Have you ever gotten a wedding announcement from the son or daughter of a close friend? You sort of want to go, but not so much because you know the young couple, but because of loyalty to your friend. You might suffer angst as you decide whether to attend or not. In last Thursday's Arkansas Democrat Gazette, there was a letter to Miss Manners from "Gentle Reader," a high school drama and English teacher. [1] "Gentle Reader" wrote that as a teacher, she works with hundreds of young adults each year and receives multiple graduation, wedding, and other invitations. While each student was special to "Gentle Reader," her teacher's salary was just not generous enough to allow her to send gifts on each occasion. So, when "Gentle Reader" received wedding invitations from four of her former students this past June, she sent her regrets that she would not be able to come. This past Fall, the parents of these four former students approached her to express their disappointment. The parents explained that they did not invite that many guests to the wedding. To really crank up the 'guilt-o-meter,' the parents told her that she was considered special because she was invited, and that her presence was greatly missed. She needed advice from Miss Manners.
Today, just as in Jesus' time,
weddings are occasions for families and friends to celebrate with each other
and share in the happiness of the couple. "Weddings are generally the biggest
parties that a family will ever give,"
[2] and they celebrate the new life when two "I's"
create the "we" when they marry each other. It is no wonder, then, that writers,
like the people who wrote the Gospels, often described the coming of the reign
of God – the
Don't get to comfortable with
that pleasant image. Matthew slams us back to earth with today's parable.
An underdressed wedding guest is bound hand and foot and cast
into the outer darkness by the host of the feast. Sounds like his credit
card was no good, doesn't it? But the outrageousness of the plot is Matthew's
way of giving us that wink and a nod that this is no ordinary story. This parable
is the last of three in this section of the Gospel.
[3] The first, the parable of the two sons (
There is another story attributed to Yohannan ben Zakkai that may lie behind the traditional material that Matthew used to write this parable. [6] In this story, the king invites some servants to a wedding feast, but omits to tell them the time of the feast. Those servants with foresight not only dressed for the occasion, but also stood near the king's door. Unthinking servants, on the other hand, went about their daily work, and made no preparations. Without warning, the king announced that the time for the wedding feast had come, and the servants who had been waiting went in to the feast. The unwise, still wearing work clothes, were made to stand while the others ate.
In looking at this story and gleaning its relevance for us today, we need to know a little bit about what was happening in the early church that inspired Matthew to cast a seemingly dark shadow over the familiar happy and plenteous wedding feast story. First, we need to remember that hospitality in the ancient Near East – and in the modern Middle Eastfor that matter – is a major cultural and religious preoccupation. [7] It is a serious infraction of cultural rules to violate the standards of hospitality. Even in our country, with its laid back attitudes toward formality, manners, and social protocol, it still stings to have key guests call with feeble excuses at the last minute after we have worked for days or weeks planning a formal dinner party with caterers, florists, and perhaps even musicians.
As Jesus walked and talked to the people around , he spoke repeatedly about the Kingdom of Heaven. Indeed, Matthew speaks of Kingdom language more than any other New Testament author ("king" and "kingdom" are used 77 times). [8] For the past several weeks, we have heard parable after parable as Jesus tried to get people excited enough to line up to attend God's Kingdom banquet. Parables are teaching tools that enable the listener to understand something new by analogizing to something familiar. We have heard that the kingdom is like a sower of seeds, it is like weeds and wheat growing together, it is like a mustard seed, like hidden treasure, and a pearl of great price. To Jesus' dismay, and to Matthew's after Him, few people responded to the invitation to come celebrate the kingdom with God's Son. The prophets had also invited the people to join, but some of them killed the prophets. Not long before Matthew wrote his Gospel, the Romans had sacked Jerusalem (70 C.E.), an event that many interpreted as God's judgment raining down on them from heaven. Then – through the efforts of St. Paul – the Jewish community of Jesus' followers opened itself to non-Jews. And new controversy set in.
These newcomers, who had no previous history with Yahweh, the God of Israel, "acted as if grace gave them permission to live any way they wanted to." [9] The Jewish old-timers, because they complained that the newcomers were doing things differently than before, might have even passed for Episcopalians! The newcomers weren't following the law! The early church had a major discipline problem "as believers bellied up to God's table with no real sense of what it meant to be there." [10] As far as the newcomers were concerned, it was a "come as you are" banquet, because they saw that Jesus had atoned for their sins and squared away everything with God. Nothing was required: no special clothes, no etiquette, no gift for the hostess.
"Wrong" says Matthew. Matthew says that just because you are invited does not mean that you do not have any responsibility. "Look people," Matthew shouts, "You have been invited to eat with the King! Act accordingly!" The underdressed guest failed to honor his host. He failed to understand the great insult he did by not rising to the occasion. He demeaned the honor that was extended to him by the King's invitation. Barbara Brown Taylor commented on this text like this: "The underdressed guest's mistake was not that he showed up in shorts. It was that he showed up short on righteousness and thought no one would notice, least of all the king." [11] The underdressed guest was not the only one who dishonored the king. The people who made light of his first invitation and went their separate ways, failed to understand something very important. The issue here is not business or occupations. The issue is that they rejected the invitation. Matthew is telling us that they rejected God. The Arab mystic al-Ghazzali once said, "Listen my friend, if you do not want to be with God, it is not because you are too busy; but because you do not like [God], do not want [God] and you had better face the fact." [12]
But that still leaves us with the fact that the underdressed guest was bounced from the festivities. It wasn't hard for the king to recognize him: he was the one standing next to the punch bowl in a paisley jacket and striped pants. And the king threw him out into the darkness where he wept and gnashed his teeth. That was Matthew's metaphorical way of telling us what it is like to shut ourselves out of the party of the year to which we were invited. The banquet hall is "brilliantly lit, the music is playing, the sound of laughter is spilling out the windows, and we are in the outer darkness for lack of a wedding garment." [13] Of course we would weep. We would feel sorry for ourselves. It's not that we weren't invited. We were. Everybody was invited. The invitation was there by the grace of God. The problem was that we didn't put on the garment that God made available to us.
So what exactly is this garment? Where did the rest of the guests get theirs? Where do we get ours? St. Paul tells us in Galatians that we are all children of God "through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal 26-28, NIV). That is where we get the garment: we get it by willingly wrapping ourselves in the person of Jesus, and letting Him lead us every minute of every day. It is not a 'thing;' it is a way of being that we wear like a garment. As Paul told us in today's Epistle, "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you" (Phil 4:8-9, NIV).
Matthew believed that the end of time and Jesus' second coming were immanent. He was warning his people to be ready. St. Paul felt the same way. "The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light … Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom 13:11-14, NIV).
What we do right here every Sunday is a rehearsal of that heavenly banquet that we can and will enjoy with Christ by virtue of God's great love for us. Everyone is invited to join us at this banquet table, but, as we all know there are some who have other things to do. Some are on the golf course, some are on their farms, and others are at their places of business. We are here, but not necessarily because we are better than they are. Remember, when the slaves went to recruit the second batch of guests, they found both good and bad. For our own good and bad reasons, we accepted this particular invitation to be here this morning. Just because we're here doesn't mean we're counted among the "good." Are we here in our old spiritual clothes or are we wearing our mantle of Christ? Are we mouthing the words of the prayers without really praying? Will we belly up to the dinner table without giving ourselves to God? Have we refused to surrender our fears and resentments? Have we failed to honor and respect the dignity of every human being? These are our old selves, our old spiritual clothes.
God wants, so very much, for us to come to the banquet, but God wants more than warm bodies in the banquet hall. God wants us to be guests who understand our obligation to put on the garment God has willed for us. The garment God has made for us is not made of blue denim or fine silk. It is made of justice, forgiveness, peace, and loving kindness that God gave to us in the pattern of Jesus Christ. It is a garment that will never wear out, and that will always look absolutely gorgeous. And the best part is that it is free. It is absolutely free, looks terrific, and fits each one of us differently, yet perfectly. Put yours on now, and be ready when the invitation comes.
Miss Manners suggested to "Gentle Reader" that it was socially permissible for her to express her regret at not being able to attend the wedding celebration, and to deflect further inquiry by an expression of her good wishes. I wonder what Matthew would have advised.
O LORD, you are my God;
I will exalt you, I will praise your name;
for you have done wonderful things,
plans formed of old, faithful and sure.
For you have made the city a heap,
the fortified city a ruin;
the palace of aliens is a city no more,
it will never be rebuilt.
Therefore strong peoples will glorify you;
cities of ruthless nations will fear you.
For you have been a refuge to the poor,
a refuge to the needy in their distress,
a shelter from the rainstorm and a shade from the heat.
When the blast of the ruthless was like a winter rainstorm,
the noise of aliens like heat in a dry place,
you subdued the heat with the shade of clouds;
the song of the ruthless was stilled.
On 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.
And he will destroy on this mountain
the shroud that is cast over all peoples,
the sheet that is spread over all nations;
he 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.
It 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.
1
The LORD is my shepherd; *
I shall not be in want.
2
He makes me lie down in green pastures *
and leads me beside still waters.
3
He revives my soul *
and guides me along right pathways for his Name's sake.
4
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil;
*
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5
You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; *
you have anointed my head with oil,
and my cup is running over.
6
Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, *
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned for me, but had no opportunity to show it. Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Once more Jesus spoke to the people in parables, saying: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, 'Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.' But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves, 'The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.' Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?' And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' For many are called, but few are chosen."
Back To Year A Sermon Index Page
[1]
Miss Manners. "Popular Teacher's Best Wishes,
Attendance Enough at Weddings."
[2]
Fleming Rutledge. "How To Dress for
a Wedding." The Bible and the New York Times.
(
[3] Analysis of the triad is adapted from M. Eugene Boring. "The Gospel of Matthew." The New Interpreter's Bible, Vol VIII, Leander E. Keck, Senior Editor. (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1995) 416-418.
[4]
I am indebted to the hermeneutical work of The Rev. Barbara Brown
Taylor, David Buttrick, and the preaching of Fleming Rutledge in the preparation
of this sermon. See Barbara Brown
[5]
[6] From William F. Albright and C.S. Mann. "Matthew." The Anchor Bible. (New York, NY: Doubleday, 1971) 270.
[7] Rutledge, 211.
[8] Boring, 289.
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12] Buttrick, 160.
[13] Rutledge, 214.
This publication, ie. this page and the preceding document that has a link
to this page, are copyrighted. Except as permitted by the Copyright Act, no
part of it may in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or any other means be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or
be broadcast or transmitted without the prior permission of the publisher.