October 12, 2014 Matthew 22: 1-14 Pastor Betty Kelsey Creekside COB Excuses, Excuses! Excuses, excuses! You ve heard the gamut of them, always blaming someone or something else for their mistake. Adam and Eve made excuses. Moses and Aaron made excuses. The disciples made excuses. So have you and I, right? The Metropolitan Insurance Company received some unusual explanations for accidents from its automobile policyholders, like these. As I reached an intersection, a hedge sprang up, obscuring my vision. The guy was all over the road. I had to swerve a number of times before I hit him. The indirect cause of this accident was a little guy in a small car with a big mouth. Or these written by students to excuse their absences, misspellings and all: Dear school: Please ackuse John for bring absent on Jan. 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33. My son is under the doctors care and should not take P.E. Please execute him. Please excuse Joyce from P.E. for a few days. Yesterday she fell out of a tree and misplaced her hip. An excuse sometimes ends up being the honest truth. Ezekiel and Daniel Webster s father told them to stack a pile of wood while he was in town on business. When he returned, the wood hadn t been touched. "What have you been doing, Ezekiel?" he asked. "Nothing, sir." "Well, Daniel, what have you been doing?" "Helping Zeke, sir." 1 1 Today in the Word, Sept. 19, 1992 1
There was this great wedding banquet. You heard the story from three viewpoints--from the Gospel of Thomas, from Luke and from Matthew. The gospels were written with different purposes and in different decades. The Gospel of Thomas (which never made it into the N.T. canon), is a list of the sayings of Jesus, with an occasional story thrown in. It dates back to the very beginnings of the Christian era, possibly the earliest of the gospels. The manuscript was lost, then discovered three centuries later during an archaeological dig in the Egyptian desert. The Gospel of Luke was written by a Gentile for Gentiles between 60 and 90 A.D. And the Gospel of Matthew was likely written between 80-100 A.D. Written from a Jewish perspective, its purpose was to show Jesus as the fulfillment of prophecy, the Messiah of Israel. Thomas version of the banquet sounds more like a casual invitation - - like calling up a friend to say, "I've made a big pot of soup. Why don't you come over for dinner?" The invited guests had previous commitments and couldn t come. But the master of the house isn t offended. When his friends can't come, he simply invites others so the food doesn't go to waste. He just wants to share his bounty. In Luke s gospel, the guests had been invited. When the servant goes out to tell them to come to the banquet, they give feeble excuses. "I bought a piece of property and must go look at it." Really? You couldn't go tomorrow? Having accepted the invitation, they rudely begged off when the banquet is ready. So we've moved the tension up a notch. 2 Luke is careful to say that when the original guests refused, the servant was sent out into the country, where the Gentiles lived, making it clear that Luke is talking about non-jews. The Gospel of Matthew gets much more complicated. The parable begins, The Kingdom of God is like king who threw a wedding banquet for his son. Believers Church Commentary notes, The kingdom in this story is God s kingdom, and the story told amounts to 2 Karen L. Oberst, The Parable of the Banquet (Aug 21, 2011) sermon 2
a historical allegory on God s offer of life in the kingdom. The wedding feast symbolizes the joy and festivity of the age to come. 3 So we have a parable about the King (God) holding a wedding feast for his son (Jesus). The invited guests (Jews) reject the invitation, and even get physical with the servants (prophets) who bring the message. Angry at the insolence of the invited guests, the host retaliates in kind, and then sends his servants out into the streets to invite alternate guests (Gentiles), both good and bad. The banquet hall must be filled; the food is hot and waiting. There is a second parable tacked on to the wedding banquet story. After the assortment of guests are settled at the table, the King enters and sees one man without proper wedding clothes. In anger, he throws him out. Commentator Colin Randall notes, Jesus is using colorful exaggeration to make a serious point. Responding to Jesus invitation matters. 4 It is tempting to try to reason out all the details of a parable -- this means this, and that means that. While, in light of Matthew s purpose, it likely did relate to the God-Israel relationship, but it doesn t work out well in most of the other parables. I want to make some overall observations about the parables, and what each gospel writer wanted to emphasize. I found the following insights in a sermon called The Inviting God 5 -- who invites us, what is the invitation, and who are the invitees? Who invites us? God is preparing a banquet, and he s excited. The calf has been fattened, slaughtered and roasted. The wine is aged, the tables set, the DJ and band have been hired. God can t wait to get the invitations out. We are invited to the dance, to be a part of what God is doing. This is the God we love, worship and serve. God is always inviting. Every day is an invitation. Every interruption is an invitation. What exactly is God inviting us to? 3 Believers Church Commentary: Matthew by Richard B. Gardner. Herald Press, p. 322. 4 Colin Randall, The Parable of the Wedding Banquet. St. Bartholomews, 2011. 5 Unknown, The Inviting God (sermon) 3
Scripture is full of invitations from God. Matthew 28 invites us to service, John 10 to abundant life, Psalm 100 to worship, John 3:16 to eternal life, Matthew 11 to experience rest, Philippians 4 to pray, Jeremiah 33 to turn to God in times of need. That s only the tip of the iceberg. Who is Invited? The invitation goes out to everyone -- come to the party! There is no need to make judgments about who is worthy or unworthy, because there s a wideness in God s mercy that includes everyone, regardless of background, bank account, education, race or gender. Yet the guests cannot expect to come to the party dressed in casual attire. This refers to the fellow who was bounced from the party because he didn t read the dress code. The man wore his own clothes when the host required formal wedding garments, available to all guests at the door. The garments refer to being clothed in righteousness. Paul desired to be found in Christ, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through... the righteousness of God based on faith (Philippians 3:9). Just a curious side note here. A few years ago a nationwide poll asked, What word or phrase do you most like to hear? The first thing people said was I love you. The second was you are forgiven. And the third was supper is ready. Going back to the three gospels. The invitation in the Gospel of Thomas is relational -- the host says, come and share a meal with me. Sincere warmth, no malice, open to anyone who says yes. The invitation in Luke s version is inclusionary. The ultimate guests are the Gentiles, those not yet accepted into the fold by the Jews. The invitation in Matthew is to become part of the kingdom of God. That requires wearing the coat of righteousness, which comes through repentance and a change of heart and allegiance. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. 4
To summarize, God invites us to a relationship. God s invitation is for everyone. God wants us to be part of God s mission in the world. The last thing we want to do is to treat God s invitation with indifference or hostility. We want to RSVP in the most joyous terms. Yes, God, I accept your invitation. Party of one (1). Let s pray: Merciful Savior, the parable of the wedding banquet reminds us of your ever-gracious invitation to be part of your family, to receive the gift of your salvation, to respond to your call to follow you. We confess that far too often we act like ungrateful guests. We allow other priorities to crowd you out. Our addiction to busyness leaves us no time to celebrate with you. We erect other gods that require our attention and loyalty. In our vain attempts to look "successful" we polish the veneer of our lives without attending to our deepest needs and longings, including our need and longing for you. Forgive us, we pray, and restore us to health and wholeness. Amen. 5