Pentecost 22
The Reverend Martha Frances
Year A, Pentecost 22, Proper 23
12 October 2008
Text: Matthew 22: 1-14
Other: Philippians 4: 4-13; Psalm 106: 1-6, 19-23; Exodus 32: 1-14
Several important messages hide in the lessons for today which I'd like us to explore. In the Hebrew scripture, we have a story many of us grew up with because of the old movie, The Ten Commandments if not from the Bible itself. The Israelites grow impatient once again as they await Moses' return from his mountain visit with God, & what do folks do when they are restless & bored? Often they get themselves into trouble. In this case, they entice Aaron into fashioning for them a golden calf to worship just as their masters had done in Egypt.
Today's volatile financial situation could easily lead us to fashion golden calves out of many things in our lives which we have come to see as necessities, but I wonder if, due to the upheaval of Wall Street, we might not reexamine what are the real necessities in our lives & what we might have made into golden calves during times of prosperity. In fact, Hurricane Ike has already made many of us aware of blessings we usually take for granted. Sitting in my breakfast room with a cup of coffee enjoying the air conditioning & electric lights in the mornings has certainly made my gratitude list of late. Once again this year, gifts for adults in my life will lean toward my giving donations in their names to Episcopal Relief & Development for hurricane relief. I pray we are all looking for ways we can become more intentional & effective environmental stewards as we become more aware of how much our carbon footprints affect the world we are leaving to our children & grandchildren.
Moses & God have a spirited discussion about the Israelites' idolatrous pastimes, & it is interesting that Moses' plea for God to be merciful prevails so that God gives the Israelites another chance. In fact, Moses' tempering of God's wrath hinges on his reminding God that these are God's people whom God gave to Moses to shepherd through the wilderness. God has established a relationship with this people, & Moses urges God to put the relationship with them first.
It is when we have relationship with each other that we are most inclined to be merciful. No wonder we're encouraged over & over to work toward "being of the same mind in the Lord", as Paul urges the Philippians, & especially the women whom Paul names in his epistle who have obviously had some disagreement with one another. Paul does not solve their issue for them but urges the community to work through problems by joining with each other to rejoice in their common love for God & to lay all upon God in prayer & supplication—just as we do in our intercessory prayer in worship.
Here in this community, we are prone to let differences of opinion with one another become occasions for lack of generosity of spirit, especially when we find that finances are tight & we each have personal concerns which lie heavy upon our hearts. Paul calls us to pull together, to keep in mind that we must work in unity to do our part in the incoming of God's reign in the world, & that only as we accept each other in relationship can God's peace fall upon us. Not only do we miss out on peaceful coexistence when we are at odds with one another, but we certainly do not attract others to our community when our differences separate us. In our weekly worship, we are given the opportunity to affirm the importance of brotherly & sisterly relationship as we pass the peace with one another before sharing Christ's Eucharistic table. I encourage you to give & receive the peace of Christ seriously when we exchange it in a few moments.
What does this strange parable about the wedding banquet have to say to us today? Jesus tells us that God's reign on earth—the kingdom of heaven—is like the king who provides a great wedding celebration for his son. The king sends out the invitation to folks 3 times. Everyone is invited! It's as if we were invited to a great inaugural ball & we drove through the fast food take out line instead. God wants us to celebrate the joy of gifts of life which God offers us free of charge—God's generous grace poured out for us—& some can't be bothered. Jesus tells this parable to the leaders—those who are in charge—because they are the ones likely to miss out on God's incredible gift of grace because they are so busy trying to earn it.
The part of the parable that has been most peculiar to me over the years is the king's anger that one man is not wearing a wedding robe. One would think that, since those who ending up coming to the banquet were the everyday folks the king's slaves found on the streets, this man could catch a break for coming as he was. It has been helpful, therefore, that at least a couple of commentators believe that the king provided not only the banquet but the proper apparel which this man refused to wear. My experience has been that God provides all that we need in order to respond faithfully to God's invitation to us, so this man's refusal to accept the requisite wardrobe is sort of like someone's refusal to wear a seatbelt & then being angry at God for being thrown out of the automobile in a crash. Hmmmm.
We at Hope have begun a wonderful adventure in intentional multicultural community, & we have established a fine foundation. Our work is not completed, however, & perhaps never will be since we are all human & growth toward God's reign on earth is ever a challenge to us. However, we have various wonderful opportunities to deepen our commitment to living together in love & respect & welcoming others into our midst. Some of you may be interested in several days of training up at Camp Allen in November similar to the work which Melanie Fahey, Cornelius & Danita Perry, & I have been doing in Los Angeles. Please see one of us for more information on that opportunity. In addition, I have purchased the documentary on the slave trade, Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North, for viewing in our community which will aid us in continuing our conversation about how past history in this country affects our society & the church today. I hope we can gather in small discussion groups to share this excellent tool which was introduced to me by the director/producer when I was on sabbatical. In what other ways can we deepen our commitment to being a Christ-centered community of faith ever reaching beyond ourselves? Your suggestions are most encouraged.
As Episcopalians, we express ourselves most effectively in our worship, so I call to your attention again the celebratory nature of our Eucharistic table. The king prepared a wedding banquet for his son & invited all to partake. Each time we come together, we prepare Eucharist—our Great Thanksgiving—to share the body & blood of Christ who desires us to fill ourselves so completely with his love that it overflows from our lives to others. As we participate in the Eucharistic prayer, we give ourselves as Jesus did, & we gain the strength for the journey to go out beyond the doors of this place to share Christ's Good News with others, & perhaps to encounter Christ in those we meet. Come! Let us pray & praise, sing & feast with one another, opening ourselves for Christ to use us in the world. May others truly know we are Christ-bearers by our love.
Year A, Pentecost 22, Proper 23
12 October 2008
Text: Matthew 22: 1-14
Other: Philippians 4: 4-13; Psalm 106: 1-6, 19-23; Exodus 32: 1-14
Several important messages hide in the lessons for today which I'd like us to explore. In the Hebrew scripture, we have a story many of us grew up with because of the old movie, The Ten Commandments if not from the Bible itself. The Israelites grow impatient once again as they await Moses' return from his mountain visit with God, & what do folks do when they are restless & bored? Often they get themselves into trouble. In this case, they entice Aaron into fashioning for them a golden calf to worship just as their masters had done in Egypt.
Today's volatile financial situation could easily lead us to fashion golden calves out of many things in our lives which we have come to see as necessities, but I wonder if, due to the upheaval of Wall Street, we might not reexamine what are the real necessities in our lives & what we might have made into golden calves during times of prosperity. In fact, Hurricane Ike has already made many of us aware of blessings we usually take for granted. Sitting in my breakfast room with a cup of coffee enjoying the air conditioning & electric lights in the mornings has certainly made my gratitude list of late. Once again this year, gifts for adults in my life will lean toward my giving donations in their names to Episcopal Relief & Development for hurricane relief. I pray we are all looking for ways we can become more intentional & effective environmental stewards as we become more aware of how much our carbon footprints affect the world we are leaving to our children & grandchildren.
Moses & God have a spirited discussion about the Israelites' idolatrous pastimes, & it is interesting that Moses' plea for God to be merciful prevails so that God gives the Israelites another chance. In fact, Moses' tempering of God's wrath hinges on his reminding God that these are God's people whom God gave to Moses to shepherd through the wilderness. God has established a relationship with this people, & Moses urges God to put the relationship with them first.
It is when we have relationship with each other that we are most inclined to be merciful. No wonder we're encouraged over & over to work toward "being of the same mind in the Lord", as Paul urges the Philippians, & especially the women whom Paul names in his epistle who have obviously had some disagreement with one another. Paul does not solve their issue for them but urges the community to work through problems by joining with each other to rejoice in their common love for God & to lay all upon God in prayer & supplication—just as we do in our intercessory prayer in worship.
Here in this community, we are prone to let differences of opinion with one another become occasions for lack of generosity of spirit, especially when we find that finances are tight & we each have personal concerns which lie heavy upon our hearts. Paul calls us to pull together, to keep in mind that we must work in unity to do our part in the incoming of God's reign in the world, & that only as we accept each other in relationship can God's peace fall upon us. Not only do we miss out on peaceful coexistence when we are at odds with one another, but we certainly do not attract others to our community when our differences separate us. In our weekly worship, we are given the opportunity to affirm the importance of brotherly & sisterly relationship as we pass the peace with one another before sharing Christ's Eucharistic table. I encourage you to give & receive the peace of Christ seriously when we exchange it in a few moments.
What does this strange parable about the wedding banquet have to say to us today? Jesus tells us that God's reign on earth—the kingdom of heaven—is like the king who provides a great wedding celebration for his son. The king sends out the invitation to folks 3 times. Everyone is invited! It's as if we were invited to a great inaugural ball & we drove through the fast food take out line instead. God wants us to celebrate the joy of gifts of life which God offers us free of charge—God's generous grace poured out for us—& some can't be bothered. Jesus tells this parable to the leaders—those who are in charge—because they are the ones likely to miss out on God's incredible gift of grace because they are so busy trying to earn it.
The part of the parable that has been most peculiar to me over the years is the king's anger that one man is not wearing a wedding robe. One would think that, since those who ending up coming to the banquet were the everyday folks the king's slaves found on the streets, this man could catch a break for coming as he was. It has been helpful, therefore, that at least a couple of commentators believe that the king provided not only the banquet but the proper apparel which this man refused to wear. My experience has been that God provides all that we need in order to respond faithfully to God's invitation to us, so this man's refusal to accept the requisite wardrobe is sort of like someone's refusal to wear a seatbelt & then being angry at God for being thrown out of the automobile in a crash. Hmmmm.
We at Hope have begun a wonderful adventure in intentional multicultural community, & we have established a fine foundation. Our work is not completed, however, & perhaps never will be since we are all human & growth toward God's reign on earth is ever a challenge to us. However, we have various wonderful opportunities to deepen our commitment to living together in love & respect & welcoming others into our midst. Some of you may be interested in several days of training up at Camp Allen in November similar to the work which Melanie Fahey, Cornelius & Danita Perry, & I have been doing in Los Angeles. Please see one of us for more information on that opportunity. In addition, I have purchased the documentary on the slave trade, Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North, for viewing in our community which will aid us in continuing our conversation about how past history in this country affects our society & the church today. I hope we can gather in small discussion groups to share this excellent tool which was introduced to me by the director/producer when I was on sabbatical. In what other ways can we deepen our commitment to being a Christ-centered community of faith ever reaching beyond ourselves? Your suggestions are most encouraged.
As Episcopalians, we express ourselves most effectively in our worship, so I call to your attention again the celebratory nature of our Eucharistic table. The king prepared a wedding banquet for his son & invited all to partake. Each time we come together, we prepare Eucharist—our Great Thanksgiving—to share the body & blood of Christ who desires us to fill ourselves so completely with his love that it overflows from our lives to others. As we participate in the Eucharistic prayer, we give ourselves as Jesus did, & we gain the strength for the journey to go out beyond the doors of this place to share Christ's Good News with others, & perhaps to encounter Christ in those we meet. Come! Let us pray & praise, sing & feast with one another, opening ourselves for Christ to use us in the world. May others truly know we are Christ-bearers by our love.
posted by
Hope Episcopal Church
at 12:40 PM
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