Present and Prepared
Matthew 22:1-14
by Jim Westmoreland
Finding the right excuse is not always an easy thing to do. Trying to explain why we are not able to attend a certain party or a way to absent ourselves from an obligation takes forethought and clear thinking. Clear thinking is something that a number of parents in Albuquerque, New Mexico, lacked when they wrote the following excuse notes for their kids:
"Dear School: Please excuse John from being absent on Jan. 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 and also 33."
"Please excuse Brian for being. It was his father's fault."
"Please excuse Sara for being absent. She was sick and I had her shot."
"Sally won't be in school a week from Friday. We have to attend her funeral."
Please excuse Jennifer for missing school yesterday. We forgot to get the Sunday paper off the porch, and when we found it Monday, we thought it was Sunday."(1)
And then there are the excuses for why people don't come to church. Here are some I read recently:
"We need our Sunday recreational times."
"We have to work."
" Sunday is the only time we have to spend with our family (and, apparently, we don't want to spend it in worship)"
"Sunday is the only day we have to sleep in."
"I would get up early to pray, but I have a busy day ahead and need my rest."
"My spouse is not supportive of my faith."
"I know I should read the bible, but television is more entertaining."
"I can't serve the Lord because my kids are active and I want to share all these important times with my kids, perhaps when there is nothing important happening on Sunday."(2)
These excuses are flimsy rationalizations that miss the point that God's call should have first-place in our lives. They strike us as both funny and sad when it comes to talking about why people say they don't come to church. People are invited to church but so few people respond. It's frustrating. Many of you have reached out to neighbors or friends and asked them to come to church, and you know all too well the disappointment, how few respond.
Maybe, that is why we find this morning's parable so familiar. In our text this morning Jesus gives another parable to the Pharisees. He says, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come."
Now let us pause for a moment to enter into this story. Let us first identify with the father who was giving this wedding banquet. In most parts of the world, a wedding is just about the biggest, most lavish event most people will ever attend. In the villages of India, for example, the marriage rites and festivities last for three days. Preparations of food and decorations begin weeks ahead. Bride and groom alike are dressed head to toe in sumptuous fabrics of silk and brocade, gold jewelry set with precious stones, garlands of flowers around their necks - the most beautiful clothes they will ever wear. In Jewish culture a wedding was a community event. It was special and extravagant.
Let us not overlook that Jesus' parable is about a king giving a wedding banquet for his son. Preparations would have been thoroughly and professionally done. Invitations were sent out early. On the day of the wedding, nothing would have been spared to make it special. The expectations of the king were high as he anticipates sharing his joy with the people of the community.
Now, assume you are the king. You have thoroughly planned this wedding. You have sent out invitations to fill the great hall with guests. The responses all came back. The day of the wedding arrives. You secure limousines and send them out to pick up your guests. How would you feel if those limos returned without their passengers? Those who replied that they would attend all had excuses for not showing up. You have made all these preparations and no one comes to enjoy them. What do you do?(3)
In Jesus' parable the king was enraged by those who had snubbed his invitation. They went on with life as usual, going about their business, going to the farm or even finding a way to feel superior over someone else that they could make fun of or put down or hurt in some way. So, the king sent his servants out into the streets to invite everyone so that the wedding hall was filled with guests.
Now, I like the sound of this story, especially if I'm identifying with the common people who don't usually get invited to these sort of things. But, something happens in vs. 11that troubles me. When the king came in to see the guests, the king really reacted negatively to someone who was not wearing a wedding robe. He threw him out, saying ,"For many are called, but few are chosen." This seems pretty harsh. How are we to interpret this passage?
William Barclay in his commentary on Matthew gives us some insight that is helpful. It seems that Jesus parable had elements in it from two rabbinic parables that would have been familiar to the Pharisees. The first parable was about the great banquet and advance invitations going out to invite people but not telling them the date or the time of the banquet. The wise prepared and clothed themselves at once and took their places at the door of the palace believing that a palace feast could be prepared so quickly that there would be no warning.
Others thought that it would be a while and that they would have time to clean up and get dressed. So, they went on about their work. Then, suddenly the summons to the banquet came. The wise were ready and the others were not. The rabbis used this to talk about the duty of preparedness for the summons of God, and the garments stand for the preparation that must be made.
The other rabbinic parable had to do with how a king entrusted to his servants his royal robes. Those who were wise took the robes, and carefully stored them away, and kept them clean and ready for the king. Those who were foolish wore the robes to their work and got them dirty and stained. The day came when the king demanded the robes back. Uh oh! The wise were ready, but the foolish were in big trouble.
One strong lesson in this is that the way we come to anything demonstrates the spirit in which we come. If we've been working in yard all day, or if we've become sweaty and dirty at work, we don't go that way to dinner at our friend's house. No, we clean up, take a bath and put on fresh clothes. We are not trying to show off. It is a matter of respect that we clean up instead of coming sweaty and grimy to dinner. The way that we prepare to go shows our outward affection and respect for our friend.
This parable has nothing to do with the clothes that we wear to church, but it has everything to do with the spirit in which we go to God's house. Going to church should not become an occasion for fashion statements. But there are garments of the mind and of the heart and soul, such as the garment of expectation, the garment of humble repentance, the garment of faith, the garment of reverence -- these are the garments we do not want to be without when we come to God.(4)
Is this harsh sounding passage in vs 11 really about clothes? I don't think so. Or is it about our duty for preparation and respect for the king? Does the king expect more of us than just showing up? Yes, but as we know from his disappointment when no one came that showing up is very important!
A small boy was consistently late coming home from school. He had trouble being where he was supposed to be. His parents warned him one day that he must be home on time that afternoon, but nevertheless, he arrived later than ever. His mother met him at the door and said nothing. His father met him in the living room and said nothing.
At dinner that night, the boy looked at his plate. There was a slice of bread and a glass of water. He looked at his father's full plate and then at his father, but his father remained silent. The boy was crushed. The father waited for the full impact to sink in, then quietly took the boy's plate and placed it in from of himself. He took his own plate of meat and potatoes, put it in front of the boy, and smiled at his son. When that boy grew up, he said, "All my life I've known what God is like by what my father did that night." When we do not show up and when we our spirit is distracted and disrespectful, our sin is serious business. You see, God's grace is a costly gift.(5)
Do you remember being in school and forgetting or not getting around to doing a homework assignment? You go to class, but you are hoping you are invisible that day so that the teacher won't call on you. Why? Because you are not prepared.
Our preparation for worship is to put on the garments of expectation, of humble repentance, of faith, and the garment of reverence. We are to come not only to seek God, but to hear Him, learn from Him, and obey the direction He is giving to our lives. Our preparation for worship is to come expecting to leave with some spiritual adjustments made to our hearts that affect how we live, how we treat those around us, and how we use our time and talents to serve others.
Each week as we gather together, it is to celebrate a banquet of grace and the joy of our hope in Christ. Each week we gather around this Table. Each week, let us want to be here, and let us also want to answer our Lord, "present . . . and prepared." Amen.
Century Christian Church, October 9, 2005 - Sermon by Jim Westmoreland
www.centurychristian.org
1. Pastor Vogel in "R.S.V.P. to the Gospel," found in Illustrations@ministersmail.com received 10-5-05.
2. Rev. Bruce Goettsche in a sermon, "Lessons from a Wedding Reception", delivered April 14, 2002, Union Church of LaHarpe, IL
3. Ibid.
4. William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Volume two, Edinburgh, Scotland: The Saint Andrew Press, pp. 297-299.
5. King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.eSermons.com.