Year A Proper 27 6 November 2011
Joshua 24: 1-3a, 14-25 Psalm 78: 1-7 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18 Matthew 25: 1-13
Joshua 24:23, 24 “23 “Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.” And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God and obey him.”
We live in a society that doesn’t understand the concept of throwing away foreign gods. As I write this many children are “Trick or treating” and their parents are practising Christians who think this is okay. There are numerous schools, both Christian and secular who are doing activities that centres on Halloween and no one thinks it is anymore than a bit of fun. Much the same as many other popular activities like reading the horoscopes.
In our first reading, which comes from the book of Joshua, after the people have professed their faith in God and their desire to serve him, Joshua tells the people, “you are not able to serve the LORD....” This is true of them and true of us also – and we need some supernatural help to serve God.
Halloween is the eve of the holy day, “all Hallows”, meaning “all Saints”, but its practises and traditions come from the pagan festival honouring the god of the dead. I do not want to go into the Halloween debate, but I do want us to be aware that if we are partaking in these activities then we are not serving our God and we are holding on to, and taking into our houses, foreign gods.
This is not the only “foreign god” that is common in our culture.... we need to think carefully about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny also. While the events associated with these characters are meant to point to a reality of our faith, many times they teach our children completely opposing truths to our Christian faith. For example “Santa will come if you are good”. The truth is that we can not be good and that is why Jesus came. Also, we find that as children grow out of Santa and the Easter bunny they also grow out of the story of Jesus.
Tomorrow is the feast of all saints and it is followed by a day that is designated to all souls. So it seems fitting in the light of all that is happening this week to have readings about serving God whole heartedly and also our second reading which encourages us not to be so grieved over those loved ones who have died, and we are told that they have “fallen asleep” in Jesus and will rise with him.
The ancient festival on which Halloween is based is called Samhain. During this there were beliefs about the dead and how their souls may be either set free or released into animals. We are told clearly throughout different stories in the Bible that we live once, die and will rise with Christ at his return. It is a belief that is based on the credibility of the man named Jesus who was crucified and rose from the dead.
Saint Paul clarifies our understanding about those who have died in his letter, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 “Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.”
We have hope! This is an eternal hope – it is amazing good news. We do not need to appease a frightening god. We do not have to perform strange and frightening ceremonies to ensure a “happily ever after”.
This week we have a reminder of the hope that we have. Not only for an eternal existence for our loved ones, but for us also. But we also have very serious warnings in both our first reading and our Gospel.
Our Gospel tells the parable of the ten bridesmaids. These bridesmaids are symbolic of the people of God who greet the bride-groom and light the way for him. The bride-groom is symbolic of Christ and the church is his bride.
As the story goes, the bride-groom was a very, very long time coming. And what a coincidence! 2011 years after the birth of Christ we find Christ’s second coming seems such a long time coming, that many have “fallen asleep”.... The falling asleep is not a problem.... the problem is that when the bride-groom arrives it is in the hours of darkness and we need our lamps to be shining brightly.
Matthew 25:1-13 “ “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
“At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”
Oil was used to anoint and is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that keeps our faith lit.
All ten of the virgins/ bridesmaids had lamps that were lit. When the groom was long in coming some found that they had run out of “oil”... I guess they are those who ran out of faith.
We run out of faith when various things happen and it is different for each individual, but it happens and how is not important. The important thing is to consciously put into place strategies that “keeps the oil flowing”. This is what the wise bridesmaids did. They had the forethought to bring extra oil in a jar.
Therefore, we need to think about what strategies we need in our lives to keep our faith illuminated.
The early Christians would not have been so sure of the hope that they have as Christians, if it wasn’t for the letters from St. Paul. We need to be taught the Gospel truths and then we need to be constantly reminded of them. This is just one way that we keep our faith illuminated. Meeting with other Christians nourishes our spirits and the gifts of the Holy Spirit are shared throughout the community.... we need each other so that we are not lacking in spiritual gifts.
Certainly, if we ignorantly hold on to foreign gods and do not have definite ways of keeping our “lamps” lit (i.e. a community that keeps us on the right track), then we will not even know that we have gone astray from God’s truth and our lamps will go out........... Then when Jesus comes we will awaken and realize our need for our faith...... but will it be too late?
Monday, October 31, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Reflection on readings 23rd October 2011
Year A Proper 25 23 October 2011
Deuteronomy 34: 1-12 Psalm 90: 1-6, 13-17 1 Thessalonians 2: 1-8 Matthew 22: 34-46
Things that make you go, “Hmmm???” Our readings this week contain some things that grab our attention and leave us with questions. One of these is the question that Jesus asked of the Pharisees. They had been trying to trip Jesus up by asking him questions but he turned the tables on them when he asked his question and left them speechless.
Matthew 22: 41-46 “While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”
“The son of David,” they replied.
He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.”
Many of the psalms of King David proclaimed prophecy about the Messiah. An interesting thing about Christianity is lack of black and white straight answers. A man made religion has all its beliefs set out clearly, but ours is not a man made religion and so we often struggle to understand. It is only with the gifts that God has given us that we can discern his ways.... which is another reason why it is important to stay connected to others in church.
The question that Jesus poses to the Pharisees deals with a fundamental stumbling block. It is a stumbling block that these people “fell” on and one which is still a stumbling block for many.
It was common knowledge that the Messiah would be a son (descendant) of King David, but Jesus question reveals that the nature of the Messiah was more than a natural descendant. David calling him “Lord” implies that this “son” is above and before King David.
Before we discuss this anymore, let’s look at our Old Testament reading; in this we find the story of Moses being taken up Mt. Nebo to look at the Promised Land. After God has shown Moses the land, Moses dies and he is buried. It is all shrouded in mystery as we discover that although Moses was 12o years old, he was still completely bright and strong. (The moral to the story might be that spending time with God is the best treatment for staying youthful and healthy!).
There is an important statement made about Moses in Deuteronomy 34:10, “Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,”. We often read that no one could see the face of God and live, and even in our previous readings we read about Moses being put in a cleft in the mountain while God revealed his glory – and the reason was so that Moses didn’t see God’s face – so how is it that it was later said that the LORD knew Moses face to face?
When Jesus walked on earth mankind witnessed the visible expression of the invisible God. The face of God was revealed.
God is so holy that, as we read a few weeks ago, even His very name must be held in the upmost respect. God is so holy that no one can see His face, but it was not God’s plan to be so separated from us. In the beginning God walked with humankind in the Garden of Eden and there was a relationship – a union between the humankind and the creator. Though it was not common, the Old Testament does tell of people who “saw the face of God” and lived, even though it was acknowledged that no one could see His face and live.
Each of these individuals who “walked” with God, are people to whom God revealed his nature and person. They are people with whom God had a personal relationship and they are people who knew God. It seems that in the same way that Jesus was the visible expression of God in the New Testament, this particular revelation of God existed in the Old Testament also.
It could be said that Moses saw God face to face, because God was revealed to Moses. Through that revelation Moses was brought into a personal relationship with God. The revelation of the person of God is the key to a relationship with God and that is where the Pharisees stumbled.
The Pharisees refused to see the “face of God”.
This is a fundamental issue that we all need to examine. There was a song many years ago now, recorded by Joan Osbourne, called, One Of Us. Some of the lyrics were; “ If God had a face what would it look like, and would you want to see, if seeing meant that you would have to believe in things like heaven and the saints and all the prophets?...”
God wants us to see his face. Through Jesus all are invited into this revelation. God wants to be in a personal relationship with us, but we have free will and need to choose.
The Pharisees were given hints to help them realize that the Messiah was not just a descendant of King David, but this Messiah had a divine nature. David called the Messiah his Lord, because he realized this divinity. The Messiah, the son of God, existed from the beginning of creation. It was the son of God who was the revelation of God to Moses and other prophets.
Our relationship with God can be a personal one also, but this can only be accomplished by a revelation of the person of God. In other words, we need to acknowledge who Jesus is.... He is not just a great prophet, a wise teacher, a good and compassionate man.... He is our saviour and our redeemer and He is God.
Deuteronomy 34: 1-12 Psalm 90: 1-6, 13-17 1 Thessalonians 2: 1-8 Matthew 22: 34-46
Things that make you go, “Hmmm???” Our readings this week contain some things that grab our attention and leave us with questions. One of these is the question that Jesus asked of the Pharisees. They had been trying to trip Jesus up by asking him questions but he turned the tables on them when he asked his question and left them speechless.
Matthew 22: 41-46 “While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”
“The son of David,” they replied.
He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.”
Many of the psalms of King David proclaimed prophecy about the Messiah. An interesting thing about Christianity is lack of black and white straight answers. A man made religion has all its beliefs set out clearly, but ours is not a man made religion and so we often struggle to understand. It is only with the gifts that God has given us that we can discern his ways.... which is another reason why it is important to stay connected to others in church.
The question that Jesus poses to the Pharisees deals with a fundamental stumbling block. It is a stumbling block that these people “fell” on and one which is still a stumbling block for many.
It was common knowledge that the Messiah would be a son (descendant) of King David, but Jesus question reveals that the nature of the Messiah was more than a natural descendant. David calling him “Lord” implies that this “son” is above and before King David.
Before we discuss this anymore, let’s look at our Old Testament reading; in this we find the story of Moses being taken up Mt. Nebo to look at the Promised Land. After God has shown Moses the land, Moses dies and he is buried. It is all shrouded in mystery as we discover that although Moses was 12o years old, he was still completely bright and strong. (The moral to the story might be that spending time with God is the best treatment for staying youthful and healthy!).
There is an important statement made about Moses in Deuteronomy 34:10, “Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,”. We often read that no one could see the face of God and live, and even in our previous readings we read about Moses being put in a cleft in the mountain while God revealed his glory – and the reason was so that Moses didn’t see God’s face – so how is it that it was later said that the LORD knew Moses face to face?
When Jesus walked on earth mankind witnessed the visible expression of the invisible God. The face of God was revealed.
God is so holy that, as we read a few weeks ago, even His very name must be held in the upmost respect. God is so holy that no one can see His face, but it was not God’s plan to be so separated from us. In the beginning God walked with humankind in the Garden of Eden and there was a relationship – a union between the humankind and the creator. Though it was not common, the Old Testament does tell of people who “saw the face of God” and lived, even though it was acknowledged that no one could see His face and live.
Each of these individuals who “walked” with God, are people to whom God revealed his nature and person. They are people with whom God had a personal relationship and they are people who knew God. It seems that in the same way that Jesus was the visible expression of God in the New Testament, this particular revelation of God existed in the Old Testament also.
It could be said that Moses saw God face to face, because God was revealed to Moses. Through that revelation Moses was brought into a personal relationship with God. The revelation of the person of God is the key to a relationship with God and that is where the Pharisees stumbled.
The Pharisees refused to see the “face of God”.
This is a fundamental issue that we all need to examine. There was a song many years ago now, recorded by Joan Osbourne, called, One Of Us. Some of the lyrics were; “ If God had a face what would it look like, and would you want to see, if seeing meant that you would have to believe in things like heaven and the saints and all the prophets?...”
God wants us to see his face. Through Jesus all are invited into this revelation. God wants to be in a personal relationship with us, but we have free will and need to choose.
The Pharisees were given hints to help them realize that the Messiah was not just a descendant of King David, but this Messiah had a divine nature. David called the Messiah his Lord, because he realized this divinity. The Messiah, the son of God, existed from the beginning of creation. It was the son of God who was the revelation of God to Moses and other prophets.
Our relationship with God can be a personal one also, but this can only be accomplished by a revelation of the person of God. In other words, we need to acknowledge who Jesus is.... He is not just a great prophet, a wise teacher, a good and compassionate man.... He is our saviour and our redeemer and He is God.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Reflection on readings for 9th October 2011
Year A Proper 23 9 October 2011
Exodus 32: 1-14 Psalm 106: 1-6, 19-23 Philippians 4: 1-9 Matthew 22: 1-14
Philippians 4: 1 “Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!”
Stand firm! Sounds simply enough, but who among us will do it?
The more that I reflect on the scriptures, the more I’m convinced there are many messages of warnings for the people of God. In our first reading, this week, we find the story of what happened in the Israelite camp while Moses was on the mountain with God, receiving the commandments.
Exodus 32: 1-6 “When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”
Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”
When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD.” So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.”
There were two men who stood as leaders of the people of Israel, Moses and Aaron. Moses was the one to whom God appeared and the one called by God, but because Moses was scared, God allowed Moses a helper in the form of his brother Aaron.
The exodus of the people from Egypt was miraculous. God lead his people by a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day. If it happened to us we’d be awestruck. These people were used to witnessing supernatural occurrences through the religion of Egypt. Every time Moses performed a miracle as testament to the power of God the Egyptians showed a similar miracle, though never to the magnitude of those performed by Moses. This is the reason that it took so many plagues before Pharaoh let the people go, he didn’t hold miracles in such high regard.
Supernatural things happen and people interpret them according to their knowledge. Moses eventually was able to show that his God was stronger and more powerful, but the people of God were tainted with the same religion as the Egyptians, and their hearts were hardened to the way that God had so greatly rescued and provided for them.
We are often the same. We are given so much, we erroneously believe that we deserve all good things and when something doesn’t go our way we become very indignant. We don’t really understand that God is God and not someone that we can tell how, when and what to do. We can not shape God into a form that suits us.
Are we like Moses or like Aaron?
Aaron was approached by the people and they requested/ demanded that he make them a god to go before them as they travelled. Other nations had man made gods and in some way the god defined the nation. The choice of the calf may possibly have been because in some nations the calf was considered the mount for god. Certainly Aaron was not trying to deny God, as the festival was declared at the completion of the “god” was held to honour the LORD – it is written in capital letters to show that Aaron meant this to be a festival to “Yahweh”.
Pressure is also put on us to make “god”. Many of the aspects about God and his laws seem antiquated to general society and they demand that Christians get with the times. Many Christians, maybe even you and I, have been just like Aaron. We want to make God relevant to all people and show how God loves everyone and wants everyone in his kingdom. This is a truth – but does it matter that sometimes we “Put words in God’s mouth”, proclaiming that some of the things that are becoming societal norms are okay by God? We still proclaim the name of the LORD, so, at least in our own eyes and heart, we are not denying God.
Reflect carefully on the actions of Aaron and the actions of our own witness. Aaron was a good guy, a gifted leader, had respect and rapport with the people. His heart was in the right place and he was well meaning, but the result of his actions meant that God would have destroyed the whole Israelite nation except that Moses came to the rescue and begged for God’s mercy.
The message is clear that it is possible to be working for God and really get it so wrong. Unless we stand firm and absolutely steadfast in our commitment to God we will not only be like Aaron who bends to the pressure of societies conventions, but we will also be like the guests of the parable told by Jesus, who became too self seeking to come to the feast in God’s kingdom.
Matthew 22: 4-7“Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
“But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.”
Are we already like these invited guests? Got better things to do than go to church this weekend? What it boils down to is that we’ve made a god of our own lives. This parable was told to the religious of Jesus day and was directed at them, but it is written and recorded for us.
What God has decided is that those who do not make him their priority do not deserve to be invited to the feast. The feast is an image symbolizing the joyful celebration in heaven at the fullness of time.
Matthew 22; 8-10 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.”
The good news is that all are gathered in to this holy celebration. There is amazing good news for those who think they are too bad for heaven because we are told that the bad and good were all to be gathered. ..........There is a “but”;
Matthew 22:11-14 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.
“Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
“For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
It seems curious that all should be gathered, good and bad, but then someone thrown out simply for not wearing the right clothes. Being good or bad was not a deal maker or breaker, but this particular “wedding garment” is.
Joe and I had a wedding where all were welcome. We let people know to simply bring a plate and come along. These days people have to register their parties in case of unwanted gate crashers, but what is the difference between a guest and a gate crasher when there is a wedding where all are welcome?
The difference is whether or not there is a relationship with the person in whose honour the party is being held. All are welcome in the kingdom of God but unless you are “clothed in Christ”, you do not have a relationship with the guest of honour. Jesus is the only way to the father. It is in accepting his sacrifice and being so united in him, and our lives so closely entwined, such that our lives are covered by him that we are clothed in Christ. Christ is our wedding garment.
Unless.......
Unless is a heavy word implying that if certain requirements are not met then there will be an exclusion. And unless accept the sacrifice of Jesus and we stand firm and steadfast in our relationship with God we will be found not deserving of the celebration in heaven.....
Exodus 32: 1-14 Psalm 106: 1-6, 19-23 Philippians 4: 1-9 Matthew 22: 1-14
Philippians 4: 1 “Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!”
Stand firm! Sounds simply enough, but who among us will do it?
The more that I reflect on the scriptures, the more I’m convinced there are many messages of warnings for the people of God. In our first reading, this week, we find the story of what happened in the Israelite camp while Moses was on the mountain with God, receiving the commandments.
Exodus 32: 1-6 “When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”
Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”
When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD.” So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.”
There were two men who stood as leaders of the people of Israel, Moses and Aaron. Moses was the one to whom God appeared and the one called by God, but because Moses was scared, God allowed Moses a helper in the form of his brother Aaron.
The exodus of the people from Egypt was miraculous. God lead his people by a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day. If it happened to us we’d be awestruck. These people were used to witnessing supernatural occurrences through the religion of Egypt. Every time Moses performed a miracle as testament to the power of God the Egyptians showed a similar miracle, though never to the magnitude of those performed by Moses. This is the reason that it took so many plagues before Pharaoh let the people go, he didn’t hold miracles in such high regard.
Supernatural things happen and people interpret them according to their knowledge. Moses eventually was able to show that his God was stronger and more powerful, but the people of God were tainted with the same religion as the Egyptians, and their hearts were hardened to the way that God had so greatly rescued and provided for them.
We are often the same. We are given so much, we erroneously believe that we deserve all good things and when something doesn’t go our way we become very indignant. We don’t really understand that God is God and not someone that we can tell how, when and what to do. We can not shape God into a form that suits us.
Are we like Moses or like Aaron?
Aaron was approached by the people and they requested/ demanded that he make them a god to go before them as they travelled. Other nations had man made gods and in some way the god defined the nation. The choice of the calf may possibly have been because in some nations the calf was considered the mount for god. Certainly Aaron was not trying to deny God, as the festival was declared at the completion of the “god” was held to honour the LORD – it is written in capital letters to show that Aaron meant this to be a festival to “Yahweh”.
Pressure is also put on us to make “god”. Many of the aspects about God and his laws seem antiquated to general society and they demand that Christians get with the times. Many Christians, maybe even you and I, have been just like Aaron. We want to make God relevant to all people and show how God loves everyone and wants everyone in his kingdom. This is a truth – but does it matter that sometimes we “Put words in God’s mouth”, proclaiming that some of the things that are becoming societal norms are okay by God? We still proclaim the name of the LORD, so, at least in our own eyes and heart, we are not denying God.
Reflect carefully on the actions of Aaron and the actions of our own witness. Aaron was a good guy, a gifted leader, had respect and rapport with the people. His heart was in the right place and he was well meaning, but the result of his actions meant that God would have destroyed the whole Israelite nation except that Moses came to the rescue and begged for God’s mercy.
The message is clear that it is possible to be working for God and really get it so wrong. Unless we stand firm and absolutely steadfast in our commitment to God we will not only be like Aaron who bends to the pressure of societies conventions, but we will also be like the guests of the parable told by Jesus, who became too self seeking to come to the feast in God’s kingdom.
Matthew 22: 4-7“Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
“But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.”
Are we already like these invited guests? Got better things to do than go to church this weekend? What it boils down to is that we’ve made a god of our own lives. This parable was told to the religious of Jesus day and was directed at them, but it is written and recorded for us.
What God has decided is that those who do not make him their priority do not deserve to be invited to the feast. The feast is an image symbolizing the joyful celebration in heaven at the fullness of time.
Matthew 22; 8-10 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.”
The good news is that all are gathered in to this holy celebration. There is amazing good news for those who think they are too bad for heaven because we are told that the bad and good were all to be gathered. ..........There is a “but”;
Matthew 22:11-14 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.
“Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
“For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
It seems curious that all should be gathered, good and bad, but then someone thrown out simply for not wearing the right clothes. Being good or bad was not a deal maker or breaker, but this particular “wedding garment” is.
Joe and I had a wedding where all were welcome. We let people know to simply bring a plate and come along. These days people have to register their parties in case of unwanted gate crashers, but what is the difference between a guest and a gate crasher when there is a wedding where all are welcome?
The difference is whether or not there is a relationship with the person in whose honour the party is being held. All are welcome in the kingdom of God but unless you are “clothed in Christ”, you do not have a relationship with the guest of honour. Jesus is the only way to the father. It is in accepting his sacrifice and being so united in him, and our lives so closely entwined, such that our lives are covered by him that we are clothed in Christ. Christ is our wedding garment.
Unless.......
Unless is a heavy word implying that if certain requirements are not met then there will be an exclusion. And unless accept the sacrifice of Jesus and we stand firm and steadfast in our relationship with God we will be found not deserving of the celebration in heaven.....
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