Based on Matthew 22:1-14. Preached at First Presbyterian Church of Rolla. Due to an issue with the heat in the sanctuary, the service was held in the fellowship hall. The choir did not wear robes. So if you listen to the podcast, there is a difference in one illustration.
Let’s try to put ourselves back in first-century Judea. What was happening during Jesus’s life, and what was happening at the time when the Gospel attributed to Matthew was written? First and foremost, Judea was ruled by the Roman Empire, which impacted all aspects of civic and religious life.
While the Temple still stood, there was a singular focus for sacrificial offerings and festival days. However, there wasn’t a singular perspective on what God expected of the Jews. There were many sects and factions. We only know details about a few of them. In today’s passage, Jesus, who led a group that became one of those sects, is arguing with the chief priests, who believed that the most important aspect of Judaism was Temple worship and the sacrificial system. There were also Pharisees, whose perspective ultimately became rabbinical Judaism with its emphasis on understanding the Bible and applying its teachings. Other sects included the Sadducees, the Essenes, the Zealots, and the Sicarii, who probably instigated the revolt against Rome in 66 CE that led to the destruction of the Temple.
Speaking of the destruction of the Temple, that was the other source of turbulence in Judea and throughout the Jewish Diaspora. The Jews revolted in 66, and by 70 CE, Rome had conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple. The only thing left standing was the Western Wall, which is still a site of pilgrimage today.
After the destruction of the Temple, Jews of every sect were trying to figure out why it had happened and what they could do to remain faithful to God. The sacrificial system was defunct, so the chief priests were out of the picture. Two main sects emerged: Jesus’s followers and the Pharisees. So when you read that there was conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees, remember that the Gospel writers were probably highlighting and even exaggerating the differences to distinguish their beliefs from the rabbinical Judaism that was developing.
You know what, though? There are still divisions within God’s people. Jews have a diversity of beliefs. Some describe themselves, or are described by others, as orthodox, conservative, or reformed. Within Christianity, there are literally thousands of denominations. Many Christian denominations or congregations believe that they have exclusive ownership of the Truth, with a capital T.
There is a tension within Christianity also between unconditional grace and the call to righteous living. I can’t say for certain how we should resolve that tension. Today’s passage is one that is cited by those who believe in Hell as a place of eternal conscious torment. I believe in universal salvation, so this passage makes me a little bit uncomfortable. I think it’s mainly teaching us that actions have consequences. In Luke’s version of this parable, it ends when everyone comes into the party. But in Matthew’s version, someone found without a wedding robe is thrown out, into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. That sounds pretty bad.
But earlier in the parable, the king was primarily angry at those who would not show up. Remember, Jesus is in the middle of a confrontation with the chief priests and their supporters, so those are probably who he had in mind when he referred to those who would not show up to the wedding banquet. They were the consummate insiders. They spent all day, every day, worshipping God and working around the Temple. Yet Jesus said that they were like the guests who did not respond to the king’s invitation.
The people Jesus criticized were actually people like us. They were committed to worship. They believed that they understood God’s will. They were the establishment. They were the inheritors of God’s covenant with Abraham and with Moses. Yet Jesus said that they were like the guests who would not show up to the party.
So, in what way are we like them? How are we failing to respond to God’s invitation? How do we fall short of God’s expectations of us?
God is present among us today. When we gather together in worship, we know that God is here, too. But God doesn’t live in any one place. God didn’t live exclusively in the Temple in Jerusalem, and doesn’t live in this church alone. God is everywhere. God is at work in the world, binding up the brokenhearted, healing the wounded, comforting the afflicted.
Wherever God is present, the heavenly banquet is just waiting to break through. God’s kingdom is not just a place we go at the end of the age. It’s here, right here, wherever people are in need. Our calling is to see the potential for God’s kingdom to break through, and work towards its realization.
Too often, we see someone in need and fail to respond. Maybe they need financial help. Maybe they need material support—food, shelter, a ride to the store, help escaping an abusive situation, or whatever. Maybe they need emotional support, whether because of grief or anxiety or relationship issues. Or maybe they need help figuring out the next step in life. Or perhaps they are having a spiritual or existential crisis, wondering about their place in the universe, and need some perspective. Or perhaps they don’t need us to fix anything, just to be with them in their suffering.
Yet we often ignore these needs. We are too busy with our own lives and our own problems. Or perhaps we blame someone for being in a bad situation—it’s their own fault, so why should I help? That’s a regrettably common response to those who are homeless or struggling with addiction.
God desires that everyone should flourish and thrive. God’s will is that we would all be united into one people who support each other, who care for each other’s needs, who seek to serve one another. This is where the chief priests fell short, and where we still fall short today.
The chief priests were so focused on serving God through the sacrificial system and Temple activities that they ignored the needs of God’s people. They accommodated Roman rule and its exploitation of the population as long as they could continue governing the Temple. The other Jewish sects also fell short. The Essenes were a separatist community who helped each other but abandoned the rest of the world. The Pharisees erected barriers between “clean” and “unclean,” as a way of excluding those who they deemed unworthy of full inclusion in God’s family. And the Zealots sought a violent revolution that would expel the Roman occupiers, no matter the consequences.
Jesus’s message to these many sects was that all of them were in the wrong. They all missed his core teaching: that God desired unity, not division, in a flourishing community. God desires that we see Christ in each person, whether they are an insider or an outsider. We should see people as God sees them, looking on their heart and not their exterior attributes.
Now, let’s consider the last person we encounter in the parable, the man who is not wearing a wedding robe. Could I please ask the choir to stand up? … Look at them all. Each person is unique—different genders, different ages, different singing abilities, different heights. Yet all of them form one choir. Each person wears a robe that covers their exterior attributes. … OK, you can be seated now.
Just like the choir wears robes, we should each put on Christ. Each of us has some inherent identity deep within, something that makes us unique. But we also have these exterior characteristics. Tall or short, of different races, ethnicities, educational backgrounds, ages, genders, what have you. When we put on Christ, we keep our core identity as a child of God and act with the righteousness that comes as a citizen of God’s kingdom.
Last week, Susan talked about the Ten Commandments. As she reminded us, God delivered the Ten Commandments as a description of the society the Israelites should build in response to God’s grace poured out upon them. They are not a pre-condition of our membership in God’s family. Rather, they are a description of our response to the many gifts we have been given.
Woody Allen once said, “Ninety percent of success in life is just showing up.” God has poured out grace upon each of us, and upon all of us together as a community of believers. God asks in return that we show up wherever the heavenly banquet is taking place. And when we do, we should put on Christ’s righteousness and act to further God’s kingdom. We should seek the flourishing of each person that God loves, which is everyone. We should seek to serve one another. We should seek to support those who are doing God’s work, whether at the Mission or GRACE or the preschool or anywhere else in our community. And we should seek to erase those lines that separate us and prevent us from joining together in one body as God’s family. Amen.
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