Clothed in Christ

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

Jesus is always telling us what the kingdom of heaven is like to try to show us the way we are to live our lives. The kingdom of heaven is what we aspire for; it is the ultimate goal of a Christian’s life and can only be attained when we live life with the same attitude as Jesus Christ.

Some people think that means we should always be kind and never have a harsh word to say about anyone. They think that Jesus was all rainbows and lollipops and cotton candy sweetness, but a close reading of the scriptures shows us that Jesus was anything but sweet. Jesus was blunt and bold and he cut right to the heart of a matter with his parables about life and the kingdom of heaven.

In today’s passage we learn about a king whom had invited guests to attend his wedding, but the invited guests do not come. Worse, when the king sends more servants to try to cajole the guests to the celebration, they beat and kill the servants which enrages the king. The king retaliates by killing the murderers of his servants. So far, this does not sound like a sweet tale told by a sweet, gentle man. This is a parable meant to awaken us to our wicked ways and our often lazy attitude toward our obligations.

The king is God who throughout the centuries has often invited the Israelites to live better lives through a covenantal relationship with God. First with Abraham and then with Moses and then with David, God continually extends a hand out to Israel, inviting them to partake in a better life than the one they are living filled with envy, pride, and greed. However, the Israelites continue to ignore God and God’s invitation. They worship other gods. They hurt innocent people. They cheat each other and lie to their loved ones. They commit murder and adultery and blaspheme in the temple.

God does not give up on them. God continues to send prophets and invitations, but the people not only turn away, they kill the prophets and as Jesus is aware they will soon kill him too!

Jesus tells us in the parable that God does not give up. Instead, he punishes those who have killed his people and the king then has his servants go out into the streets and find anyone they can, both good and bad, and invite THEM to the wedding instead. There will be a celebration, the king is determined to see it happen.

This part of the parable sounds more like the Jesus we have come to expect! Obviously, the people that the servants are collecting are the gentiles. They’re us. The invitation to eternal life has now been extended not only to the Jews, but because of Jesus we are also given the invitation to come and participate in the wedding celebration. All people, both good and bad, are invited to make an appearance and help celebrate this occasion! This is the Jesus we understand and expect. The loving, kind, generous Jesus that we love to think we know so well. This is the God we’re comfortable with. The one that would do anything for us and even though we sometimes sin, our God loves us and forgives us and welcomes us back with open arms.

Oh.. wait. Jesus isn’t done speaking yet. Jesus isn’t done teaching us yet. As the king is walking through the banquet hall, he sees the many people celebrating and is pleased with them. The good and the bad are mixed together and in their wedding finery, no one would know that any of them were not there by their own merits, but instead are there because of a generous, unearned invitation by a kindly king and his dutiful servants.

The wedding finery that we Christians are supposed to put on is the term we often use called being clothed in Christ. When we are clothed in Christ, God does not see our sinfulness, but rather sees the blood Jesus shed for us and God loves us the way God loves Jesus. That is why it is so important for us to know who Jesus is because if we are going to be like Christ, then we must know Christ fully. We cannot be clothed in the wedding finery if we cannot find it. Or if we only know a part of Jesus, it would be like coming to the wedding with our dress on, but no shoes on our feet or coat on our backs.

Unfortunately, sometimes this is exactly what happens to us. We think we know who Jesus is and we think we know who God is and we’re so sure that we are getting into heaven, into that ultimate wedding feast. In our sureness, we overlook parts of our character and actions that do not match up with Jesus and we get into trouble. This is exactly what happens to the poor man the king sees as he walks through the banquet hall.

There he was, mingling with all the others decked out in their wedding finery, but this man had no such clothes on his body. He walked around as if it was a normal day or a normal party, and then the king noticed and asked him, “How did you get in here without the proper wedding clothes?” The man has no response for the king, he is literally speechless to be caught not wearing what he should be wearing and the king has the man thrown out of the celebration where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

The ending of this parable is harsh. It even seems a little cruel. Why would Jesus be telling us that THIS is what the Kingdom of Heaven is like?! How could God turn away that poor man for not wearing the proper clothes? Why would Jesus, our good and loving and kind Jesus, allow God to treat a person in such a cold, cruel manner?

Again, this parable is a warning and a wakeup call. Jesus reminds us that it is not enough to just say we are Christians, we must act like Christ. We must not treat others with disrespect and we must try to live up to our obligations such as working hard to spread the gospel and create peace in the world. The man who was thrown out was thrown out because he said he belonged, he said he was the king’s guest but could not even bother to put on nice clothes for the celebration.

We do that sometimes. I’m a Christian! We declare loudly for all to hear, but when our nephew who is constantly annoying us asks for advice, we pretend we’re too busy to listen. We say we love everyone, but that coworker that took the position you wanted is somehow always the butt of every joke you make and you’re the first person to spread the bad gossip about them. We say we’re supporters of the church, but when someone calls to ask us to be on Consistory or a committee, we tell them not this year or I don’t think I’m the right fit for it or I don’t have time.

Here’s the truth about Jesus: he sees us and he knows us. Jesus is kind and loving and generous, but Jesus is no pushover. He knows and understands that sometimes we get lazy and ambivalent about what it means to be a Christian. Jesus tells us these parables not to be cruel or cold, but to give us yet another opportunity to change our ways. To change before we become the man at the banquet, underdressed and about to be thrown out into the darkness. Jesus does not want that for any person. It’s why every person in this world is invited to the wedding, both good and bad. It’s why we get a million second chances because it is never too late to be clothed in Christ. It’s never too late to become the person God knows we can be.

Jesus loves us, and Jesus is our teacher. As every parent raising a child can attest, part of teaching is being strict even when it hurts because it helps us grow and it helps us change into better people who understand there are boundaries and rules to follow. There is no doubt in my mind that Jesus’ heart hurts that that man was thrown out of the wedding celebration. There is also no doubt in my mind that if we do not act the way we should, if we do not follow the commands of God to love one another that we will be the one thrown out for we will not be wearing the clothing of Christ.

That is a risk I’d rather not take.

Amen.