Loving God, you invite us to come in so many different ways and wait with open arms to receive us.  Help us to be able to hear your voice in the midst of the clamour of this world, and continue to draw us to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    Are any of you who are here today busy people?...  What are the kinds of things that keep you busy?...  There are all kinds of different things that vie for our attention, right? – and often decisions to be made about, “Which thing will I go to?” when several events are happening at the same time.  Some weeks, it can be difficult to find a moment’s peace.  And then there is God, who also wants our attention, and who extends an open invitation for us to come.  Are we too busy to accept?  This is just one of the questions that is raised by the parable that we have heard today.  

    In the case of this particular parable, it is hard to get at the questions that really are addressed to us.  One of the more traditional interpretations treats the whole parable as an allegory, where the king is God, and the wedding banquet is for Jesus, and the first ones invited were the Jews, and the ones they killed were the prophets, and the ones brought in from the streets are the Gentiles, and then the end is the final judgment.  However, I’m not convinced.

    For one thing, does God really act like the king in this parable?  Does God really invite only those who are worthy to come into the kingdom?  Does God overreact when his honour has been affronted, destroying cities and tossing out all those who don’t show proper respect -- kind of like those “honour killings” that we sometimes hear about?  There is a lot of over-the-top violence in this parable, as well as some ridiculous and absolutely shocking behaviour.

    Just to back up for a moment, it is helpful to keep in mind the context of this parable.  Jesus has been telling some parables that all seem to be directed at the Pharisees and the chief priests.  It seems like there is almost some frustration there on the part of Jesus that these religious leaders can’t seem to see what God is doing right in front of their eyes.  And so once again he tells a parable that would have been absolutely shocking to them in order to try to get their attention.

    It was unthinkable in Middle Eastern culture that nobles and community leaders invited to the wedding of the king’s son would take that invitation so lightly.  Their response - or lack thereof - constitutes open revolt and the unraveling of their society.  And yet, here is Jesus, inviting people to participate in the kingdom of heaven – and particularly the religious leaders are ignoring the invitation and making light of it.  And so others will be invited to come in: tax collectors, sinners, Gentiles – anybody who will listen.

    The parable mentions both good and bad being brought into the feast as wedding guests.  However, one is mentioned in particular who is not wearing a wedding robe.  While many people have wondered about this over the years, ultimately it is about a lack of respect.  To show up at a wedding without wedding clothes is simply disrespectful.  And so, more is required than simply showing up.  We are also expected to show respect for our host.

    One of the things to do in studying the parables is to compare the different versions that are available.  In the case of this parable, it is also found in the Gospel of Luke and in the Gospel of Thomas, which is not part of the New Testament.  In each case, the basic story is the same, but with differences in the details.  In Luke, they all give excuses and then the blind and the lame are invited to come in.  In Thomas, the ones who refuse to come are all too busy conducting business and making money, and so he makes it a condemnation of merchants and buyers.

    However, the one thing that all three have in common is the invitation to come to a banquet or dinner, and then ignoring the invitation.  Although in Matthew no actual excuses are given, the implication is that they’re all busy with other things that they deem to be more important.  Whether we want to equate God with the king in the parable or not, this gospel does invite us to think about how we respond to God’s invitations to us.  Do we deem everything else to be more important?  Are we so occupied with other things that we fail to see what God is doing right in front of us?

    When we think in terms of God’s invitations to us, a number of things come to mind.  Perhaps the number one invitation would be to come to Jesus and to believe in him.  Then there is the invitation to “come and see,” and to come to the table.  There is the invitation to come and be baptized, and the invitation to come and worship.  These are not the invitations of a king who demands our presence, but the invitations of a loving God who desires to give us life and salvation.

    And so, in spite of all of the different things you might have that vie for your attention, consider making space for God during this Lenten season.  Sometimes extra Lenten devotions help.  Sometimes pausing for mid-week worship helps.  Sometimes setting aside something that isn’t as important as we first thought and replacing it with prayer time helps.  Whatever it is that works for you, don’t allow yourself to miss what God is doing in your life, as well as what God is waiting to do!

    It is so easy for us to be busy with so many things.  Yet, God waits for us with open arms.  May we find our rest in him, as well as experiencing the gifts of life and salvation, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Lent 3 (NL 1)                                Matthew 22:1-14
March 8, 2015
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

© 2015 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved