Comfort and challenge
Psalm 23 Matthew 22: 1-14
What comfort there is in the 23rd Psalm. At our Zoom Bible Study last week someone said that the different verses and the different images of the Psalm hit home in different ways in different times. We can relax into the green pastures; imagine the cool still waters; know that, even in the darkest stretches of life, we are not alone; look forward to a feast where we will be able to look down on our enemies; and know that there is a place in God’s house where the cup will never run dry. It all sounds very reassuring, and is made even more comforting by the link to Jesus the Good Shepherd, brought out by the Godly Play story.
But Mathew’s version of the parable of the wedding banquet is a different kettle of fish: it is incredibly challenging.
The kingdom of heaven is like a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. When the original guests do not come, the slaves are sent out to gather people from the streets – good and bad, to fill the wedding hall.
On the surface, this is another story of welcome for all – of the God who brings everyone into the kingdom. But if we look again, there is something dark and difficult lurking in this story.
The guests who turn down the invitation don’t just send a polite RSVP to say they are too busy – they do not come, and when they are reminded and told ‘everything is ready’ they make light of the king’s preparations (pfft!) and turn away to other things, and some of them even seize the slaves who have brought the invitation, mistreat them and kill them.
There is total disdain for the invitation and a complete lack of respect for the king who is putting on this feast.
Refusing an invitation to a wedding banquet is not just failing to turn up to some food – it is a total snub on the king, his son, whose wedding this is, and the whole family.
The king is enraged, sends his troops to destroy the murderers and burns down their city. This is a nasty turn of events. Turning down the invitation was not just a social mistake – it has brought violence and destruction.
Attending or not attending a wedding is more than just a diary decision. Some of you know I was at a family wedding last weekend. The food was good, the wine was lovely – but the best thing was being part of the day – catching up with relatives, meeting some friends of the bride and groom, watching the children making new friends and enjoying playing together. It even made it worth facing the huge decision about what to wear!
And speaking of what to wear – the story has another turn. The wedding hall is filled with those who have not snubbed the invitation.. but when the king comes in, he notices someone not wearing a wedding robe – and has him bound hand and foot and thrown out.
We certainly pondered this part of the story in the Bible Study group. It may be that what we have here is two stories stuck together, but that doesn’t really mean we can just separate them and throw half away. The gospel writer thought the two halves belonged together, however Jesus told them, so we can’t just decide to throw away the bits we don’t like.
It seems unfair that someone who has just been brought in off the street should be expected to be dressed ready for a wedding – but all the other guests seem to be OK. It may be that they were all given a special wedding robe as they sat down to eat. Everyone else has take the time to put on the robe, or to make themselves look presentable, or to nip home & change.
But this one man has not bothered. It seems like another sign of disrespect for the king. Instead of responding to the invitation to the wedding banquet by making himself look the part, he is maybe just treating it as a free meal. Like the ones who refused the invitation outright, he is not responding to the king’s invitation with the right level of seriousness: or perhaps the right level of joy.
So which of the guests ‘get it right’? For whom is this parable good news?
All the ones who really appreciate the invitation. They may not be from the upper eschelon of society, they might not have been on the original list of invitees, but when they get the chance they say a glad ‘yes’ to the king’s invitation, happily put on the best clothes they can find or are offered, and share the joy of the wedding.
And why does Jesus tell the parable?
The kingdom of God is not just an interesting idea or something we might like to join – it is far more consequential than that. It is an invitation from God to be part of something important, joyful, serious. Jesus tells us not to fail to respond to our invitation – look out for the chances you might be missing to be part of God at work in our world. And it’s not just a personal invitation, it is something which can change societies. Tough story though it is, it might help us face tough situations.
The description of the parable that we had from Susan at Bible Study was that Jesus told this story in a society where Honour and Shame are vitally important. So to disrespect the king was to shame him; to accept the invitation was to show honour – which had to be reflected in how you are dressed and how you behave. When the first guests shame the king by killing the servants he has to defend his honour by seeking revenge on their cities.
I wonder if that sounds at all familiar to those of us who have been watching the news?
Hamas striking out against the oppression and shame of the closed border with Israel; Israel shamed by the attack from Hamas; the honour of Israel being defended by striking back at the people of Gaza. And in the middle of it all horrific scenes of innocent people getting caught up in the conflict.
What does God invite us to do – what is the invitation we might be missing? We are invited to be people who work for the kingdom – people who seek peace, people who work and pray for peace. Even in the midst of awful, seemingly intractable political turmoil, let’s not miss the invitation to be peace-makers.
At this communion table we are reminded that in Jesus, God gives us life by offering his own body in death. There is nothing that God’s love cannot do – no depths which it cannot reach by grace. So we are invited to eat.. to remember.. to share.. to be changed.. and to pray that the world might change and that peace might prevail.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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