Sunday's Message - In the Narrative

Here's the message I offered during the celebration services in Presbyterian Church of Hopedale, Ohio, on Sunday, October 11, 2020.

Matthew 22:1-14

Once again Jesus used stories to teach the people:

The kingdom of heaven is like what happened when a king gave a wedding banquet for his son. The king sent some servants to tell the invited guests to come to the banquet, but the guests refused. He sent other servants to say to the guests, “The banquet is ready! My cattle and prize calves have all been prepared. Everything is ready. Come to the banquet!”

But the guests did not pay any attention. Some of them left for their farms, and some went to their places of business. Others grabbed the servants, then beat them up and killed them.

This made the king so furious that he sent an army to kill those murderers and burn down their city. Then he said to the servants, “It is time for the wedding banquet, and the invited guests don’t deserve to come. Go out to the street corners and tell everyone you meet to come to the banquet.” They went out on the streets and brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike. And the banquet room was filled with guests. 

When the king went in to meet the guests, he found that one of them wasn’t wearing the right kind of clothes for the wedding. The king asked, “Friend, why didn’t you wear proper clothes for the wedding?” But the guest had no excuse. So the king gave orders for that person to be tied hand and foot and to be thrown outside into the dark. That’s where people will cry and grit their teeth in pain. Many are invited, but only a few are chosen.

In the Narrative

Now I’m not sure I’ve mentioned this before, but if I have, it’s worth saying again. Debbie, Maggie and I really like musical theater. I mean, around the Rudiger house, the Tonys is the one award show we never miss. And whatever wins the prize for best musical, that’s a CD I’ll be getting for Christmas, if not before. Of course, living in Weirton has been wonderful, because for the last ten years, we’ve gotten season tickets for the Broadway touring shows when they come to Pittsburgh. And even though our seats are so high that you risk getting a nose bleed, I haven’t regretted a single show. And I’ll tell you, Maggie may be the only person in her circle of friends who knows all the words to the “Sex is in the Heel” from Kinky Boots.

And you know, because we’re such big theater fans, we were really excited when the musical Hamilton came to town. And take it from me, it didn’t disappoint. Now, if you don’t already know, it’s Lin-Manuel Miranda’s take on the life and times of Alexander Hamilton, “our ten dollar founding father.” And along with all the other stuff going on, throughout the whole show, there’s a theme focused on who’ll tell Hamilton’s story when he’s gone. And you know, that’s why at three different points, his wife Eliza sings about being in the narrative, you know, the story: first, when she marries Hamilton and how she talks about entering it and then, in the second act, after he has an affair, about she’s taking herself out of the narrative.  And that’s really important, because the complete story of Alexander Hamilton can’t really be told unless it includes his wife.

Of course, there’s a reason I mentioned this stuff about being in the narrative. You see, in both the parable we read this week and the one we considered last week, I believe Jesus wants us, the hearer, to put ourselves into the story, in other words, in the narrative. For example, last week, we looked at the parable of the wicked tenants, and as opposed to those renters who viewed the vineyard as their possession, I believe Jesus wants us to see ourselves as that group which comes in after the first bunch is booted out. And if we do, we’ll understand that we have the opportunity to see God’s blessings for what they are, gifts to be used in his service. Do you see what I mean about being in the narrative?

And in our parable today, we’ve got something similar going on, and that’s going to be our focus this morning. But instead of being the people invited, I believe Jesus wants us to put ourselves into the story as the servants, you know, the folks who go out and do the inviting. You see, while the first parable deals how the Jews responded to the prophets and ultimately the Son, this one focuses on the Kingdom of God, the wedding feast, something has become real with the coming of the Son and how God is calling men and women into that Kingdom. And what’s our role? Man, we’re servants of the king; therefore, it’s our job to invite folks to the party. At least, that’s how I read it. And so, with that in mind, we’re going to talk about three things we may need to become in order to effectively do that job. And as we’ve done in the past, we’re going to draw these three qualities from the parable itself. And just as a warning, we’re going to be reading most of the story again. 

And so, with all that in mind, if we want to be effective inviting folks to the wedding banquet, first, I believe we need to become informed, and I’m talking about informed about the invitation we’re bringing to the people and the reception we’ll probably receive. In other words, we should not only know what we’re doing but also have a pretty good idea about what to expect. And I think we see that in the first part of the parable. Remember, this is what Jesus said: 

The kingdom of heaven is like what happened when a king gave a wedding banquet for his son. The king sent some servants to tell the invited guests to come to the banquet, but the guests refused. He sent other servants to say to the guests, “The banquet is ready! My cattle and prize calves have all been prepared. Everything is ready. Come to the banquet!”

But the guests did not pay any attention. Some of them left for their farms, and some went to their places of business. Others grabbed the servants, then beat them up and killed them.

This made the king so furious that he sent an army to kill those murderers and burn down their city. [Matthew 22:2-7, CEV]

Now that’s what Jesus said. And I’ll tell you, I think this says a lot about becoming informed. For example, we need to know about the message we’re out there sharing, and trust me, it’s not a message of judgement and condemnation and punishment. Instead, it’s all about the wedding banquet, an image Jesus will use a couple of chapters later when he compared the return of the Son of Man to a wedding. And so the message we’re caring out into the world is like an invitation to a party, one that has the very best food and drink. You see, it’s not just good news; man, it’s great news. In fact, it’s the best news of all. And if we want to be effective, we better know it.

Just like we also better be clear about the reception we can expect. You see, this is the reality we face: Not everybody is going to want to come to the party, no matter how much prime rib is served. Let’s face it, some are going to feel as though they have other, more important things to do, while others just don’t care. But regardless of the reason, no matter how wonderful the banquet or enthused our invitation, a lot of folks aren’t going to listen. In fact (and this will be shock to you), some aren’t going to be very nice in turning us down. Who’d have thought? And maybe that’s the reason Jesus said, “God will bless you when people insult you, mistreat you, and tell all kinds of evil lies about you because of me. Be happy and excited! You will have a great reward in heaven. People did these same things to the prophets who lived long ago.” [Matthew 5:11-12, CEV] I’m telling you, if we want to be effective in sharing the word, first, we need to become informed.

And second, I think we also need to become open. And here I’m talking about being open-minded about the kind of folks we look to invite to the party and into the church. I mean, think about the parable: after sharing the invitation and facing rejection, the king took care of business, didn’t he? And then he sent his servants out again.

Then he said to the servants, “It is time for the wedding banquet, and the invited guests don’t deserve to come. Go out to the street corners and tell everyone you meet to come to the banquet.” They went out on the streets and brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike. And the banquet room was filled with guests. [Matthew 22:8-10, CEV]

Now just pause and think about what that means, if we’re the servants and the invitation is the Good News and the banquet is the Kingdom of Heaven. If what the king said applies to what we’re called to do, the invitation, the good news of grace and compassion and love isn’t just for a select few. It’s not just for men and women who look good and act good and think good, you know the kind I’m talking about, folks like us.No sir, that invitation is for everybody. And it’s our job to get that message out. But that’s not going to happen, if we decide to choose which ones we’ll approach and which ones we won’t, you know what I mean, those we think deserve to get invited and those we already know don’t. No, when the king said “everyone,” I think he meant everyone, including both those who are good and those who are not. And in that sense, we’re acting like the servants in another parable Jesus told a little earlier in the story:

The kingdom of heaven is like what happened when a farmer scattered good seed in a field. But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and scattered weed seeds in the field and then left.

When the plants came up and began to ripen, the farmer’s servants could see the weeds. The servants came and asked, “Sir, didn’t you scatter good seed in your field? Where did these weeds come from?”

“An enemy did this,” he replied.

His servants then asked, “Do you want us to go out and pull up the weeds?”

“No!” he answered. “You might also pull up the wheat. Leave the weeds alone until harvest time. Then I’ll tell my workers to gather the weeds and tie them up and burn them. But I’ll have them store the wheat in my barn.” [Matthew 13:24b-29, CEV]

You see, we need to focus on our job, and it’s not to pull weeds or to withhold invitations. Whether it’s through our words or work, our intricate outreach or our simple compassion, our time or our money; it’s our job to do whatever we can to make sure everyone has received an invitation to the banquet regardless of whether we want them there or not. And to do that, second, we’ve got to become open.

And third, I think we also need to become humble. In other words, to be really effective in sharing the gospel, we need to accept that God has not made us wedding banquet bouncers. It’s not our job to determine who belong and who doesn’t; much less who’s good and who’s not. Frankly, that kind of work is not in our job description. And I believe that was Jesus’s point in the rest of the parable:

When the king went in to meet the guests, he found that one of them wasn't wearing the right kind of clothes for the wedding. The king asked, “Friend, why didn't you wear proper clothes for the wedding?” But the guest had no excuse. So the king gave orders for that person to be tied hand and foot and to be thrown outside into the dark. That's where people will cry and grit their teeth in pain. Many are invited, but only a few are chosen. [Matthew 22:11-14, CEV]

You see, God knows that when you invite everyone, the folks at the party are going to be mixed bag. And I’ll tell you, the same applies to the church. And even though we may want to give God a hand and start doing some judging and condemning, that kind of arrogance is going to get us into the same kind of trouble it got those scribes and Pharisees. No, like in that other parable we just read, you know, the one about the enemy and the seeds, our job is to tend the wheat, but not to pull the weeds, because frankly, we’re just not bright enough to tell the difference between the wheat and the weeds, And pulling the bad is going to disturb the good. I mean, let’s get real, we tend to judge books by their covers and, as it applies to people, often we assume that those who boast and brag are also the best and the brightness. And I think we all know that’s baloney. You see, making that kind of judgement is done by folks who are above our pay scale. And if you want to know who they are, just listen to another parable:

The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when a net is thrown into a lake and catches all kinds of fish. When the net is full, it is dragged to the shore, and the fishermen sit down to separate the fish. They keep the good ones, but throw the bad ones away. That’s how it will be at the end of time. Angels will come and separate the evil people from the ones who have done right. Then those evil people will be thrown into a flaming furnace, where they will cry and grit their teeth in pain. [Matthew 13:47-50, CEV]

Now I don’t know about y’all, but ZsuZsu has never heard a bell ring for me. Like it or not, we’re the net, not the angels. ‘Nough said. Third, we need to become humble. 

And this is something we’re going to see when we put ourselves in this story. And you know, in the musical Hamilton, that’s what Eliza ended up doing. Remember, after putting herself in and then taking herself out, after Aaron Burr shot Alexander Hamilton in a duel, during the last song, we puts herself back in the narrative, and for the fifty years she lived after her husband’s death, she told his story. And for us, when we recognize that we play the same role in our world that those servants played in theirs, we just might become more informed and more open and more humble as we do effectively the work we’ve been called to do. But that realization will only happen, when we put ourselves in the narrative.