Good Morning Friends,
Today in our church service at Moorings, as many in our congregation prepare for the Ukrainian Orchestra and Choir performance later today at 4:00, we will sing as a Moorings choir Thomas Tallis’ A New Covenant. And I think that Tallis music melds well with the events in our interwoven lives as well as our lectionary selections. In our scripture we have the parable of the wedding and its implied vows and the promise of a new heart that God will give to those he has chosen. The story is not an easy read for despite what people say, it appears from this text that not everyone is a child of God. In fact, it should trouble us as to our own spiritual DNA and therein is the lesson. The story, like the world in which we live, is full of people whose hearts are not changed. Just look to the Middle East and the Ukraine and even closer to home. Perhaps our cultures like the idea of vows with the devil more than vows of commitment to love. Some are narcissistic and others just angry. Thankfully there is a party in our future relationship with God if we decide to love one another and focus on Christ as the center of life’s rejoicing as a witness to being disciples. So, Are We Ready To Celebrate A New Kind Of Feast With And For Jesus?
Scripture: 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. In any case, it was kind of you to share my distress. And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20 (NRSV)
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. For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain. The Moabites shall be trodden down in their place as straw is trodden down in a dung-pit.
Isaiah 25:6-10a (NRSV)
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. 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.”
Matthew 22:1-14 (NRSV)
Message: The parable of the Wedding Feast in today’s scripture in Matthew leans towards a Jewish audience and not a Gentile one. It is the hope for Jews to be completed and satisfied in Christ. There is a companion parable in Luke that offers a dinner to the Gentiles without the judgement. But the Matthew story is directed at the Jews and presents the story as the reason why Jesus went to the outcastes of the Jewish religious leaders with the Good News and offers perhaps as a token of joy for those who suffer. The judgement in the Matthew story is against those who refused to attend because they were caught up in other priorities instead of God’s. Think of the story of the Good Samaritan. The thing is that the conventional religion of the Sadducees and Pharisees was not harmless but an invitation to a dark tragedy… the destruction of Jerusalem. Jesus though all of this is concerned with life. Jesus sees the whole story from beginning to end. Of course, we do not know the full scope of history as God does. And indeed, God’s purpose may not be complete just yet and therefore it is inappropriate for us to judge before we see the end results. We must trust. So, when we hear people claim that God is impotent, we can argue that what lies behind the situation might even be God’s righteousness and mercy. Power is sometimes best played out with great patience. Friends, if redemption is the purpose, then a whole host of momentary unpleasantness may be necessary for such an end to be fulfilled. The ways of God will always seem odd if you do not see it through to the end. A cake half-baked is not much of a cake. Organized religion is different than living a Christ-like life and joining the party with Jesus. We need to consciously live each day in awareness and celebration of the Christian thing to do, in every circumstance, then and only then will we know whether Christianity is a good idea for both Jews and Gentiles. That is the nature of the marriage and the joy of the celebration. When Chesterton said,
“The problem with Christianity is not that it has been tried and found wanting but that it has not been tried”, I think what he meant is that the things that go on in the name of Christianity are not really Christianity in some sense. We are not really celebrating the feast Jesus has planned for us. We are not wearing our wedding clothes of love. Chesterton was giving a sideways insult towards the religious people of his day.
Somewhat like the stories we read in the scripture today and perhaps our own culture too. And this should guide our invitation to the table of grace in Christ.
And So, we are to live and be strengthened by the Spirit, but unfortunately, we have a corrupted operating system. We no longer need signs, wonders, and miracles to convince us as believers. But we do need to offer ourselves to God as living sacrifices, not dead ones. Those who want to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit will find time for spiritual practices. We are to be actively engaged in reading the Bible, prayer, solitude, and reflection. And we need to be part of a group of believers too in order to hear God speak through others. Here we will hopefully discover that God can open doors though sacrifice but really wants our love instead. Sometimes Christians may feel that they must drag people scratching and screaming and fighting into the banquet of life and provide them a wedding garment in addition. But God tells us to witness our own faith to draw people to decide for Christ and love freely and to keep growing and wanting to grow as we journey along the path of the Gospel. We are to rely on the Holy Spirit to open our hearts through scripture allowing God to enlighten and renew us. The Holy Spirit will put the right words on our lips if we are in the habit of studying God’s word. Be prepared to witness our faith to others and pray about what troubles us in the experience. We live in an interactive world. So, tune out the corrupted inputs that make for an environment that prompts a dissatisfaction with what God gives. Know the Holy Spirit. Obey the Holy Spirit, not the pride of the flesh. Know Jesus. Then in love for one another you will be able to respond more effectively to those who challenge Christ, and you will be able to celebrate life for and with Jesus.
Pray that we accept the invitation to the wedding feast. Pray we respect the King. Pray we clothe ourselves in Christ’s robes of righteousness. Pray we do not try to establish our own righteousness. Pray we realize that we cannot be saved by our work. Pray we have a wise fear of the Lord.
Pray we get to celebrate at a wedding feast that never ends. Pray we experience the abundance of the wedding feast. Pray we understand that there will never be lasting peace, joy, deliverance, life, blessing, happiness, purpose, direction, or victory until our selfish ways are laid on the altar and crucified. Pray we do not refuse and reject Jesus. Pray we respond to the life we have been given with love. Pray we really live in awareness of what the Christian thing to do really is.
Pray we celebrate with joy by savoring the life that we have, cultivating an attitude of gratitude. Pray we share the love and grace of God with others by our words and actions. Pray we realize that every day God invites us to be guests at the party. Pray we discover the special part we must play. Pray we find joy in God’s changing history and through God’s unchanging love. Pray we dress the part for the wedding feast.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 