Sermon on Matthew 22.1-14

The Rev. Joseph Peters-Mathews

St. Joseph-St. John, Lakewood

Proper 23, A; Pentecost+19

Matthew 22.1-14

October 15, 2017

Whew.

The lectionary

            is not friendly to preachers.

Again.

Today we have a parable

            that Luke tells too.

But in today’s parable

            Matthew’s anger at the Jewish leaders

                        shines through even brighter than last week’s!

First, we need to set the stage

for this passage.

Like last week,

            we’re getting a snatch

                        of inside baseball.

The way the Jewish leaders

            ask Jesus very intense questions

                        was extremely culturally appropriate.

Rabbis arguing with one another

            is something we ourselves know.

Discernment happens in community,

            and sometimes the discernment sounds harsher

                        than it actually is.

In Matthew’s writing

            the Pharisees are already looking

                        for a way to have Jesus killed

                                    but they’re scared of the crowds.

As I pointed out a few weeks ago,

            these passages are from

late in Matthew’s Gospel.

The narrative is building

            to the Crucifixion

                        and then the Resurrection.

And we have Jesus

            telling stories.

Matthew — angry at the Jewish leaders —

            is recording those stories,

                        axes to grind and all.

This is a story that seems odd.

This is a story that seems full of hope.

This is a story that takes

a really weird turn at the end.

Jesus tells us about a king

            who is throwing a wedding banquet

                        but none of the invited guests want to come.

Some of the guests

            ignore the messengers

                        while others kill them.

(Matthew is pointing out

            the persecution early Jesus Jews faced

                        at the hands of some Jewish leaders.)

How does the king reply?

By sending an army

            to kill the guests

who refuse to come to the wedding

            and then burn their city down.

What kind of host does that?!

I think it’s safe to say

            that imagery of God

                        is a human projection,

                                    banked in imperial control and violence,

            more so than anything Jesus teaches

about himself or God’s reign.

After this king has killed the original guests,

            burned their cities

                        and probably salted the fields

so no one else can live there,

            he tells his slaves,

                        “Go round up anyone you can.

                        Those guys weren’t good enough anyway.”

Ultimate hospitality!

Anyone can come at all,

            good or bad.

Good or bad is even in the text,

            as long as there were people there

to celebrate the feast.

But wait!

There’s more!

The king who has

            killed all the original invitees,

            burned their city to the ground,

            and now invited anyone at all

He saw one person not dressed right.

The king asks the guy how he got in

            not in the right clothes,

                        and the guy is speechless.

What do you say to someone

            asking how you got in

                        when there was an open invitation?

No clothing strings attached?

In the guest’s speechlessness,

            the King has him bound

                        and thrown into the outer darkness,

“For many are called,

            but few are chosen.”

Y’all, this is a roller coaster!

And the Church over time

            decided and maintains

                        that it’s Good News!

In Luke’s version of this story,

            and Matthew and Luke

borrow a lot from one another,

            there’s no killing the invited folks.

There’s no burning their city

            or probably salting their fields.

There’s no throwing anyone out

            for not wearing the right clothes.

But we’re working with Matthew’s text.

One reading of

“Many are called, but few are chosen”

            is that no matter what we do,

                        God still handpicks people

                                    to see the ultimate banquet of Heaven.

That is not our tradition!

To find the Good News in this passage,

            I think we can look back to last week.

Last week Jesus said,

“The kingdom of God

will be taken away from you

and given to a people that

produces the fruits of the kingdom.”

Having Family Housing Network

with us for the last week —

                        even through community dinner

when our space was used completely! —

            is evidence of the fruits of the kingdom

            being produced among us.

How though

            are we answering Jesus’ call

                        to make disciples?

Not people who come to church,

            not people helped by our good deeds.

Disciples of Jesus Christ

            who confess the faith of Christ crucified,

proclaim his resurrection, and

share with us in his eternal priesthood.

Our Friday Fourth Day group

            and bible study afterward

                        are certainly part of that.

I’m looking forward to much sooner than later

            expanding our offerings

for adult Christian formation.

As Episcopalians we have our own Good News narrative.

I do! There are a host of reasons I’m Episcopalian,

            and I’ve been Southern Baptist

            and United Methodist!

I’m looking forward to inviting you

            to deepen our faith together

in weekly formation offerings

            and sharing the Good News of the Resurrected Christ

                        with those in your lives

                                    who need a friend,

                                    who need some Good News,

                                    who need a preview of heaven.

When that invitation is given,

            I hope you’ll answer it.

I hope you’ll not only answer it.

            but invite others to join you —

                        so that like in today’s parable,

our hall is full.