be separated from him.
There
are no neat explanations, it’s not an easy parable to hear in many senses, it’s
difficult, provocative and uncomfortable. But perhaps we are meant to struggle
with it. Maybe if we consider how we would react whether guest or king then the
story makes us think about our relationship with God, what we understand him to
be and traits which we can’t attribute to him. Maybe Jesus makes the point of
the pleasure and displeasure of God in the extreme so it is easily understood
without the intention that it is taken literally.
The
fantastic thing about these words of Jesus is that they are still causing us
headaches, still forcing us to think about how we respond. We will see signs
that we are on the right lines to accepting God’s invitation and celebrating
the kingdom when those at the bottom of the pile, the poor, the oppressed and
excluded also have space to see what good news looks like.
We
mean it when we say that all are welcome in God’s kingdom which includes this
very church but we shouldn’t always expect to find reassuring words. Being part
of the kingdom means we also have to recognize where
we have become comfortable in our dysfunctions, relaxed into our habitual wrong
doing and be open to learning better ways. Our ultimate goal is to be people
who seek redemption but this is not possible if we never consider where we are
going wrong.
The
great German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer stated that’ that grace is not a refuge from obedience, but an invitation to
transformation and redemption. ‘The parable is challenging us by asking what it
means to come to the banquet, and reminds us that while God’s grace is free, it
is not cheap. (John Anderson).
Having reflected on this today do we think we are
people still open to discovering God in new ways? Do we recognise him as the
king who punishes those who reject him or find him in a man cast out and
beaten?
Amen
Kevin Bright
12 October 2014
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