Few Are Chosen

Exodus 32: 1-14
Matthew 22: 1-14

This story is both alarming and comforting when we read it. Last week we discussed the vineyard owner and his two sons and how our actions and our words need to proclaim the same message. Jesus is now telling another story to the Pharisees and it is not just a look at today, but Jesus is telling them what to expect in the future. Jesus’ story of the wedding banquet is a reminder that some people who think they are invited to the Kingdom will be cast out into the darkness, but it also reassures us that the Lord will look in every corner and crevice of the world for those who do belong in the Kingdom of Heaven.

The King sends out an invitation to his guests and at first they ignore his invite, then when the second one comes, they violently kill the king’s slave which has the king retaliate by burning their village. Then the King sends out a third invitation, asking for the good and the bad alike to come to the wedding. This is what the Kingdom of Heaven is like according to Jesus. The expected guests are absent while the most unlikely ones are present.

Comparing God’s kingdom to that of a great banquet is one which would have been very familiar to the Jewish people. It draws on the practice of ancient kings who gave banquets for their subjects and on the image of God as the king who feeds God’s people. This feast is for the King’s son whom we recognize as Jesus. The king is God and the guests are all of us. The first group may be considered to be the Jewish people who violently killed John the Baptist, God’s first messenger and will then later kill Jesus. But isn’t it interesting that God doesn’t give up inviting people?  Instead, God, as the king in the story begins to invite everyone else both the bad and the good, to the wedding feast – and they all come.

Most human institutions have restrictions and limitations on who may be admitted in. For example, colleges require certain GPAs and scores on SATs as well as a certain amount of money to be paid. There are restaurants that require certain kinds of clothing if you want to eat there, some have even begun refusing children under the age of five to enter their premises. There is no organization or institution where everybody/anybody can freely come whether they are good or bad. Our denomination says proudly that we accept everyone no matter who they are or where they are in their spiritual journey, but I also know that on the congregational level, we don’t always make people feel as welcome as the words on our signs indicate that we should.

The great thing about Jesus is that his number one rule was to accept everyone who showed up to follow him. This is the good news of the gospel: Jesus Christ came to save sinners. Through this parable Jesus tells us that the only thing we need to be invited into the Kingdom of God is to have a transformed life. All of the wedding guests wore wedding clothes but one. That one man was cast out because of his lack of proper attire. To have a transformed life, we need to be clothed with Christ. Our wedding clothing is literally Jesus Christ.

For Jesus, the way of consolation is not around judgment, but through it. Sometimes to be able to live with ourselves, we must allow ourselves to be judged. The unrobed man at the banquet is approached by the King and the king says to him, “How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?” God approaches us in the same way and will ask us, “How did you get to these gates without having put on the clothing of Christ?” Our answer needs to be more than speechlessness which is all the man had to offer the king. He was cast out of the wedding and likewise, so will we if we have nothing to say.

Gospel living begins with an invitation. One we have all been given which is why we sit here in these pews today. The invitation requires a response from us. Just as when we are given an invitation to a wedding, we must RSVP and then as all of us women know, we immediately go searching for a wedding outfit. Weddings and celebrations require a response from us. One that the unrobed man did not give. He showed up expecting to be fed and looked after while having done nothing on his own.

Don’t get me wrong, grace is still a gift freely offered by Christ. However, the proper response to a gift is to show appreciation and thanksgiving. Many people are called by God, given the invitation that will set them free from the chains of sin. The ones that will be chosen to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven are the ones who are living in a new way, the ones who have responded to the invitation being offered – they are the ones who have put on the robe of Jesus Christ and are living transformed lives.

They have clothed themselves in compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience, as well as love which will bind all of these traits together in perfect harmony – that is the clothing of Christ. The outward effects of the gospel will be felt and seen on the inner heart.  

Within the Christian community there ones like in the parable whom refuse the invitation from God in one way or another. They want the safe, soft side of discipleship, but they shy away from the more difficult work of outreach and social justice. They want blessings from God but they cannot be found when it is time to share in the work of ministry. They can always be counted on to share in a free dinner at the church, but they are not willing to serve a meal in the hunger centre or hand out a bag of groceries at the food pantry. They want peace on earth, but they do not want to work toward that end. They want to end world hunger, but they do not want to miss a meal themselves or make a contribution to work toward that end.

When the king’s first invited guests refused his invitation, he did what many coaches on sports teams will do; he shifted the lineup that was on the field. When a coach believes his players have lost their energy or focus he will replace them with someone else. God has the authority to bench those who refuse to answer God’s invitation for service. The steady decline in the size and influence of the church in the US and in western Europe should be viewed in relationship to the steady increase in the growth and influence of the Latin American, Asian and African countries. If postmodern Westerners are unwilling to accept God’s invitation, then there are others God can and will invite into divine service. God is not dead, although many western theologians have been insisting so for the last forty years. It is only the zeal and passion in the church that seems to have died off.

The good news is that God is still out searching for wedding guests to invite to the banquet. This is the time where we make the decision on what we want to do. Are we Christians in word and deed who will follow Christ no matter where it leads us and how hard it gets, or are we those first wedding guests who would rather not be bothered by God if it requires hard work from us?

Only you can decide. The invitation is clear and it has been given to each and every one of you. Jesus loves you and has invited you into the Kingdom of God – are you willing to put on the robe of Christ and come inside?

 Amen.