By Barry Pollard
(Based on Matt 22:1-14; Phil 4:1-9)
We know that when Jesus spoke to his followers he often used parables as a way of communicating challenging ideas in everyday language and context. Bible scholars have counted between thirty and fifty of them (depending on the definition of a parable they have used). Jesus did explain that even though they were simple stories they would be incomprehensible to those who chose not to believe, saying things like, “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.” So I urge you today to really open your eyes to see and your ears to hear!
When I started my preparation for this talk, I was initially struck by the harshness of the language used in this parable, and the actions of the King, and wondered how that would be heard today. It got me thinking about the messages I heard in church as a youngster. God in those days was an aloof, vengeful and demanding entity. These days, when the pendulum of portrayal has swung towards love and inclusion, we don’t like to dwell too much on harsh things – perhaps to our peril, I think. All that the Bible contains, the kind and gentle bits and the rough and challenging bits, needs to be considered in context and in relation to all parts.
And on that, last weekend we attended Life Church in Manukau and the preaching was the first in a series on ‘God’s Word’. The pastor used the time to establish the authenticity of the Bible. The Bible, he explained, was compiled over some 1500 years, across three continents by forty-odd writers, but authored by one Almighty God. He showed a pictorial of how the passages of the Bible cross-reference each other. It showed some 63,000 (cross-references) but he said that there could be as many as 300,000! His point was that the Bible was reliable, consistent, and usable.
Then yesterday, the Word for Today reading was titled Finding God in your Bible. It said this: “President Woodrow Wilson said, ‘I am sorry for men who do not read the Bible every day; I wonder why they deprive themselves of the strength and of the pleasure. It is one of the most singular books in the world, for every time you open it, some old text that you have read a score of times suddenly beams with a new meaning. There is no other book that I know of, of which this is true; there is no other book that yields its meaning so personally, that seems to fit itself so intimately to the very spirit that is seeking its guidance.’”
Reliable, consistent, and usable!
Anyway, back to our consideration of the Gospel parable today: I realised that I needed to temper what I had perceived with a clearer understanding of what Jesus had been saying, to whom and why.
I think the reading should have started a few verses earlier. The parable before this one was about ‘the evil farmers’. It was about the tenant farmers who refused to share their crops with the landlord. They killed messengers, servants and eventually the landlord’s son, refusing to surrender anything. When Jesus asked the listeners what should happen to these evil men, they responded by insisting they should suffer horrible deaths.
The parable was actually about the leading priests and Pharisees and how they were refusing to give way to the arrival of the Messiah. Instead of taking stock of what they had been doing, and paying attention to what they were now hearing and seeing Jesus say and do, they were clinging to enforcing the Law and keeping the people enslaved. They were rejecting Jesus. They wanted to arrest him and do away with him, and the only thing stopping them was their fear of the crowd’s reaction.
So, as we hear today, Jesus adds a little more fuel to this fire by telling today’s story right on top of that about the evil farmers. The story of the great wedding feast, Jesus explains, is another illustration of the Kingdom of Heaven. And he’s directing his message at those same religious leaders to reinforce that they’re rejecting the Messiah.
The parable begins with wedding feast preparations being completed and the call for the guests to arrive but, when summoned, the invited ones all refuse to attend.
The King then sends his envoys out again to the invited ones to explain that everything was ready and waiting for them. “Come to the banquet!” was the call! But again they refused, claiming to be busy, some assaulting and even killing the messengers.
This really ticked off the King and the army was dispatched to deal to the murderers. Then out go the messengers again to all and sundry, asking them to attend the wedding feast in place of the unworthy originally invited guests. This met with more success and in they rolled, filling the banquet hall.
But when the King arrives at the feast he notices that one of the new guests isn’t dressed for the occasion. When he inquires as to the reason why, the man has no answer. On the King’s instruction the man is seized and bound and thrown into the “outer darkness” – a clear reference to Hell, the polar opposite of Heaven.
The King explains his actions with the now famous verse, “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Harsh?
This parable is another slap in the face to the Pharisees. It should have been a wake-up call. Jesus is pointing at their hardened hearts. They thought they were shoo-ins for the Kingdom of Heaven; after all they regarded themselves as the in-crowd. They thought their lineage guaranteed them a place. But Jesus is making it clear: everyone is invited. No one is there by right or status. It is open to all. No favourites.
Come to the banquet!
Picking up again on the point I made earlier about how we are seeing God. As loving and inclusive as he is, we don’t just march into Heaven. Jesus is pointing out that we have to have manners, and answer the invitation. And we have to make an effort to be prepared, cleaning ourselves up and showing we are ready. And not presume on our status.
Jesus pulled no punches. He showed the Pharisees exactly where they stood. Everyone has been called, but they assumed they had been chosen! And, as shown by the treatment of the man not wearing the proper wedding clothes: when given the opportunity to apologise (repent) – and join the party – by the King, he remains speechless. He cannot admit to his error. So the King throws him out. Not because he is unworthy, because everyone (you and me included) is unworthy, but because he refuses to enter ‘worthily’. [And this had/has relevance to the nation of Israel, who wouldn’t admit their faults, refusing to enter the party worthily. That’s what Jesus was getting at.]
What can we take from this into our own lives?
At Life Church the pastor was asking the same question in regard to how we read and meditate on Scripture. He offered an acronym, SPECK, as a possible aid.
SPECK stands for Sin, Promise, Example, Command and Know.
Is there a SIN to be avoided?
Is there a PROMISE to be claimed?
Is there an EXAMPLE to be followed?
Is there a COMMAND to be obeyed?
Is there something to KNOW about God?
I am always amazed that the Holy Spirit shows me things the way He does. In the Word for Today reading from yesterday, that I mentioned earlier, the writer continued: “If you want to get the most God-stuff out of your Bible, ask these questions: (1) Is there a warning to heed? (2) Is there a promise to claim? (3) Is there a sin to forsake? (4) Is there a command to obey? (5) Is there a lesson to learn? (6) Is there a principle to apply? (7) Is there an example to follow?
“As you ask yourself these seven questions, keep a journal to write down the answers God gives you, and you will be amazed at the wisdom you glean. You will be thrilled by the success principles you learn. Your anxieties will begin to lift, your mind will clear and you will experience peace.”
I reckon we were all meant to hear this! In fact, these tools could be a help as you go home to try to figure out what on earth I was talking about today.
As I applied the SPECK analysis for my own benefit to the parable I came up with avoiding the sins of pride and arrogance, not following the Pharisaic example, and that God is loving and welcoming always! [This is my personal evaluation, what God wanted me to think about. It may be different for each of us.]
I didn’t always act on such knowledge. I confess that I was one who heard the invitation (many times) and spat on the host! The great thing though is that he reissued the invitation, again and again, until eventually I was no longer busy, no longer distracted by the world, and a little less self-absorbed and could accept the offer! Perhaps now you will understand why I love the song we often have for our offertory hymn, “Come to the Banquet, There’s a Place for You”!
There was a place for me.
And, if you’re not sure, there is a place for you!
I particularly identified with the call, once the invitation had been accepted, to be prepared – to make the changes necessary to ‘worthily enter’ the feast. I used to have a foul mouth. These days I have an almost natural control over my cussing and swearing. The things of the past that absorbed me and tempted me no longer have a strong hold over me. I learned in Scripture that our hearts are to be found in what we value. To that end, our Philippians reading today has made it to my ‘top of the pops’, with verse 8 an easy one to show what I mean: “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” I endeavour to take this positive approach so that I am not looking back at the past or living with regret, shame and fear.
Let’s look at the concluding phrase from the parable one more time to cement our understanding. “For many are called, but few are chosen.” In the big picture, Jesus is referring to anyone who hears the Gospel. Each person must decide how they will respond; whether they accept or reject the invitation. The Bible says all of us are called, invited, to follow Jesus. No one is excluded. But it’s a choice; following Jesus can’t be forced. “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.” Because we are all chosen, we can all hear. But we must each decide what to do with what we hear.
And if you haven’t been convinced about how the Holy Spirit works: In my readings this morning I read Revelation 3:20 – “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.” Confirmation that Jesus is seeking that personal relationship with us.
By way of a conclusion, I’d like to acknowledge a key moment in my faith story. Bruce was the priest on a particular day when I attended St Francis to help Keri manage my dear old mum, Win. Win had suffered a couple of strokes before she arrived at Tairua Residential Care as an “inmate” (as she called it). Keri had invited her to attend the services at St Francis and as a dutiful son I attended to help her in and out. Win was a very compliant and obliging woman. Seeing how everyone was assembling at the altar rail for communion, she had to join them. As she started to pull herself up from her seat I moved alongside to assist her. As people gathered at the altar rail, Bruce announced that to receive the bread, hands needed to be held out. If he couldn’t see any hands this would indicate that a blessing was sought instead.
Observing the hands being held out to receive the bread, Win too reached forward, forsaking her steadying hand on the rail, and started to rock slowly back and forth. Standing a step below her so as to not obstruct the flow and avoid being mistaken for a communicant, I stepped up to grasp and steady her just as Bruce approached with the bread. Win got her bread and Bruce got to me with no hands visible. He reached out, placing a hand gently on my head and prayed a simple blessing over me. This was my invitation!
My response was to shatter into tears. Taken by surprise, I realised that something major had just happened.
I now realise that the invitation had been offered – and accepted!
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