Starter Stories:
Post-World War II Banquet:
At the end of World War II, the Russian head-of-state gave an elaborate banquet to honor the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The Russians arrived in their best formal wear -- military dress uniforms -- but their honored guest did not. Churchill arrived wearing his famous zipper coveralls that he had worn during the German bomb attack in London. He thought it would provide a nostalgic touch the Russians would appreciate. They didn’t. They were humiliated and insulted that their prominent guest-of-honor had not considered their banquet worthy of his best clothes. Wearing the right clothing to a formal dinner honors the host and the occasion; neglecting to wear the right clothing is an insult. Weddings were such an important occasion in Palestine in Christ’s days that people were expected to wear the proper clothing to show appreciation and respect for the invitation. In today’s Gospel, Jesus demands the wedding garment of righteousness from his followers. (Fr. Tony Kadavil)
At a church conference in Omaha, people were given helium-filled balloons and told to release them at some point in the service when they felt joy in their hearts. All through the service worshippers kept releasing balloons. At the end of the service it was discovered that most of them still had their balloons unreleased. If this experiment were repeated in our church today, how many of us would still have our balloons unreleased at the end of the Mass? Many of us think of God's House as a place for seriousness, a place to close one's eyes and pray, but not a place of celebration, a place of joye. The parable of the Great Supper in today's Gospel paints a different picture. The Christian assembly is a gathering of those who are called to the Lord's party. In the Eucharist we say of ourselves, "Blessed are those called to the Supper of the Lamb." The Lord invites us to a supper, a banquet, a feast. Can you imagine a wedding feast in which everyone sits stone-faced, cold and quiet? (Fr. Munachi Ezeogu, cssp)
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Thomas O’LoughlinIntroduction to the Celebration
Whenever Christians assemble to celebrate there must be a spirit of joyfulness and thanksgiving in our gathering. This is not some jolly optimism that things just might ‘look up’ or that ‘we might be lucky’ or that maybe ‘the worst won’t happen’. Our joyfulness is founded on the most basic of our beliefs: God is good, God is generous, and God is love. God is greater than our suffering, our wickedness, and he bestows his love with largesse. We experience meanness and limitation, we often act with bitterness and without thought; but God’s mercy is greater than this, and his goodness stands as a beacon at the end of all human existence. Today in the readings we are reminded of this unconditional generosity, this goodness underpinning the universe, this love that forgives us and gathers us here at the Lord’s banquet.
Michel DeVerteuil
General Comments
General Comments
This passage and last Sunday’s have much in common. They are both parables, each with its own dominant image – the vineyard last Sunday, the wedding feast today. Both belong to the last stage of Jesus’ public ministry and remembering this could be helpful for our meditation. Jesus is in Jerusalem and the atmosphere is tense. The “chief priests and elders of the people” continue refusing to accept Jesus’ call to conversion; they will soon decide to hand him over to the Romans – a decision which leads to their own destruction. Jesus for his part does not give up. He continues to call them to repentance, although his teaching reflects his frustration at their blindness and hardness of heart.
We can identify similar crisis moments in our lives,
- times when, like the chief priests and elders, we refused to read the danger signs – looking back now, we recognise that we were on the road to ruin, in our spiritual lives, in family or community life, in personal relationships;
- times when, like Jesus, we had to continue calling people to repentance even though we were deeply frustrated at their blindness.
- times when, like the chief priests and elders, we refused to read the danger signs – looking back now, we recognise that we were on the road to ruin, in our spiritual lives, in family or community life, in personal relationships;
- times when, like Jesus, we had to continue calling people to repentance even though we were deeply frustrated at their blindness.
The passage is in three sections:
- Verses 1 to 10 – first part of the parable: the invitation to the wedding feast
- Verses 11 to 13 – second part of the parable: the wedding garment
- Verse 14 – the concluding statement.
As always we are free to take the sections separately or see them as a journey which we make.
- Verses 1 to 10 – first part of the parable: the invitation to the wedding feast
- Verses 11 to 13 – second part of the parable: the wedding garment
- Verse 14 – the concluding statement.
As always we are free to take the sections separately or see them as a journey which we make.
Section 1
The image of the parable is of “a king who gave a feast for his son’s wedding”. This is a special kind of feast therefore, one which celebrates the establishment of harmony. The parable therefore evokes a moment when a community (or an individual) is “invited” to make an end of “separateness” and a beginning of “oneness” – within ourselves, in the world and in individual communities.
We think of groups being summoned to live together in harmony
- within families
- in individual countries, e.g. Northern Ireland, the Basque country, Sri Lanka
- between neighbouring countries, e.g. India and Pakistan, Palestine and Israel
- the different Christian Churches
- religions invited to collaborate with each other.
Within ourselves too, a time comes when we must resolve some inner conflict,
- between soul and body
- an ideal and the reality we have to live
- choosing between conflicting relationships.
The image of the parable is of “a king who gave a feast for his son’s wedding”. This is a special kind of feast therefore, one which celebrates the establishment of harmony. The parable therefore evokes a moment when a community (or an individual) is “invited” to make an end of “separateness” and a beginning of “oneness” – within ourselves, in the world and in individual communities.
We think of groups being summoned to live together in harmony
- within families
- in individual countries, e.g. Northern Ireland, the Basque country, Sri Lanka
- between neighbouring countries, e.g. India and Pakistan, Palestine and Israel
- the different Christian Churches
- religions invited to collaborate with each other.
Within ourselves too, a time comes when we must resolve some inner conflict,
- between soul and body
- an ideal and the reality we have to live
- choosing between conflicting relationships.
Very often, as we know from experience, people prefer to remain divided. They are caught up in their own affairs (some to a “farm” and others to a “business”) and reject those who “invite them to the wedding”.
Their rejection takes different forms:
- at first they merely react angrily;
- then they maltreat the messengers, e.g. imprison them as the apartheid regime did to Mandela;
- they go further and put them to death, e.g. Gandhi and Martin Luther King.
We recognise that it is a moment of truth – as it was in the life of Jesus (see above). If the invited guests continue to reject God’s invitation, they will themselves be “destroyed” and their “towns will be burnt”. This is what happened with nationalism in Europe between the World Wars, with British rule in India and with the apartheid regime.
Their rejection takes different forms:
- at first they merely react angrily;
- then they maltreat the messengers, e.g. imprison them as the apartheid regime did to Mandela;
- they go further and put them to death, e.g. Gandhi and Martin Luther King.
We recognise that it is a moment of truth – as it was in the life of Jesus (see above). If the invited guests continue to reject God’s invitation, they will themselves be “destroyed” and their “towns will be burnt”. This is what happened with nationalism in Europe between the World Wars, with British rule in India and with the apartheid regime.
Our meditation can focus on the “guests” who eventually come in. They are ourselves when we experience a moment of grace in the form of a “wedding”,
- a family is reunited after long years of squabbling
- an addict is finally converted
- a Church community finds new life through ecumenism or inter-religious collaboration
- warring groups finally make peace.
Surprise is essential to these as to all experiences of grace (cf C.S. Lewis “Surprised by Joy”). Spontaneously we exclaim, “Imagine me being invited to this wedding feast!”
- a family is reunited after long years of squabbling
- an addict is finally converted
- a Church community finds new life through ecumenism or inter-religious collaboration
- warring groups finally make peace.
Surprise is essential to these as to all experiences of grace (cf C.S. Lewis “Surprised by Joy”). Spontaneously we exclaim, “Imagine me being invited to this wedding feast!”
Section 2. This second part of the parable has two characters.
The king represents us when we insist that community (or personal) renewal must bear appropriate fruit. He is indignant at the guest’s attitude and rightly so. As with last week’s passage, what we see is an example of “righteous anger”. We think of national leaders deeply frustrated as they see their newly liberated countries fall into corruption, communal violence, or class warfare.
The guest is insensitive and uncouth; he has no respect for the occasion or his fellow guests. His basic problem is that he does not feel awe at the privilege conferred on him. Identify with the terrible moment when his arrogance finally catches up with him and he who was to be part of a royal occasion is unceremoniously “thrown out into the dark”, where there is “weeping and grinding of teeth”.
Section 3 is a fitting conclusion to the parable.
It is a typically enigmatic saying of Jesus which can remain abstract but comes alive if read imaginatively.
The saying reminds us of two stages in renewal. There is a moment of “being called”. We are happy to find ourselves members of a renewed group,
- the post-Vatican II Church with its renewed liturgy, its involvement in the modern world, its active laity;
It is a typically enigmatic saying of Jesus which can remain abstract but comes alive if read imaginatively.
The saying reminds us of two stages in renewal. There is a moment of “being called”. We are happy to find ourselves members of a renewed group,
- the post-Vatican II Church with its renewed liturgy, its involvement in the modern world, its active laity;
- a religious community which took the path of true poverty and identifying with the poor;
- a racially integrated society.
- a racially integrated society.
A further stage arises when members become complacent and take their blessings for granted. They suddenly realise that they are “not chosen” – they prove unworthy of their “calling”.
Prayer Reflection
“The more universal a work is the more it is divine.” St Ignatius
Lord, the modern world has become complacent in its individualism.
Every nation looks after its own interests,
one making sure that its farms are giving the highest possible yields,
another that its investments gain more and more profits.
Even the Christian Churches have become individualistic,
each interested in getting more members than the others.
Today you remind us that this is not your plan at all.
You want humanity to be a family, like guests at a wedding party,
happy to be together, swapping stories and laughing at one another’s jokes.
Help us followers of Jesus to be your servants
bringing this good news to our contemporaries.
We know that many, especially the prosperous, will not be interested.
Sometimes we will be maltreated,
and some of us will be killed, and this will result in further violence.
But we know too that many at the crossroads are anxiously waiting to be invited,
and your wedding hall will be filled.
Lord, the modern world has become complacent in its individualism.
Every nation looks after its own interests,
one making sure that its farms are giving the highest possible yields,
another that its investments gain more and more profits.
Even the Christian Churches have become individualistic,
each interested in getting more members than the others.
Today you remind us that this is not your plan at all.
You want humanity to be a family, like guests at a wedding party,
happy to be together, swapping stories and laughing at one another’s jokes.
Help us followers of Jesus to be your servants
bringing this good news to our contemporaries.
We know that many, especially the prosperous, will not be interested.
Sometimes we will be maltreated,
and some of us will be killed, and this will result in further violence.
But we know too that many at the crossroads are anxiously waiting to be invited,
and your wedding hall will be filled.
“Without a revolution of the Spirit, the forces which produced the iniquities of the old order will
continue to be operative, posing a constant threat to the process of reform and regeneration”.
Auf San Sun Kyi
continue to be operative, posing a constant threat to the process of reform and regeneration”.
Auf San Sun Kyi
Lord, the people in many countries of your world are deeply divided
- Tamils and Inhalese in Sri Lanka
- Hindus and Muslims in the Punjab
- Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland
- Israelis and Palestinians in the Holy Land.
Send them courageous men and women who will summon them to unity,
like the king in the parable sending the servants
to invite guests to the wedding feast of his son.
The people they are sent to will often not be interested.
They will prefer to go off to their farms or to their businesses;
they will maltreat your messengers and sometimes kill them.
Lord, remind your prophets that they must not give up.
Your invitation stands, the banquet is all prepared,
oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered.
Though many have proved unworthy
there are men and women at the cross roads of the nation
who want unity and reconciliation; the wedding hall can yet be filled with guests.
- Tamils and Inhalese in Sri Lanka
- Hindus and Muslims in the Punjab
- Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland
- Israelis and Palestinians in the Holy Land.
Send them courageous men and women who will summon them to unity,
like the king in the parable sending the servants
to invite guests to the wedding feast of his son.
The people they are sent to will often not be interested.
They will prefer to go off to their farms or to their businesses;
they will maltreat your messengers and sometimes kill them.
Lord, remind your prophets that they must not give up.
Your invitation stands, the banquet is all prepared,
oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered.
Though many have proved unworthy
there are men and women at the cross roads of the nation
who want unity and reconciliation; the wedding hall can yet be filled with guests.
“Only those are truly great who are lifted above themselves by a faith which gives itself
entirely.” Yves Congar
entirely.” Yves Congar
“If today’s flourishing civilizations remain selfishly wrapped up in themselves, they could easily place
their highest values in jeopardy; their continued greed will certainly call down upon them the
judgement of God and the wrath of the poor, with consequences no one can foretell.”
Pope Paul VI, Populorum Progressio
their highest values in jeopardy; their continued greed will certainly call down upon them the
judgement of God and the wrath of the poor, with consequences no one can foretell.”
Pope Paul VI, Populorum Progressio
Lord, we thank you that recent popes have been the voice of Jesus,
warning the nations of the world that if they refuse your invitation to unity
they themselves will be destroyed and their towns burnt.
warning the nations of the world that if they refuse your invitation to unity
they themselves will be destroyed and their towns burnt.
Lord, how quickly we become settled in our ways in our families, communities,
including the national community .
We choose not to be involved with others and we do not let others become involved with us.
From time to time you invite us to come out of our isolation
and experience ourselves as part of a sharing community.
You send us messengers:
* someone asks us to help in the church or in the village;
* personal misfortunes make us dependent on our neighbours;
* social problems like drugs or AIDS or unemployment begin to affect us as well.
Forgive us that we get angry with your messengers.
We are so insistent on maintaining our isolation that we maltreat and even kill them.
We look back now and realise that we were only postponing the need for change;
if we had continued that way we would have been thrown out into the dark
where there would have been gnashing and grinding of teeth.
including the national community .
We choose not to be involved with others and we do not let others become involved with us.
From time to time you invite us to come out of our isolation
and experience ourselves as part of a sharing community.
You send us messengers:
* someone asks us to help in the church or in the village;
* personal misfortunes make us dependent on our neighbours;
* social problems like drugs or AIDS or unemployment begin to affect us as well.
Forgive us that we get angry with your messengers.
We are so insistent on maintaining our isolation that we maltreat and even kill them.
We look back now and realise that we were only postponing the need for change;
if we had continued that way we would have been thrown out into the dark
where there would have been gnashing and grinding of teeth.
Lord, forgive us when we take your blessings for granted.
We move around unconcerned, insensitive to the needs of others,
as if people who love us will always be there to excuse and forgive.
We are like a guest going to a wedding reception in old clothes,
not bothering to excuse himself or to thank the hosts for inviting him.
Lord, help us to see the error of our ways before it is too late
and we are bound hand and foot and thrown out into the dark.
Lord, help us always to be humble, remembering that even if we were called
it doesn’t mean we will always be chosen.
We move around unconcerned, insensitive to the needs of others,
as if people who love us will always be there to excuse and forgive.
We are like a guest going to a wedding reception in old clothes,
not bothering to excuse himself or to thank the hosts for inviting him.
Lord, help us to see the error of our ways before it is too late
and we are bound hand and foot and thrown out into the dark.
Lord, help us always to be humble, remembering that even if we were called
it doesn’t mean we will always be chosen.
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Homily Notes1. The first thing to say in any homily is to acknowledge that this gospel (and this assumes that you have read the shorter version) presents us with a series of shocking images. A peeved and angry despot sets out on a spree of murder and mayhem just because he has suffered an insult. It is the behaviour we find shocking when we read of such happenings with dictators today. Why on earth is this being held up to us in the scriptures with the implication that the murderous king is to be equated with God?
There is no easy answer. The most popular solution for most of the twentieth century was to say that there is a fundamental difference between a fable (where every detail is there to be decoded) and a Jewish teacher’s parable: here is a deliberately shocking story designed to draw out just one point: everyone that can be found is invited to the wedding feast. This distinction is not, however, anything like as clearcut as many popular books declare; and, moreover, it is anything but clear that the early churches interpreted these stories in this way. We have to start with this fact (one which is awkward for many): there are parts of the early preaching, as recorded in writing, which we do not understand and which may represent positions that were later excised from the kerygma. This passage is one such case: what it means is a guess, and the task, once it has been read in the liturgy, is to reconcile it with the overall thrust of the gospel.
2. So, assuming that you have explained that we simply have to guess our way here, let us use this distinction between a fable and a parable. What is ‘the bottom line’? It is this: everyone that can be found is invited to the wedding feast. Why is this such an important message? This is the question that we must focus on, not the details of the parable.
3. First, the feast is not just for a select group, an exclusive group that are ‘in favour’ with God. God loves everyone.
4. Second, the feast is not just for those who know about it: many will arrive at the feast at the End without realising that they ‘were heading in that direction’. God’s love is greater than groupings.
5. And, third, they are there at the wedding feast because God wants them there, not because we could recognise them as ‘good or bad’. God’s love is infinitely forgiving. We often think of the call to eternal life backwards. We do not think of it primarily as God sharing his love with us, but as God metng out retribution to those who ‘should not be let in’ such as Hitler or Stalin or Mao.
6. The banquet of heaven is within the reach of every human being, it is God’s gift, it is not bounded by our boundaries of party or group or church, and his forgiveness is greater than all we can imagine. This is a message that is just as shocking for many as the images of the despot in today’s gospel.
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John LittetonGospel Reflection
Anyone who has gone to the trouble of organising a party for family and friends will appreciate the work that is involved. Organising invitations, and providing food, drink and entertainment requires much thought. Considerable effort goes into the event.
However, it is all worthwhile when a good time is enjoyed by the guests and they depart expressing their contentment and pleasure. Even if one or two guests fail to turn up, we can shrug our shoulders and marvel at their bad manners because everyone else had a good time.
But imagine if nobody turned up! Think of the disappointment, the embarrassment and the feelings of frustration. Dark thoughts would cross our mind and, no doubt, we would delete these friends from our address book and want nothing more to do with them.
Jesus, who was an excellent teacher, used precisely this scenario to teach his listeners about the Church. The parable of the marriage feast is about the fate that awaits those who either reject his Church or who refuse to use the Church properly to live in God’s grace and to prepare for judgement.
The king in the parable represents God, who invites certain chosen people to the wedding feast. Not only did those invited make excuses and fail to attend but, when they were given a second chance and the king sent other servants to repeat the invitation, those servants were physically assaulted and even murdered. So it is with the Church. People often reject the Church and persecute the followers of Christ.
The parable teaches that a terrible fate awaits those who act against Christ’s Church because, as the king in the parable was angry and sent his armies to destroy the murderers and burn their cities, so will God judge those who refuse to attend the wedding feast that is the Church. All the nourishment required for our souls, all the graces to be received through the sacraments and other spiritual practices, are represented in the parable by the carefully prepared dinner that the king offers freely.
In the parable, the king eventually managed to fill the venue with people ‘bad and good alike’ (Mt 22:10) and the marriage feast was held. But then the king saw a man who was not wearing a wedding garment and, when he asked for an explanation, the man remained silent. The king’s anger erupted again and the man was bound hands and feet and thrown ‘out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth’ (Mt 22:13).
This appears to be an exaggerated response, out of all proportion to the crime of failing to implement the wedding dress code. But that is not the crime. Jesus used the popular customs and mores of his day to teach eternal truths. This time, he was teaching that not only those who obstinately remain outside his Church will suffer eternal loss of salvation but also those who do not avail of the life in Christ that is offered through the Church.
That is the meaning of the ‘wedding garment’ (Mt 22:12). We know the importance of dressing appropriately for various events and it is embarrassing if we either under dress or over dress for an occasion. The key event for which the Church was founded is to prepare us for our judgement before God. If we appear before the throne of God, having failed to live our Christian vocation, we will face the wrath of the King in the next world. The words of the king in the parable are worthy of frequent reflection: ‘For many are called, but few chosen’ (Mt 22:14).
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From the Connections:
THE WORD:
Jesus’ parable of the wedding feast is another illustration of Israel’s rejection of God’s promise. The invitation is therefore extended to everyone -- Gentiles, foreigners and those who do not know God -- to come to the Lord’s table. (Matthew’s readers would see the “destruction of those murderers” and the “burning of their city” as references to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 A.D.)
Jesus tells a second parable within the parable of the wedding feast. The wedding garment is the conversion of heart and mind required for entry into the kingdom. The Christian who does not wear this mantle of repentance and good deeds will suffer the same fate as those who reject outright the invitation to the wedding. As the apostle Paul writes (Romans 13: 14), we must “put on” the garment of Christ.
HOMILY POINTS:
God has invited each of us to his Son’s wedding feast – the fullness of God’s life in the resurrection. The only obstacle is our inability to hear his invitation amid the noisy activity that consumes our time and attention.
God invites all his children to his table – distinctions drawn according to economic class or influence, discrimination by race or origin, reservations due to mental or physical ability disappear at the banquet of the Father. In order to be able to take our own place at God’s table, we must first realize God’s vision for the human family at our own tables.
The parables of the king’s wedding feast and wedding garment confront us with the reality that we cannot be Christian without conversion; we cannot come to the feast of heaven while remaining indifferent to the empty plates before so many of the world's children; we cannot love the God we cannot see if we cannot love those we can see.
Our lives are pieces of fabric that we piece together to make a garment fitting to wear at God’s wedding banquet. They are made from the fabric of our kindnesses, our caring, our compassion; they are sewed together with the thread of gratitude, respect and humility.
Christ, in the parable of the king’s banquet, calls us to realize that every one of us has a place at God’s table — a table that extends from own family table in this time and place to God’s great banquet table in the next.
‘Thrift Store Saints’
Fifteen years ago, Jane Knuth, a math teacher and mom, began volunteering at the St. Vincent de Paul thrift shop in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She approached the work with typical baby-boomer hard-charging determination to “fix the world” — but over the years, the experience changed her. The poor and desperate she has been able to help have deepened her own faith and brought her to a new understanding of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.
Jane Knuth has collected stories of her experiences at “St. Vinnie’s” in a delightful new book Thrift Store Saints: Meeting Jesus 25c at a Time. Thrift Store Saints includes some two dozen stories about the volunteers and patrons of the St. Vincent’s thrift shop. The Kalamazoo thrift store sells everything from furniture and clothing to basic household items, but also offers financial assistance, referral services — and prayerful and emotional support — to the needy and lost.
Rather than viewing society’s poor as problems to be solved, Jane and her colleagues see them each in a completely different light: as saints who can lead us straight to the heart of Christ. Jane Knuth writes:
“From all appearances, it looks as if we are running a thrift store at St. Vincent de Paul. At our meetings we frequently get into discussions about how to better run the store. Should we raise our prices? Give away less? Not accept so many donations? Lock our dumpster? Move to a better retail location? All these issues would come up with any resale shop. Eventually, it occurs to us that our purpose is not to run the most profitable, shrewd, efficient, riff-raff-free store in town. Our purpose is to help the poor and to change our way of thinking and being. It only looks as though we run a store. The store is just our cover . . .
“I still keep looking for the ‘deserving poor’ — the innocent ones who are blatant victims of injustice and hard luck. I want to help them and no one else. From what I can see, apart from children, most poor people’s situations seem to stem from a mixture of uncontrollable circumstances, luck, and their own decisions. Same as my situation. Do I deserve everything I have? Am I somehow more moral, smarter, or a harder worker than poor people? Sometimes I am, most times I’m not. Do poor people deserve their daily struggle for existence? Are they immoral, stupid, and lazy? Sometimes they are, most times they aren’t.”
God’s image of his human family is realized in the kindness and charity extended by a small thrift store. In today’s Gospel, Jesus articulates the Father’s vision for humanity: a “banquet” at which all are respected and honored for who they are and the goodness they bring to the king’s table, be it the “table” of the classroom, the clinic, the playground, the home. If we are to be truly faithful to God’s vision, the compassion of God must transform our heart’s perspective, enabling us to see beyond ethnic stereotypes, economic distinctions, class and celebrity, to recognize every man, woman and child as made in the same image and likeness of God in which we were all created; we must be willing both to give joyfully what we have and to accept humbly what others bring to the table. God’s “banquet” is only realized when we embrace a radically new vision of humanity, a perspective that ignores suspicions, doubts and stereotypes and, instead, recognizes everyone, first, as a child of God, worthy of respect, love and compassion.
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ILLUSTRATIONS:
Perhaps you have heard of the family that moved into the neighborhood and the little country church decided to reach out to the family. When they arrived at the doorstep the members of the church were surprised to find that the family had 12 kids and were for the most part poor. They invited the family to services and said goodbye. Later that week the church responded to their need. They delivered a package to the family and said, "We want you to know that you and your entire family are welcome at our church anytime. We have bought you these gifts and we want you to feel comfortable and at ease in our congregation. We hope you can use these," and they left. The family opened the package to find 14 suits of clothing, beautiful clothes for every member of the family. Sunday came and the congregation waited for the family, and they waited. The family never showed. Wondering what could have possibly happened, after lunch the members of the church returned to the home and found the family just getting back, all dressed in their new clothes.
"We don't mean to be nosey but we would like to know what happened. We had hoped to see you this morning in church," the leader of the church inquired.
The father spoke up. He said, "Well, we got up this morning intending to come. And we sure do appreciate your invitation. But after we showered, shaved, and dressed, why we looked so proper we went to the Episcopal Church."
That's a funny way of talking about a serious problem. Invitations are sent to many to come to church but so few people respond. It's frustrating. Many of you have reached out to neighbors or friends and asked them to come to church and you know all too well the disappointment, how few respond.
Maybe that is why we find this morning's parable so familiar...
That's a funny way of talking about a serious problem. Invitations are sent to many to come to church but so few people respond. It's frustrating. Many of you have reached out to neighbors or friends and asked them to come to church and you know all too well the disappointment, how few respond.
Maybe that is why we find this morning's parable so familiar...
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After World War II the world entered a grey combat zone known as the "Cold War." The two most powerful nations on earth, the US and the USSR, stood face to face, toe to toe, and seriously considered nuking each other. Thousands of nuclear warheads were armed and aimed by both nations, targeting each other's homelands, in a strategy known by the acronym MAD: Mutual Assured Destruction. President Truman even had to fire General Douglas MacArthur because of his insistence that we use nuclear weapons against the Chinese during the Korean war. Key players in the nuclear drama carried endearing names like "Gadget" (1st atom bomb-1945), "Fat Man" (Nagasaki-1945), "Little Boy" (Hiroshima-1945), "George" (1951), "Mike" (1952). But there was anything endearing about these weapons. Clearly this was madness.
Even madder was the "official" response to this "Cold War" freezer burn. "Fall out shelters," both public and private, were constructed, places where people could momentarily be "safe" while the surface of the earth was scorched from radiation. School children were instructed to dive under their plywood desks and cover their heads in what were called "duck-under-the-desk" drills in order to "survive" a nuclear bomb attack. "Duck and Cover" was the 1950's and 60's version of "Dumb and Dumber."
It was during this "Cold War" freeze that a smart-alecky, satirical magazine was born. It wasn't some well-heeled, upper-crust publication, financed by any special "lobbyist" group. It was "MAD magazine." A comic book. But a well-written comic critique of the craziness that was driving countries "MAD."
MAD magazine dared to lampoon the possibility of global annihilation. Written for a 10-100 year old audience, in its pre-internet heyday MAD magazine was the place to peel back the looniness and manipulation of the times and to challenge its very young readers to consider everything they encountered with fresh eyes.
Oh, the magazine was also fun as well as funny...
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Church: The Only Thing in Town That Has Not Changed
It is instructive to drive through ritzy developments - or what David Brooks once called "sprinkler cities" - and notice that everything a person could possibly want was thought of by the real estate developers. This can be seen in lots of places, including certain sections of northern Michigan along the Lake Michigan coast, an area that has recently seen an explosion of multi-million dollar homes on the choicest lakefront lots. As that area has seen a sharp spike in wealthy residents, lots of things expanded accordingly. Malls needed to be built or upgraded, more movie screens and golf courses were required, lush horse stables were erected, world-class restaurants opened and flourished, and even supermarkets needed to add gourmet sections so that all the ingredients for truly high-end cooking could be found.
About the only thing in this town that did not change was worship space. Despite a huge influx of new residents, somehow or another the same old white clapboard country church that has been there for years continues to suffice. Curious, isn't it? But for those busy making a life in this world it is often the case. So also in this parable such folks received the king's engraved invitation and responded, "Sounds great but I really need to keep an eye on the market today. Can I get a rain check?"
Scott Hoezee, Comments and Observations
About the only thing in this town that did not change was worship space. Despite a huge influx of new residents, somehow or another the same old white clapboard country church that has been there for years continues to suffice. Curious, isn't it? But for those busy making a life in this world it is often the case. So also in this parable such folks received the king's engraved invitation and responded, "Sounds great but I really need to keep an eye on the market today. Can I get a rain check?"
Scott Hoezee, Comments and Observations
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All Night Long . . .
Some years ago, a friend of mine from church pulled me out into the parking lot to listen to a tape in her car. Darlene Malmo wanted me to hear her favorite Lionel Ritchie song. There was this song about life being like a party, "all night long." She said, "I am going to party all night long with God." That is what being a Christian is.
Some Christian say that it is not right to have such a mood of happiness and joy. Especially when there is so much starvation. When there is so much hunger. When there is so much suffering in the world, it is not right to be happy.
But that is not true. I think of the hymn, "This Is My Father's World" and the great words to that hymn. "This is my father's world, o let me ne'ver forget. That though the wrong be oft so strong, God is the ruler yet. This is my father's world, o let my heart by glad, for the Lord is king, let the heavens ring. God reigns, let the earth be glad."
Yes, in this world there is so much suffering and so much starvation, but it is also a banquet. Joy, in the middle of suffering, is at the core of being a Christian.
Edward F. Markquart, Excuses to Avoid a Wedding
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Clothing and Spiritual Change________________________________
Clothing is a common New Testament metaphor for spiritual change. Paul wrote in Romans, "Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature" (Rom 13:14).
And in First Corinthians, "The perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. (1 Corinthians 15:53).
In Colossians, we read, "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. (Colossians 3:12).
Finally, in First Peter we are admonished, "All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble'" (1 Peter 5:5).
Being clothed anew is a consistent New Testament expression for holiness and righteousness. The old clothes have to come off and new ones put on.
In Colossians, we read, "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. (Colossians 3:12).
Finally, in First Peter we are admonished, "All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble'" (1 Peter 5:5).
Being clothed anew is a consistent New Testament expression for holiness and righteousness. The old clothes have to come off and new ones put on.
This text confronts us with the paradox of God's free invitation to the banquet with no strings attached and God's requirement of "putting on" something appropriate to that calling. The theological point is that we are warned of the dire consequences of accepting the invitation and doing nothing except showing up.
Mickey Anders, When Showing Up Isn't Enough
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Prayers Should Prepare Us
Reinhold Niebuhr often quoted a remark made to him by an agnostic friend who objected to the church, "not because of its dogmas but because of its trivialities," by which he meant "preoccupation with trivial concerns with the world hanging on the rim of disaster." Fred Craddock was invited to attend a prayer meeting at a home in a wealthy suburb of Atlanta. He said the group shared "weighty" prayer concerns like a date coming up on Friday night and the purchase of a new car, and one man announced they had had 75 answered prayers since the group started meeting. Then one of them turned to him and asked, "What do you think, Dr. Craddock?" Craddock, usually more reticent to criticize anybody's praying, was offended by the superficial and mechanistic reduction of Israel's God to what Paul Tillich called, "the Cosmic Bellhop." He couldn't help himself. He said, "Do you mean to tell me when people are starving in Africa and the poor are suffering in India and parents in Latin America can't sleep through the night wondering if the death squads will visit them, you folks are praying about dates and new cars?"
Larry Bethune, Friends in High Places
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Humor: No, I'm Just Seasick
The writer Bill Henderson recalls meeting a man aboard a cruise ship who claimed to be an expert in guessing professions. "See that man over there," he said. "He is a physician." Bill checked and sure enough that was right. "How could you tell?" he asked the man. "Well," he said, "I saw the caring lines on his forehead and could tell he was a person of great compassion." Bill Henderson pointed to someone else and said, "What about him? What does he do?" "That's a lawyer," the expert said. Bill checked and sure enough, he was. The expert explained that the man had a scholarly look and was somewhat formal, indicating an attorney. Then Bill pointed to another man. The expert studied him and said, "That's a preacher." Bill
approached the man and asked, "Are you a preacher?" "No," said the man. "I'm just seasick; that's the reason I look so sad."
approached the man and asked, "Are you a preacher?" "No," said the man. "I'm just seasick; that's the reason I look so sad."
How strange that many Christians have a long-faced reputation. Jesus could not have been that way; if he had been, children would not have clung to him so readily.
Bill Bouknight, Collected Sermons, Sermons.com
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Our Hope, Our Terror
Several summers ago I spent three days on a barrier island where loggerhead turtles were laying their eggs. One night while the tide was out, I watched a huge female heave herself up on the beach to dig her nest and empty her eggs into it. Afraid of disturbing her, I left before she had finished. The next morning I returned to see if I could find the spot where her eggs lay hidden in the sand. What I found were her tracks leading in the wrong direction. Instead of heading back out to sea, she had wandered into the dunes, which were already as hot as asphalt in the morning sun.
A little ways inland I found her: Exhausted, all but baked, her head and flippers caked with dried sand. After pouring water on her and covering her with sea oats, I fetched a park ranger who returned with a jeep to rescue her. He flipped her on her back, wrapped tire chains around her front legs, and hooked the chains to a trailer hitch on his jeep. Then I watched horrified as he took off, yanking her body forward so that her mouth filled with sand and her neck bent so far back I thought it would break.
The ranger hauled her over the dunes and down onto the beach. At the ocean's edge, he unhooked her and turned her right side up. She lay motionless in the surf as the water lapped at her body, washing the sand from her eyes and making her skin shine again. A wave broke over her; she lifted her head slightly, moving her back legs. Other waves brought her further back to life until one of them made her light enough to find a foothold and push off, back into the ocean. Watching her swim slowly away and remembering her nightmare ride through the dunes, I reflected that it is sometimes hard to tell whether you are being killed or saved by the hands that turn your life upside down.
Our hope, through all our own terrors, is that we are being saved. But this does not mean we lie down before the terrors. For as long as we have strength to fight, it is both our nature and our privilege to do so. Sometimes God's blessing does not come until daybreak, after a full night of emptying ourselves and wandering in the wrong direction. Our job is to struggle with the terrors, neither surrendering nor stealing away until they have yielded their blessings.
Barbara Brown Taylor, The Other Side - Tales of Terror, Times of Wonder
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Living in God
In A Journey with the Saints, Thomas S. Kepler has written: "The secret of the revolution in the lives of the saints lies in the fact that their lives are centered in God. They never seem hurried, they have a large leisure, they trouble little about their influence; they refer the smallest things to God. They live in God." That is the great secret to successful living: the realization that when one reserves time to come to God's banquet, all of the rest of life will fall in place.
Adapted from Thomas S. Kepler
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If We Miss a Deadline
A tough, old cowhand sauntered into a saloon and began drinking whiskey by the bottle. The more he drank, the more unruly he became, shooting holes in the ceiling and floor. Everybody was afraid to take on the old cowhand. Finally, a short, mild-mannered storekeeper walked up to the unruly cowhand and said, "I'll give you five minutes to get out of town." The old cowhand holstered his gun, pushed the whiskey bottle away, briskly walked out, got on his horse, and rode out of town. When he left, someone asked the storekeeper what he would have done if the unruly cowhand had refused to go. "I'd have extended the deadline," he said.
Many Christians have that concept of God: if we miss a deadline, God will simply extend it. They do not take the judgment of God seriously...
Many Christians have that concept of God: if we miss a deadline, God will simply extend it. They do not take the judgment of God seriously...
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From Father James Gilhooley:
Cannibals in New Guinea invited a priest to visit under a truce. They had heard about Jesus. They wanted to see what influence He had on his life. The priest was gloomy. He never smiled. They decided to forget about Christ. They concluded that once the truce was over, they would not eat the priest. His tough hide would cause them heartburn. Hilaire Belloc wrote: "Wherever the Catholic sun does shine, there is always laughter and good red wine." Would Belloc say that about us? We are told it takes seventeen face muscles to smile but forty-three to frown. Laughter is the only tranquilizer yet developed that has no side effects. Our expression is the most important garment we wear. Yet, how many of us know fellow-Christians who never smile?
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From Saint Vincent Archabbey, Latrobe,Pa
A friend of mine did his doctoral dissertation on food in the Bible. He pointed out that from Genesis to Revelation significant moments and events often times involve food. With Adam and Eve it was the forbidden fruit, for Moses it was the Passover Meal as well as the manna and quail in the desert, and for Elijah it was the widow of Zarephath. In the Gospels there is the wedding feast of Cana, the multiplication of the loaves and fish, and the Last Supper. The book of Revelation ends with the description of the Heavenly Jerusalem in all its' splendor, including the magnificent trees of life who each month produce fruit and whose leaves serve as medicine. There are many more instances of food in the Bible, but the point is made with above examples that they play a significant part in the stories, prophecies and teachings in the Bible.
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From Mark Copeland: Executable Outlines:
The Wedding Feast (Mt 22:1-14)
INTRODUCTION
1. We come to the third of three parables Jesus told when challenged by
the religious leaders in the temple during His last week...
a. "The Two Sons" was told in regards to their rejection of John the
b. "The Wicked Vinedressers" described how God would reject them
because they had rejected His prophets, and ultimately His own
c. In "The Wedding Feast", the wickedness and rebelliousness of the
2. In "The Wedding Feast", the Lord is revealing Himself and the nature
of their rejection more clearly than He did in the previous
parable...
a. There He was indeed the son; but here He is a royal son
b. There they were rejecting what they rightfully owed by way of contract; but here they are rejecting kindness which had been graciously offered to them!
3. In this parable, we also see an expansion of the element of Divine
Judgment...
a. The previous parable described judgment upon Israel for rejecting
God's Son
b. So does this parable, but it also describes judgment upon those
who have accepted the King's invitation, yet not in the way it
was intended to be received!
a few moments taking a closer look...]
I. THE PARABLE ANALYZED
1. The kingdom of heaven is likened to a wedding feast - Mt 22:
1-2
a. Isaiah had used the figure of a feast to prophecy of the
b. The Book of Revelation describes a future marriage of the
2. And yet the invitation is spurned...
-- Jesus may have reference here to the Jewish nation, as He
did in the parable of "The Wicked Vinedressers" - Mt 21:
33-46
a. Those who had so callously rejected His invitation, abused
His servants, are themselves destroyed
b. Many understand this to be a prophecy of the destruction of
a. As in the parable of "The Wicked Vinedressers", the
opportunity to enjoy the blessings of the kingdom of God is
b. This has reference to the offer of the gospel and the
B. A GUEST IMPROPERLY ATTIRED (11-14)
a. It was customary for the hosts to provide their guests
suitable apparel
b. To not wear the provided garment showed a lack of respect
and appreciation
c. No real excuse could be offered for not wearing one ("he
was speechless")
a. The seriousness of the insult is seen in the reaction of
the king
b. The punishment described is similar to that found in other
a. This summarizes the main point of the entire parable
b. The invitation (call) of God is extended to many, but few receive it in such a way to be among the "chosen"
Wedding Feast" is still being offered through the call of the Gospel!
With that in mind, consider a few more thoughts on...]
A. HAVE YOU SPURNED THE FATHER'S INVITATION?
1. Through indifference?
a. Many people do not know God because of a lack of interest
b. Yet God has so ordered the affairs of life to encourage faith and interest in Him - Ac 17:26-27; Ro 1:20; 1Ti 2: 3-4
c. For this reason, even those who through indifference do not know God and obey the gospel will be condemned - 2Th 1: 7-10
2. Through rebelliousness?
a. There are many who know full well the Father's invitation
b. But for whatever reason they rebel against itc. In so doing, they despise riches of God's grace and store up for themselves God's righteous indignation - Ro 2:4-11
[Certainly all should respond to the Father's invitation if they desire to enjoy the spiritual blessings of the kingdom of heaven. But as we learn from the parable, there is more...]
1. Many seek to attend the "wedding" in apparel of their own
choosing
b. People do this today, when they expect salvation on terms different than those taught in the gospel
1) E.g., trying to obtain salvation based upon their own good works
2) E.g., trying to obtain salvation on faith without repentance and obedience
2. We must be willing to put on the "apparel" that God gives us:
a. We must "put on" Jesus Christ!
1) First and foremost this involves clothing ourselves with
Christ
2) Which Paul explains takes place in baptism - Ga 3:26-27
-- Have you put Christ on in baptism?
b. We must "put on" the new man!
1) Paul applies the figure of putting on a garment to the
development of Christian conduct and character - Col 3: 5-14
2) Do we wish to be found at the wedding feast adorned with the apparel of the "old man with his deeds"?
-- Are you putting off the "old man", and putting on the "new man"?
c. We must "put on" righteous deeds!
1) John described the preparation for glorious wedding of
2) We understand that the "righteous acts of the saints"
3) They are done to bring honor to God, and therefore we
are to be ever ready and zealous to do good works - cf.
-- Are you doing what you can to "beautify" the wedding
garment of the bride?
CONCLUSION
1. We have truly been blessed to be given the opportunity to receive
the Father's invitation to the wedding feast of His Son!
2. But we learn from Jesus and His parables that the "kingdom of
heaven" is for those who thankfully and properly receive the grace
that God has to offer
3. The example of the nation of Israel should serve as a warning to
all, both Jew and Gentile, that while God's call of the gospel is
open to all, the saying of Jesus still remains true...
"For many are called, but few are chosen."
You have been called, but will you be chosen?
