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Provision, Abundance, Celebration
SERMON - 10.15am, Emmanuel Church, Pokfulam, Hong Kong
Sunday 12th October 2008
Colleen Nichol
What a wonderful image we are given in this morning's readings … a lavish BANQUET thrown for all. It is a metaphor with a long history in Judeo-Christian thought. We heard about it in the ancient writings of the prophet Isaiah:"On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines …" (Is. 25:6a)
It makes our hearts soar with its message of PROVISION, ABUNDANCE, CELEBRATION. For the Hebrew people it was a resonant message of HOPE that one day God's Way would indeed prevail. Then centuries later Jesus calls forth this same evocative motif as he too strains for an image that will capture the essence of the Kingdom of God. He begins his parable with the tantalising proclamation: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son."(Mt. 22:2)
But there is a dark side to both of this morning's readings – a dark side with language that catches in my throat. One moment I am reading beautiful verses that I want to proclaim with gusto – … Isaiah's magnificent hymn:
"O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you, … for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful & sure." (Is. 25:1)
and Jesus' vivid description:
"Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered & everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet." (Mt. 22:4b)
But in the next breath, I am confronted with language of violence & exclusivity which grates on my ear & diminishes my voice to a cringing whisper. Isaiah talks of God reducing the great fortified city (& I assume its inhabitants) to a demolished heap & Jesus talks of the king 'destroying those murderers, burning their city … binding a wedding guest hand & foot & throwing him into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
I am uncomfortable with such a violent depiction of God … ill at ease because it seems to collide with Jesus' prevailing message of non-violence & inclusivity. And yet, it is because of my discomfort that I feel compelled to face head on these two disquieting pieces of Jesus' parable. What do we do with this disturbing tension? Perhaps we need to journey together into this potential mine-field aware that illumination may come not so much from answers finely formed but more from questions honestly/courageously asked.
To begin with, though, let us be clear about the purpose & nature of parables. They were intended not to definitively package the truth but rather to point the way toward a truth … not to be closed & confined, but open-ended & thought-provoking. Jesus certainly didn't advocate the actions taken by all his characters. Rather, he used metaphor & hyperbole to draw parallels, to shock people into action & to constantly "challenge his hearers to a new vision of God's rule that radically turned up-side down the common views". (fr. www.bibletexts.com). And perhaps most important of all, instead of espousing a prescriptive 'fait accompli' – like "You are irredeemably doomed!" – Jesus crafts his parables as descriptive warnings that are meant to bring about transformation for all – as if to say "Look at the possibilities for even you!"
The first question we need to ask then is, "To whom was this parable addressed? Who was the intended audience?" The verses immediately preceding and following Jesus' story reveal that he was talking directly to the chief priests & Pharisees. What "common view" of theirs was Jesus attempting to turn up-side down? Clearly, the chief priests & Pharisees, with their piety & religious discipline, assumed that they were an absolute 'shoe-in' to the Kingdom of God. They are in fact the first ones invited to the banquet. But some turn down the generous invitation through indifference, others with a skewed sense of priorities. Worst of all, some respond with acts of outright brutality mistreating & killing the messengers. In so doing, this last group has not only committed murder … they also have in effect tried to cut other people off from the king's invitation. Jesus' indictment is harsh: "You, chief priests and Pharisees, are guilty not only of killing God's prophets … but also of using your religious structures to cut people off from God & his message of hope."
Jesus is adamant that such actions cannot go unaddressed. In his stark description of the king sending out troops to destroy the murderers and their city, Jesus raises a searing implied question: If an earthly king will strike out in defence of the innocent, do you really think our just God will stand by and do nothing?? The enraged & very physical response of the king in the story speaks to God's timeless & complete intolerance of people perpetrating acts of abuse & oppression on others. I do not know how or even when God will deal with such people of the world, but Jesus' whole life & death & resurrection declare that the disadvantaged, the marginalized, the down-trodden, the victimized all have God standing squarely & ever on their side.
It is in fact the disadvantaged & the marginalized, the supposedly unclean & undeserving who are amongst those graciously invited into the community of the wedding banquet. The king reissues his extravagant invitation: "'Go therefore into the main streets & invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.' [The] slaves went out into the streets & gathered all whom they found, both good & bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests." (vs 9,10). What a wonderful image! People of all walks of life gathered around a king's table, not because they are of high social standing or impressive piety, but simply because they accepted the invitation! And once inside the wedding hall, whatever distinctive labels by which they had been known are stripped away … they are now "honoured wedding guests". This is indeed a joyous inclusive gathering.
But wait, even at this point in the story, a dark cloud looms. "But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, & he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?' And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand & foot, & throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' "(vs 11-13) Suddenly things don't sound so generous & inclusive. How can we possibly explain this harsh, exclusive, arbitrary-sounding encounter?
The story implies that the only legitimate way to get into the wedding hall, even after receiving the invitation, is to be wearing a wedding robe. I wonder if the donning of a wedding robe symbolizes in part our willingness to be draped with something of God's essence, of God's way of being in the world. I wonder, then, if this man so inappropriately attired represents someone who tries to sneak into God's kingdom "the back way" without an authentic desire to live the Kingdom life … someone who wants to reap the benefits without the commitment to the vision & decisive action required to really live the Kingdom life. Such an impostor, by his own devices, has not yet truly entered into the Kingdom of God. It is as if he is bound hand & foot to his old life … still floundering in the darkness, no closer than before to the light of God's Life.
Finally, what of the parable's devastating punch line? – "For many are called, but few are chosen." (vs 14) This sounds dangerously "predestinational" & exclusive. So let's look closely at how the guests ended up at the banquet: they allowed themselves to be chosen. God does not arbitrarily choose one person over another. We are chosen when we open ourselves up to God and choose to be chosen.
We are "chosen", not to the exclusion of others, but to join the many at the table. And then, a step further: Becoming one of God's "chosen" means recognizing that God longs to bestow on us God's love & very essence, like a wedding robe. When we allow ourselves to wear that robe – however undeserving of it we may feel – we fully allow ourselves to be chosen by God. Perhaps it is in the wearing of that metaphorical robe that we make the amazing statement of faith that we can be transformed into something new – something aligned with Kingdom living.
This is a daily & life-long process of hearing the call time and time again; of choosing to be chosen, time & time again; of being willing, time & time again to put on a new God-centred identity with a commitment to live into our calling …striving to live a life that upholds compassion, nurtures healing, thwarts injustice, welcomes & feasts with all who gather around the banquet table.
Amen
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