28 OTA.11; Isa 25:6-10; Phil 4:12-26; Matthew 22:1-14; Come to the Feast!
Several years ago in Atlanta Georgia, there was a one of those “power” wedding scheduled in a suburban church. A wealthy debutante was engaged to marry an equally wealthy businessman, and a lavish reception was to follow. Just hours before the wedding, the groom got cold feet; he left his bride – literally – standing alone at the altar. The wedding, of course, was cancelled. But what would they do with all that food? It had already been paid for & prepared. The Atlanta Constitution reported that buses were sent to the Salvation Army & several downtown shelters, and they brought street people to the country club, where they sampled fresh crab & lobster, and steamed baby carrots well into the night. (Adapted; esermons.com/ Molin, Terrible Parable
Jesus said,
“The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. When many invited guests failed to come, he invited substitute guests… “Invite whomever you find.”
Like all of Jesus’ parables, this parable has two levels of meaning. First, there is the literal meaning. It’s the story: a king holds a feast for his son. When many invited guests don’t come, he replaces them with substitute guests. The second level is the intended meaning. A study of the parable shows the king stands for God & the feast - God’s Kingdom in its final form in heaven; the invited guests, God’s Chosen People; and the substitute guests, the Gentiles. And so the second level of meaning shows that God’s Kingdom is now open to all people, not just the chosen People.
No one is excluded, not even the Gentiles.
But then comes an unexpected twist … the improperly dressed guest
has come to the lavish banquet of Isaiah, the wedding feast of Jesus:
“The king said to him,
‘My friend how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?...”
Let’s explore….
Don’t touch the stove; it will burn your fingers!” “Don’t cross the street until you look both ways.” Just as our parents gave us warnings to keep us safe, Jesus is giving us a warning in today’s Gospel. He is warning us about the sad consequences people will face if they arrive at heaven’s gate without the mysterious … “Wedding garment”.
What is this wedding garment? The Book of Revelation gives us a clue. It describes the redeemed as wearing robes that have been made white “in the blood of the Lamb”. It tells us that those who have been baptized
2 into Christ, those who have immersed themselves in the gospel message of Jesus’ death & resurrection will know the privilege of joining the Lord at his final, glorious banquet.
Now it’s one thing to receive this wedding garment at baptism, but it’s another thing to keep that garment clean and pure throughout our lives. Each and every day, God wants us to put on our wedding garment the holy character of Christ - and let it shape the way we think and act.
How do we do that?
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., once said: “If you want to be important that’s wonderful if you want to be great that’s wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That’s you new definition of greatness-it means that everybody can be great because everybody can serve. You don’t have to know about Plato & Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know the second law of thermodynamics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love….”
My friends, love is the wedding garment of the Lamb.
The great feast of heaven spoken of by Isaiah, the parable of Jesus has only one requirement…love one another as I have loved you.
Today in the bulletin you will see a report on our donations at work in Haiti.
That woman in Atlanta whose wedding disaster could have ended in waste & meaninglessness … became an inspired occasion to practice, for her, God’s persistent invitation to love those around us.
Come to this feast.
Paul knew only to well that our God provides us endless opportunities to love, to hand craft our wedding garment.
That wedding garment of righteousness - a special & beautiful robe is made of such qualities as kindness, justice, humility, love, and compassion.
Today, in our hearing, we are all invited to share in the banquet and to wear the wedding robe. A simple concept? Yes.
Easy? Not always.
We are all called & chosen.
At this very Liturgy of the Lamb, we can reach out to those in need, we can accept the treasured invitation & we can celebrate this feast with joy.
Come to the feast!
Several years ago in Atlanta Georgia, there was a one of those “power” wedding scheduled in a suburban church. A wealthy debutante was engaged to marry an equally wealthy businessman, and a lavish reception was to follow. Just hours before the wedding, the groom got cold feet; he left his bride – literally – standing alone at the altar. The wedding, of course, was cancelled. But what would they do with all that food? It had already been paid for & prepared. The Atlanta Constitution reported that buses were sent to the Salvation Army & several downtown shelters, and they brought street people to the country club, where they sampled fresh crab & lobster, and steamed baby carrots well into the night. (Adapted; esermons.com/ Molin, Terrible Parable
Jesus said,
“The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. When many invited guests failed to come, he invited substitute guests… “Invite whomever you find.”
Like all of Jesus’ parables, this parable has two levels of meaning. First, there is the literal meaning. It’s the story: a king holds a feast for his son. When many invited guests don’t come, he replaces them with substitute guests. The second level is the intended meaning. A study of the parable shows the king stands for God & the feast - God’s Kingdom in its final form in heaven; the invited guests, God’s Chosen People; and the substitute guests, the Gentiles. And so the second level of meaning shows that God’s Kingdom is now open to all people, not just the chosen People.
No one is excluded, not even the Gentiles.
But then comes an unexpected twist … the improperly dressed guest
has come to the lavish banquet of Isaiah, the wedding feast of Jesus:
“The king said to him,
‘My friend how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?...”
Let’s explore….
Don’t touch the stove; it will burn your fingers!” “Don’t cross the street until you look both ways.” Just as our parents gave us warnings to keep us safe, Jesus is giving us a warning in today’s Gospel. He is warning us about the sad consequences people will face if they arrive at heaven’s gate without the mysterious … “Wedding garment”.
What is this wedding garment? The Book of Revelation gives us a clue. It describes the redeemed as wearing robes that have been made white “in the blood of the Lamb”. It tells us that those who have been baptized
2 into Christ, those who have immersed themselves in the gospel message of Jesus’ death & resurrection will know the privilege of joining the Lord at his final, glorious banquet.
Now it’s one thing to receive this wedding garment at baptism, but it’s another thing to keep that garment clean and pure throughout our lives. Each and every day, God wants us to put on our wedding garment the holy character of Christ - and let it shape the way we think and act.
How do we do that?
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., once said: “If you want to be important that’s wonderful if you want to be great that’s wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That’s you new definition of greatness-it means that everybody can be great because everybody can serve. You don’t have to know about Plato & Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know the second law of thermodynamics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love….”
My friends, love is the wedding garment of the Lamb.
The great feast of heaven spoken of by Isaiah, the parable of Jesus has only one requirement…love one another as I have loved you.
Today in the bulletin you will see a report on our donations at work in Haiti.
That woman in Atlanta whose wedding disaster could have ended in waste & meaninglessness … became an inspired occasion to practice, for her, God’s persistent invitation to love those around us.
Come to this feast.
Paul knew only to well that our God provides us endless opportunities to love, to hand craft our wedding garment.
That wedding garment of righteousness - a special & beautiful robe is made of such qualities as kindness, justice, humility, love, and compassion.
My friends, St. John of the Cross once said this:
In the evening of our life, we shall be judged by love.
-St. John of the Cross, Spanish mystic, Carmelite friar & priest of Avila (1542-1591).
Today, in our hearing, we are all invited to share in the banquet and to wear the wedding robe. A simple concept? Yes.
Easy? Not always.
We are all called & chosen.
At this very Liturgy of the Lamb, we can reach out to those in need, we can accept the treasured invitation & we can celebrate this feast with joy.
Come to the feast!