Mt 22:1-14

20 October 2002

“RSVP”

            In describing the kingdom of heaven, Jesus usually uses images that seem to make sense.  For example, there’s the mustard seed, which starts as something very small and develops into something very large (Mt 13:31-32).  Or there’s the one pearl of great value, which is purchased, to the exclusion of everything else (Mt 13:45-46).  And then there’s this:  Jesus tells this crazy story in which people behave like lunatics, and this is supposed to be a comparison to the kingdom of heaven!

            For starters, look at the way the king’s invitation to his son’s wedding banquet is received.  It’s bad enough that some people on the guest list just blow off the king and go back to their business.  But what’s the deal with those others who decide to RSVP by killing the messengers?  Whatever happened to just saying, “Sorry, I can’t make it”?  And let’s not overlook the fact that these aren’t just any servants.  They belong to the king, and it’s usually not healthy to “dis” the king.

            As for his royal highness, he demonstrates what I call the old swat-a-fly-with-a-sledgehammer approach.  Not only does he send his boys to take care of those characters who killed his servants, but he has them burn the entire city to the ground.

            Still, there’s a lot of tasty food with no one to eat it.  So the king sends out more servants with the orders to grab anyone they see.  And when the banquet hall is filled with folks who are unexpectedly getting this free dinner, the king notices someone who isn’t dressed for the occasion.  Imagine, of all the people who had been out walking the streets that day, only one person wasn’t in formal attire!

            Some five star restaurants will supply a jacket to male diners who show up without one.  But our inappropriately dressed friend here doesn’t get that type of treatment.  Instead, the attendants, following the king’s orders, “bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (v. 13).  Now those are some bouncers who take their jobs a little too seriously!

            Maybe you have an idea of why I find this parable to be strange, to say the least.  In fact, I don’t think there’s another of Jesus’ parables that strikes me in such an odd way.  And really, it’s only Matthew’s version that has these strange elements.  This parable of the wedding banquet, or the great dinner, appears in at least two other places.

            In chapter 14 of his gospel, Luke presents his account of the parable (vv. 16-24).  Unlike Matthew, his telling of the story wouldn’t be rated R for violence!  And instead of “a king,” Luke leaves his banquet planner anonymous.  Rather than having the invitees slay the messengers, Luke has them say things like, “please accept my regrets” (vv. 18-19).  In fact, the reasons they give for not attending—recent purchases of land and livestock or being a newlywed—are very similar to reasons permitted by Moses for not going into battle (Dt 20:5-7).  And finally, after people off the street are recruited for dinner, nobody gets tossed into outer darkness for not meeting the dress code!

            There’s another place in which this parable appears.  Among the many gospels that were not included in the final collection of books that we know as the New Testament was the gospel of Thomas.  It professes to be a collection of sayings of Jesus which the apostle Thomas recorded, number 64 of which is our parable.

            The version in the gospel of Thomas is very similar to the one in Luke.  Again, this is simply a story of someone who invited guests, who then declined to come.  As a result, the invitation went out to everyone who could be found.  The only real difference from Luke is the way it ends:  “Buyers and merchants [will] not enter the places of my Father.”[1]  Apparently, those business-related reasons are thought to be poor excuses for not going to a party!

            The fact that the parable appears in at least these three places seems to show that it was a well-known saying of Jesus.  It also shows us that Matthew’s version includes some additions, whether added by him or some later editor of his gospel.  The main addition, verses 11 to 14, the part about not being dressed for the wedding banquet, is thought by many to be a separate parable that deals with the attempt to enter the kingdom of God without repentance.[2]

            Whatever the case, our overall gospel reading is about a rejected invitation.  And despite my comments about the odd behavior of the people in this parable, even I understand that what Jesus is talking about is the invitation he offers to people in need of God.  The invitation is first to the Jews, then to the Gentiles.

            As he often does, Jesus makes his point in the form of a parable.  That’s not the same thing as an allegory, in which every single person and every single event has a symbolic meaning.  The word “parable” (in Greek, parabolh [parabolē]) literally means “comparison,” an idea that Jesus himself reflects in verse 2:  “The kingdom of heaven may be compared…”

            Parables are very useful in teaching.  Being comparisons, they often come in the form of stories.  While theological exposition has its place, as Paul shows in his epistles, there’s nothing quite like a story to sink deep into our minds.  And what a story Jesus uses in speaking to the people!  He gives them the image of a great feast, to which all are invited.

            Can you imagine the scene?  Can you imagine the smells, the bouquet of the banquet?  Can’t you smell that glistening turkey, right out of the oven?  And how about that steaming bowl of pasta?  And please tell me, is that cheesecake topped with cherries I spy on the dessert table?  But no doubt, there’s a dish I’ve overlooked!  Can someone help me out?  I wonder if while Jesus is talking about the banquet, there’s not more than one person whose mouth begins to water.  Who could refuse such an invitation?

            But as Jesus continues the story, we might see ourselves in those people giving reasons as to why they can’t attend.  The reasons given seem perfectly legitimate, maybe even mandatory.  But look what those people are depriving themselves of!  Look what we deprive ourselves of by not accepting the invitation.

            It seems fitting that our gospel reading have as its focus a great banquet, a dinner in which fine food is overflowing.  I say that because last Wednesday, the 16th, was World Food Day.  And that’s why today’s focus here at Westminster is World Food Sunday.

World Food Day is an annual celebration that marks the founding of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization on 16 October 1945.[3]  But it’s more than simply some organizational birthday.  It also aims to help people understand the predicament of the world's hungry and to encourage action at all levels to find answers to the problem of hunger.

Each year, World Food Day has a different theme.  For 2002, the theme is “Water:  Source of Food Security.”  That highlights the many different ways in which access to fresh water is of paramount importance:  water for drinking, water for irrigating crops, water for generating electricity…a multitude of uses.  It’s literally the difference between life and death.

In its annual report, released on World Food Day, the FAO said, "We do not have the excuse that we cannot grow enough food or that we do not know enough about how to eliminate hunger.  What remains to be proven is that we care enough, that our expressions of concern in international [forums] are more than rhetoric, that we will no longer accept and ignore the suffering of 840 million hungry people or the daily death toll of 25,000 victims of hunger and poverty."[4]

In a little while, we’ll gather downstairs for a special dinner.  It’s been called an “Unlucky Potluck Dinner.”  We’ll get a tiny demonstration of the disparities that exist in our community and in our world.  And the purpose of this isn’t so we can beat ourselves up for being among the planet’s wealthy—rather, it’s to help sensitize ourselves so that we can find ways to help.  Some things that immediately come to mind for me include our own food pantry…St. Susan Center…and Bread for the World.

        Jesus invites us to the table.  This is a meal for both the body and soul.  How does he do this; how does Jesus invite us?  Remember the parable.  He sends out his servants, his messengers.  He sends us.  And as the servants in the parable discover, not all invitations are accepted.  Sometimes we’re rejected; sometimes we’re the ones doing the rejecting.  But the invitation stands.  There’s still room at the wedding banquet of the Son.

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