Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me...

Sermon      Proper 23 A     All Saints       10-18-20

Isaiah 25: 1 – 9      Psalm 23      Philippians 4: 1 – 9      Matthew 22: 1 – 14 

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me…….. 

In Jesus’s teachings, there are many descriptions of the Kingdom of God.  It is like a magnificent pearl or a treasure found in the field.   It is like leaving 99 sheep in the fold, then leaving to go find the 1 lost sheep.  It is like a master forgiving the enormous debts of his slave.  It is where Jesus goes to prepare a place for us.  It is the place of light where God’s will reigns purely and without shadow or tears. 

Today’s Gospel is an allegory – we make specific connections with each character or idea.  So, we are going on a little trip of exegesis – that is, we are going to disassemble these verses to separate these relationships, then push it all back together for the concept Jesus intends.  At least, the concept as best I can understand it.  (If you wish to open your Bibles, we are reading Matthew 22: 1 – 14.)  

The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.  If we read the king as God, then the Son spoken of is Jesus and this feast is a celebration for our salvation.  

[The king] sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the feast.  

For a large celebration of this type, the host would have sent out his slaves to invite the guests several days before the feast.  That is like our “Save the Date” notices preceding big weddings.  It signifies that this is a big deal and that you are important enough to us that we do not want you to miss the occasion.  In Jewish culture of the time, you accepted or declined at that point, and your acceptance was considered firm.  You knew that on the appointed day, the slaves would come again to escort you to the feast and seat you at the table with the other honored guests.  Obviously, this was a rich man’s feast with big food, big decorations, and paparazzi in the driveway.

To decline to come when the slave appeared to tell you all was ready was an unheard-of insult to the host.  Food and drink had been prepared and were ready to eat.  There was no freezer for leftovers.  If you did not show up, the food would spoil or would be fed to the cattle or sheep.  The telling clue here is that the guests made LIGHT of the invitation, offering excuses that were vague and careless.  The Host takes it personally and gets angry about it.  

Yes, God does get angry when we treat God as an afterthought.  If I have TIME, I will go to church or pray.  If it is easy, I will help her get some food.  If it is CONVENIENT, I will listen to his sorrow.  If I have a little money left over, I will GIVE to the church – or maybe United Way.  Remember – God will be God OF ALL or not at all.  

Notice that a group of the supposed guests band together and kill the slaves who came for them.  This was a severe breach of ancient laws and customs across cultures.  These slaves were the journalists of their day and they were not supposed to be killed.  Held hostage maybe, but not killed.  Reacting as an enraged king can, the Host sent troops that killed the rude guests and destroyed their property.  Remember – God is always patient, but God does not always withhold punishment nor does God always mitigate consequences of our bad actions.

Then the Host does an unusual thing.  The Host tells his slaves to go out in the surrounding town to invite others to the banquet.  The Host relies on his messengers to select the invitees.  Anyone they found regardless of who they were would be invited – not come tomorrow, but come now, dinner is served.

In Jesus’s time very wealthy party hosts would often send a special robe along with the slaves to drape over the shoulders of the guests.  We do the same thing when we offer party hats or flower corsages, or special credentials that allow admission to the event.  

Pausing here, as this is a parable about God’s Kingdom, we can see this as a fulfillment of the idea that we are clothed with the glory of Christ at our salvation.  We do not have clean garments of our own to present to God for our redemption.  We are accepted by God BECAUSE Jesus says so.  Jesus removes our sins and gives us a new, clean garment to wear before God.  We could never own enough bath soap to clean up our own hearts and minds, so Jesus does that for us.

Now – there is one man who has come to the feast for the King’s Son who is NOT wearing the appropriate wedding garment.  This is the person at the costume party without a costume, at the masked ball without a mask, or sitting in the stands with the opposing team’s band.  A wedding robe was offered but this guest refused it.  He came with no intention of anything but eating and leaving.  The celebration did not interest him.  He was only there for what he could GET, not what he could SHARE.  And, again, that was a serious offense against the host.  So, the Host had the man tied up and tossed him out.  We read this as hell, the man was tossed into hell, away from the Host, the Son and the other guests. The man’s indifference to the Host led to his separation from the Host and the party.

The terms of our salvation come up often in St. Paul’s writings.  Never do these terms say that WE are to CREATE our own salvation by our own hands – not by deeds, not by words, not by thoughts, not by anything that starts with us.  God CREATES our salvation in the sacrifice that Jesus made for us, and God OFFERS that salvation because GOD has decided to love us and to seek us out.  We have nothing to offer back but our hearts and our minds and our souls and our bodies.  God is the wealthy lover who marries the poor beloved for nothing other than love.

When we read the 23rd Psalm written by King David long before Jesus Christ is born, the action is done solely by God.  God LEADS, GOD REVIVES and GUIDES, GOD is WITH me, GOD SPREADS the table, GOD ANNOINTS my head and FILLS my cup.  I am not asked to check the oven, find the map, wash the dishes or carry out the trash.  I am BLESSED by GOD because GOD WANTS my love in return.  Not my intellectual assent.  God wants the love of my heart, mind, body and soul. 

Someone noted a few days ago that I use the word BLESSING very often.  I rarely leave a business or a friend or send a text without saying the word as I go.  So, what do I mean?  I mean the very same thing that I mean on Sundays when I bless us as we end our service and go our separate ways.  I mean to invite to God to love you and care for you, to bring peace and courage to your heart, to bring grace into all your relationships, and to send angels of goodness and mercy before you and following you every day of your life. 

I also invite myself to know and treat you as a beloved child of God, as dearly loved by God as I am loved.  I invite myself to forgiveness and grace in my relationship with you, however long or brief.  Jesus tells us that wherever 2 or 3 are gathered in the name of Jesus, Jesus will show up.  I am inviting Jesus to be with us and to love us through each other.  

If I want God’s will to be done on earth, God’s love to heal our divisions and God’s Holy Spirit to guide us into righteousness and peace, there is no other place to start.  Blessings – the Blessings of the High God of glory and grace – be with you now and forever.    

Amen