PENTECOST 20

"Fit for The Feast"

(St. Matthew 22:1-14)

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

And so we have another parable today:

“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son.”

To start off here there are a few things you have to know about weddings in Jesus' day.  And if you don't understand this, you'll never understand the parable at all.

For starters in Jesus day....

• Weddings were run by the men, not the women.

• The main character at a wedding was not the bride but the groom.

• And if you have any doubt, you can tell that men were in charge because the most important thing about a wedding was having lots of barbecued meat and wine to drink. “Rich food full of marrow and aged wine well refined.”

The only thing missing was bacon, but remember the context is still the Old Testament and Jesus’ hasn’t yet died to fulfill the law of Moses.

So the story goes like this. A king throws a wedding party for his son. The kingdom’s A-list has received their invitations, but as the RSVP’s come in, it becomes painfully clear that they have other plans. The king even sends his servants out to go door to door and say, “The steaks are on, the prime rib is smoking, the wine is poured, the feast is ready, come to the feast.” And you would think that the combination of an invitation and a personal reminder, not to mention lots of free food and drink would cause people to drop whatever they were doing and come running to the thing. You would think?

But they paid no attention, either to the invitation or to the servants. One went off to his farm to work, another to his business. Some actually seized the servants and beat them up and even killed them. And these were the “invited” guests! Remember: These were the ones who had a place at the feast. VIP seating, the ones who get to go into the private club level suite.

The king had invited them; he was expecting them, he had prepared for them. And the only reason they wind up in outer darkness grinding their molars is that they just would not come to the feast. They just wouldn’t come. It’s not that the king would not have them or didn’t want them or never invited them. They just wouldn’t go.

Now imagine how it is from God’s perspective. This divine service is a party, prepared by the king. The feast is ready. The lamb is slain. The wine is poured. And then all the invited guests have more important things to do: brunch, football, changing light bulbs, mowing the lawn, clipping their toe nails, washing the car, an early tee time.

And when the king sends his servants out to track down the invited guests who are too busy and distracted to come, watch out. They can be a nasty bunch, kind of like the vinedressers last week. And all of this over free food and drink, free forgiveness, eternal life, salvation. You’d think this was a colonoscopy appointment or something.

Turns out you don’t want to get on the bad side of the king. He’s nice and generous when it comes to wedding feasts, but not so kind when you blow him off and beat up and kill his servants. So the king sends out his troops and destroys them and their city. Again, see what happens when men run a wedding? It turns into something resembling Braveheart.

You will notice a pattern in Jesus’ parables though. If you remember, the unforgiving servant is condemned even though he is forgiven at first. The invited guests become enemies even though they have a place at the table - at first. And it’s all their own fault. They refused the king’s goodness and so they get, guess what?  The king’s wrath. You see, if you turn away from the Gospel, and all that’s left is the Law with its attendant outer darkness and gnashing of teeth.

This is all rather unthinkable, of course, to refuse the invitation of the king, and then, in an act of sheer lunacy and sinful rage, to murder the kings servants. But this, it seems, is often the mark of the prophets: they were murdered by the people they were sent to.

And this happened finally in AD 70 when the army of Rome marched against Jerusalem and tore up the city and threw it down, not leaving one stone upon another. Jesus had warned the people often enough about it, but repentance is the only way to escape the fury of the king, and the people did not repent.

But the obstinate refusal of the guests to come to the wedding cannot stop the king and the joy of his son. So the parable continues, and here we see how God's wrath is always outdone by His mercy.

As Jesus tells the parable, the A-list, of course, is Israel and its religious leaders who were actively rejecting Jesus and in so doing forfeiting their seat at the feast. “He came to His own, but His own people did not receive Him.” As we heard last week, “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone and cornerstone.” This is about Jesus, the rejected Messiah of Israel, the Savior of the world. And as we will see, while His mercy is rejected, His rejection is actually our acceptance.

The king now has a bit of a dilemma. The A-listers are not only not coming to the feast, they are quite dead. The feast is still ready, though. Ya can’t waste good prime rib and wine, right? The only thing missing are guests. And so he sends out his servants again, this time out onto the roads and the alleyways, and he has them invite anyone and everyone, the good, the bad, the ugly, the reputable and the disreputable. The least, the lost, the lowly, the good as dead. Two-bit hookers, tax collectors, zealots, those who live in the glitzy areas like Chapparal Pines, and those "who live in a van down by the river."

The point? You name it. The feast is ready, come to the feast. And the wedding hall is full of guests. Of course, this crowd represents the church, the Israel of the end times, the New Testament era, a gathering of all sorts of the good, the bad, the ugly, sinners of every stripe.  In other words, us.

Now let’s pause the movie here for a second, because this is often lost on us. Let me ask you a question: At this point is there anyone who was, or is, not invited? Is there anyone who is left out? No. For all intents and purposes, the whole kingdom is invited. This king is no Calvinist – no such thing as “some but not other" – all his subjects were invited!

And do any of these guests “deserve” to be there? Not in the least! In fact, the A-listers, who again, are still quite dead, would probably have been mortified to be at the same party with this bunch of losers. This is nothing but sheer grace folks. – pure gift, nothing but Gospel. Unearned, unmerited. The worthy are found unworthy, the unworthy are declared worthy. Remember that.

But back to our movie. The king looks over the crowd, and what a crowd it is! They’re eating and drinking and having a great ol’ time. For all we know the German Polka music had busted out!

But then he sees a man off in the corner who’s not wearing a wedding suit. Remember that these people were just rounded up off the streets with no time to change, so we have to assume that the king is handing our Armani suits at the door. He's crazy good and gracious after all. And in fact, that is also precisely also what they did back then. You were provided what you needed to wear to a wedding feast. You didn’t need to think about it, you just needed to wear what you were given.

But for some reason, this man isn’t wearing the wedding suit given to him to wear.  

So the king confronts this guy. “Hey, buddy. (That’s what “friend” actually means.) How did you get in here without a suit?”

Now the translation we have says the man was “speechless.” But what it actually says is that the man was silent. Not necessarily the same thing. The word “speechless” implies that he was stunned at getting caught, kind of like a wedding crasher.

Silent, however, suggests that he refuses to even acknowledge the king’s presence much less talk to him. As in most of these parables, what should the man have said? That’s right, “I’m sorry. Please forgive me.” That always works in this kingdom. But instead he refuses to speak to the king AND THIS IS THE KEY, he insists on being at the feast on his own terms. Well, that’s an even worse idea than not wearing the clothes the king gave you in the first place.

So he winds up bound and unceremoniously tossed into outer darkness where he can spend an eternity weeping and gnashing his teeth and being proud of his own self-perceived worthiness.

And to this, Jesus adds the summary clincher: “For many are called, but few are chosen.” The called many are all who have heard the great good news: Christ has died, Christ has risen. The feast is ready. Come to the feast. The chosen few are those who in faith are gathered at the marriage Supper of the Lamb in His kingdom, who are clothed with the wedding garment of His righteousness in Holy Baptism.  This is you.

You see, to be included is by God’s grace, and isHis gift to you. But to be excluded is entirely your doing, your refusal, your turning away. He will compel you to come, He will lavish His gifts upon you, He will put the wedding suit on you Himself, seat you at His table and even feed you. But he won’t force you to stay. The guests at this table are free, they are not imprisoned.

Luther once quipped that the doors of the church swing in both directions so that those who wish to come to the feast may come, and those who wish to leave can leave. But be careful. The alternative to the wedding feast is outer darkness, and weeping, and gnashing of teeth. Of course, the sad thing is that it’s so entirely unnecessary because the King has provided absolutely everything.

Dear loved ones, remember that at this Feast, in the kingdom of heaven, you are not clothed in your good works, but in His righteousness, in garments made clean by being dipped in His blood. In other words, you are dressed appropriately because you have faith and you trust in His Works, and in His promises.

What is forbidden here is not good works, but trusting in good works, thinking that your good works are good because of your own efforts, or that God is impressed with your goodness, that you can come on the basis of your own garment instead of the one He provides everything, from head to toe and body and soul.

No! We are justified and made righteous and perfect through faith alone. Thanks be to God that that, and that alone, is what makes you fit for the feast.... 

In the name of Jesus. Amen.