Prayer
Open our community to all who seek you, and adorn it with the rich diversity which is your Spirit's special gift. Let our assembly on each Lord's Day bear witness as a living sign to the banquet of eternal life where all will be welcome. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen.
From Prayers for Sunday and Seasons, Year A, Peter J. Scagnelli, LTP, 1992.
From Prayers for Sunday and Seasons, Year A, Peter J. Scagnelli, LTP, 1992.
Some Thoughts on Matthew 22:1-14
"I am drawn to understand this double parable through the lens of James 2, and the tension between his affirmation that one's faith can be seen in one's "works" (by which he means deeds, especially deeds of justice and compassion), and Paul's more famous affirmation (in Galatians and Romans) that our standing before God depends only on our acceptance of God's grace."
Commentary, Matthew 22:1-14, Sharon H. Ringe, Preaching This Week,WorkingPreacher.org, 2011.
"I am drawn to understand this double parable through the lens of James 2, and the tension between his affirmation that one's faith can be seen in one's "works" (by which he means deeds, especially deeds of justice and compassion), and Paul's more famous affirmation (in Galatians and Romans) that our standing before God depends only on our acceptance of God's grace."
Commentary, Matthew 22:1-14, Sharon H. Ringe, Preaching This Week,WorkingPreacher.org, 2011.
"The challenge of the story lies both in the warning about refusals and in the richness of the image of salvation as a feast...Beyond the strategy to save the party at the story level is the much richer notion of God's generosity, not as an afterthought, but as God's enthusiastic being and delight in all people and pain at their refusal to share the life freely offered."
"First Thoughts on Year A Gospel Passages in the Lectionary: Pentecost 17,"William Loader, Murdoch University, Uniting Church in Australia,
So the reality is that this parable continues themes from the preceding lessons in the Matthean text. One of those themes is greatly defined by Jesus' own mission in contrast to the authorities of his own day; and the contrast between the growing Matthean community and the religious authorities some sixty+ or so years after Jesus' resurrection. We can do a great deal of harm if we are not again careful with how we set up this parable. The danger for the preacher is that the divisions of the past can easily slip into hatred for others today. I would think that no good preacher wishes to (intentionally or unintentionally) create hatred for any ethnic or another religious group. Moreover, when we focus on this one aspect of the text we completely miss what the text is saying to us today.
The second theme is the one that I think has the most traction from our pulpits today in our particular context. We are a church that is in the midst of a great and diverse global society. We are a church that sits ethnically divided and does not typically represent the community around us. It is easy to see this when we graph out the ethnic diversity of our church or the age diversity of the church.
The second theme of the text is that the kingdom of God is passing from one generation to another. The kingdom of God was once something that meant belonging to a particular group but now through the ministry and mission of Jesus Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit, God's fuller plan of inviting the whole world into fellowship and kinship is underway.
The parable tells us first and foremost that the kingdom of God is the (will be in the end) fulfillment of a universal mission.
The cautions of the text are well put by the scholars Allison and Davies who write in their third volume on Matthew:
The evangelist was all too aware that criticism of others as ell as the doctrine of election are both fraught with moral peril; for the former tends to nourish complacency -- censure of our enemies always makes us feel better about ourselves -- while the latter can beget feelings of superiority...the two things can foster illusions...Thus it is that Christian readers of 22:1-14, who necessarily identify with those at the king's banquet, cannot read the text and feel self-satisfaction over the wrath that overtakes others. They must, as the homilies on this text throughout the centuries prove, instead ask whether they are like the man improperly clothed, whether they are among 'the many' despite profession to be among 'the few.' God's judgement comes upon all, including those within the ecclesia. The author of 1 Peter well understood this when he wrote that judgement begins with the household of God. (p 208)
In this light and in light of the particular reflection of the kingdom of God we offer as a church we might readdress the parable and ask ourselves the following questions. Are we going out on behalf of our householder? Are we going out and inviting all to come to the banquet feast? Are we accepting the invitation to sit at the table and to invite others? Are we willing to invite and/or to sit at the table with both the good, the bad, and the ugly? Are we really interested in sitting in a filled banquet hall? Are we prepared for the feast? The question is not so much are you wearing the right clothes but are you ready to invite, connect, and welcome the people God intends to gather around for the wedding feast?
This Sunday many a sermon will focus on the violence of this parable. Some will focus on the "us and them" reading. Some will speak out only to make the insider feel better. The truth-teller will challenge their community gathered to go out into the streets and gather in God's people, the sacred people of God, created by God, a diversity of ethnicities and beliefs. Yes, the preacher this week who speaks the truth will be the preacher who challenges our church to a missionary imperative of sharing the Gospel.
No, we do not intend to preach a Gospel that does violence to others but a Gospel of love that binds us together in the harmony of God's community. We shall invite with our actions of care and hospitality. We shall gather God's people in through actions which incarnate the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I do believe in judgment; it happens every day. But I will tell you that I wish to be judged on the love and the kindness I show to my fellow man. I wish to be judged on the Gospel of love which invites all into God's heavenly embrace. I wish to sit at the table with the good and the bad, the old and the young, people of every color and people of every language. After all...aren't those always the very best dinner parties?
Some Thoughts on Philippians 4:1-13
"Paul's concern is unity in the church, which can only arise once we recognize our redemption as coworkers for the Lord, giving us a spirit of gentleness, and thereby turning our sight from earthly matters that lead to petty squabbles, derision, and anxiety. Only then can we experience the peace that transcends all understanding."
Commentary, Philippians 4:4-7, Jacob Myers, Preaching This Week,WorkingPreacher.org, 2012.
Commentary, Philippians 4:4-7, Jacob Myers, Preaching This Week,WorkingPreacher.org, 2012.
"But Paul sees a different reality alongside the violence and duplicity of Rome. The small and struggling Christian congregation in the Roman colony of Philippi is itself a kind of 'colony,' a separate polis with a more powerful Lord who alone has defeated death."
Commentary, Philippians 4:1-9, Susan Eastman, Preaching This Week,WorkingPreacher.org, 2011.
Commentary, Philippians 4:1-9, Susan Eastman, Preaching This Week,WorkingPreacher.org, 2011.
There are two individuals in the community Euodia and Syntyche and they don't agree about their understanding of a life lived following Christ. Sound familiar?!? Moreover, their dispute is causing division in the community. REALLY! I hope you are reading my sarcasm here... People are not agreeing with one another and then causing a division. We don't know which one is the loyal or faithful person but we do know that Paul believes this is problematic for the mission. Division is problematic and reconciliation is essential.
So Paul closes the letter reminding them of the need for gentleness and kindness, thanksgiving and peace. God will be faithful in helping them through their divisions and trials. God will come soon. (Paul still believes at the time of this writing that God's second coming is approaching quickly.) He blesses them and challenges them to be faithful.
This is apostolic leadership. The apostle rises above the division. In a nonanxious way, he points out with clarity that mission is the most important thing. He reminds them of their personal and individual journey with Christ and how this is important. Then he points out who it is that is causing problems and calls them to be unified. He challenges them to be reconciled one to another so that the mission may be undertaken with faithfulness. And the apostle raises before the community their call to unity and mission over and above those who are divided.
No matter what the division is, for too long we as leaders have been on the ground mucking it up instead of being the apostolic leaders we are intended to be. I'd love to see a unified and prophetic voice rise up from leadership across every church and every denomination with a vision for evangelism and the cause of Christ - over and above the shouting, raising fists, and prophecy bent on dividing the people of God. Now that would be reformation worth listening for!
Some
Thoughts on Exodus 32:1-14
"I suggest we discontinue referring to this text as the "golden calf" incident and begin calling it the "God changes God's mind at the request of Moses" incident."
Commentary, Exodus 32:1-14, Shauna Hannan, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2016.
"With the golden calf narrative, preachers have an opportunity to explore with their congregations the stunning, and even surprising, character of God and God's way with the world."
Commentary, Exodus 32:1-14, Amy Erickson, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2011.
It is possible that the story of the golden calf actually is a reference to a dispute between the later Northern and southern kingdoms. See I Kinds 12:28-30 where the story might link up and reveal the purpose here isn’t just that Israel has one God, but that Israel has one place of worship and one kingdom. But let us not dismiss the story too quickly a mere historical controversy in narrative form.
Essentially what happens is that God gets upset at the idol-making, the people plead with God not to be so angry, and God allows for a bit of grace. Moses gets angry and smashes the tablets. Aaron offers a lame excuse and blames the people. Then there is some killing as punishment while the rest of the people are spared.
Interestingly, Rabbi Abraham Ben Meir Ibn Ezra (in his work Ibn Ezra) believes that we get the story confused. The idols were not to take God’s place but instead to take Moses’ place. They were to become the means by which in the absence of a leader the people could commune with God.
Rabbi J. B. Soloveitchik (one of the great 20th century Jewish thinkers) wrote, “They felt that they themselves did not have access to the Almighty. Only somebody of great charisma and ability could have access to him. The people sinned because they were perplexed. Moses has been gone for a long time… They did not understand that, while Moses was the greatest of all prophets and the greatest of all men, every Jew has access to God… Sometimes it is a sense of one’s greatness that causes sin; sometimes it is a sense of one’s smallness.” (Vision and Leadership pg 131).
Finally, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, the former Chief Rabbi of England, puts it eloquently, “Every Jew is an equal citizen of the republic of faith because every Jew has access to its constitutional document, the Torah…”(Radical Then, Radical Now; pg.129)
For the Christian then, this story is not truly about replacing God with other lesser gods but instead believing that man-made items will touch the divine in such a way to help us with our fear, anxiety, sense of lostness, despair, and hopelessness. For the Christian, we have not the church as an idol, nor clergy. We have not morality or some other stand-in. Instead, we have the life of Jesus as our mediator in whom all are made citizens of the reign of God.
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