Matthew 22: 1-14
On the face of it the gospel story is about a king who was giving a wedding banquet for his son. Well, not that long ago, we were all caught up with the elaborate pomp and ceremony for William and Kate’s royal wedding, the entire service of which was beamed across the world. However, the reception itself was private and only very important guests and close family members could attend.
Jesus spoke to the chief priests and the Pharisees in a parable. He said, the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who was giving a wedding banquet for his son so of course, elaborate invitations were sent to members of the royal families and all the important guests. But here’s the thing! All those who were sent these invitations turned them down. The excuse was they were far too busy to attend! I wonder does that ring any bells with us? Again the king sends out invitations imploring his invited guests to attend. This time they respond by killing the king’s messengers. No wonder he is enraged! Imagine the king’s fury and disappointment at being snubbed in this way. I wonder how many of you here this morning have experienced disappointment when, having reached out to your neighbours and friends, inviting them to come to church, discover how few respond. Perhaps that’s why we find this morning’s story so familiar.
We are told the king then invites everyone out on the streets and in the market places. The dinning hall is filled with guests but there is a problem. It just so happens that as the king is `mixing and mingling with the guests, he sees a man who is not wearing the appropriate wedding attire. He is wearing an old, perhaps tattered robe, obviously the gear he wore every day in everyday life, his street clothes. It would be a bit like you or I going to friend’s place for dinner in our old gardening clothes. “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?” the king asks.
Perhaps we’d better back up here a little. Commentators have suggested that special wedding clothes may have been provided at the door by the host. This could possibly reflect a tradition in Jesus’ time. Providing the guests with a wedding garment would have been particularly important in Jesus’ parable because many of the guests were drawn from common walks of life and their clothing may possibly have been dirty or ragged. So, in order to maintain the dignity of the occasion these special garments would have been available at no cost. This could also symbolise putting on the robe of Christ. To reject them would be to reject and insult the host’s generosity. We are told the man was speechless. In other words he offered no form of apology or explanation for his rudeness, so the king had him bound and tossed into a place called outer darkness. Jesus concludes the parable with these solemn words: “Many are called, but few are chosen.” On the face of it the story sounds rather harsh, and it is. However, a parable is a story that invites us to dig a little deeper in order to discover its underlying truth.
Firstly, at the king’s reception everyone is invited. Sure, at first, it is an exclusive party. Only the King’s friends and associates are invited. The bluebloods of society and they turn down the invitation. They snubbed the king. Oddly enough, not only do they snub the king but they kill the king’s servants who were sent to deliver the invitation. Obviously, you cannot miss the point that Jesus is speaking about the Jews here, God’s chosen people. Israel had a chequered history of rejecting God’s messengers and stoning its prophets and this wouldn’t have been lost on his listeners.
So the king now opens up the guest list. Go out to the highways and the byways and tell everyone to come. This is where Jesus so often infuriated the Jewish leadership. He openly invited everyone who would come. Jesus was, in effect saying, the nation of Israel, God’s chosen people, and therefore the Jewish leadership, no longer has exclusive rights to the kingdom of God. I other words, the sign above the door no longer reads, “Members Only.”
So what does this all mean for us today? Firstly, I believe, that Jesus still invites people to the marriage feast. That marriage feast is the life of following Christ, the experience of committing your life to God, of being saved from the power of sin, the experience of grace, and the experience of being born anew. The invitation is still being asked and the power of God to change people is still just as operative and available today as it was when Jesus told this parable. God is still in the business of converting, changing and calling people to leave what they are doing and to follow him and I believe the invitation to the marriage feast needs to be heard today as much as it did 2,000 years ago.
Secondly, I believe there are still those who will not come, who have not accepted the invitation, and who are as dismissive of the invitation just as our reading suggests. There may be some in our midst today who are too busy with other interests and distractions. They don’t take it seriously. They put off accepting the invitation. There are all sorts of reasons, but the fact is, some have not come to the marriage feast, or they may come but without wearing a wedding garment. In other words, they may come to church. They may even pray, or even be part of the rosters but they are not part of the marriage feast. Why? Because they have not accepted the invitation to come and follow Jesus! They have not experienced what it means to be saved by grace, to believe in Jesus, to be born again. They may know things in their heads but there has been no commitment of their heart.
Thirdly, and very importantly, the message is very clear. If you reject the invitation long enough, there will come a time when it is too late. In this parable, the king sent out his servants to call those who were invited. Some would not come. He sent others to plead with them to come. Amazingly, the king didn’t give up after the initial rejection. He gave them another chance just like he does for us today. Perhaps a new voice, a different approach would convince them. However, when they continually rejected the invitation, the king became angry and destroyed the whole city and turned to others with the invitation. To continually reject God’s invitation to follow Jesus, I believe, is very risky and even dangerous, because there will come a time when it is too late. And let’s face it, none of us know when that time will be.
Jesus makes it clear that those without a wedding garment will be thrown out. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. He ends by saying this: “Many are called but few are chosen.” Only those who accept the invitation are chosen. What I’m saying is this; it’s urgent business! It’s not something to be put off, for be very certain if you reject the invitation, you run the risk of bringing upon yourself the judgement of God. I don’t know what form that judgement will take, but it will come. If you believe in the promise of God for your salvation, you can also believe that he will keep his promise about judgement.
The invitation to the marriage feast is God’s invitation to follow Jesus. It is God saying I want to show you my love, my plan for all people and all creation to live in harmony. I want to show you a different way to wholeness, to health, to meaning and purpose.
In conclusion, I want to finish with a story. There was a doctor who one night received a call late at night to say he was urgently needed at the small country hospital. Someone was seriously ill and without a doctor’s attention death was certain. The doctor quickly dressed and took off in his car. At the traffic lights a man jumped into his car, pulled out a gun and ordered the doctor out of the car. “I need your car. Get out,” was all he said. Knowing they were relying on him at the hospital, the doctor managed to hail a taxi. When he finally arrived the nurse met him and told him the woman in question had just died. “You are too late doctor, but would you please have a word with the husband. He is weeping uncontrollably in the family lounge.” When the doctor entered the lounge he found the husband in the corner. To his great surprise he discovered that the husband was the very man who earlier that evening had pulled the gun on him because he needed the car.
Just like that man in the story we sometimes we push out of our lives the very person who can help us. Think carefully about what invitation you accept. Yes, the world’s invitation may appear very glamorous and enticing but its promises are fleeting, and false and will eventually lead to misery and disillusionment. God’s invitation, on the other hand, is entirely trustworthy and will last for all eternity.
