18 Pentecost A—9/12/14
Isaiah 25:1-9; Psalm 23; Philippians 4:1-9; Matthew 22:1-14
Have you gotten any dinner invitations lately? I have. Over the past month Lutheran Community Services, REACH, Faith Action Network, Communities In Schools in Renton, Open Door Ministries, and the Church of Steadfast Love have invited me to dinner—fundraising dinners!
In today’s reading from Matthew Jesus tells a story about an invitation to a banquet.
The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet…
The point of the dinner invitations I’ve received is clear: For many non-profit organizations, fall is fundraising season. The reason they send me dinner invitations is to raise money. But–it’s more than that. Those of us who respond to the invitations and go to the banquets receive not just a meal, not just an invitation to give. In each case, we are given a glimpse of the kingdom of heaven on earth. For example, at the recent REACH fundraiser two families who have been sheltered by the Center of Hope shared their stories of fear and desperation that have been transformed into hope and new opportunity.
Hearing those stories, those of us in attendance remembered who we are and why we were there. It wasn’t just about raising money. We were there at the invitation of the king. We were there to remember an alternative to the stories of fear and despair that we’re used to hearing in the headlines and the news.
The prophet Isaiah sketches what that alternative story looks like:
“You have been a refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in their distress…On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food…And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations…Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth.”
Here is a vision worthy of the king. Both Isaiah and Jesus compare it to an all-inclusive feast.
Yesterday many of us gathered to celebrate and give glory to God for the life of Pat Tanaka. A memorial service to me is a little bit like a fundraising dinner. At a memorial service we hear again the stories of our faith through Scripture. At a memorial service we hear the stories of a person’s life that remind us of who we are and why we’re here. It’s a taste of an alternative vision, the kingdom of heaven on earth such as Isaiah and Jesus describe.
We have been invited into this alternative vision, this kingdom of heaven on earth. We in turn have the privilege and the duty to invite others to share in this vision. The job of the slaves in Jesus’ story is to call those who have been invited by the king to the wedding banquet.
After yesterday’s service one of you told me you had a chance to invite one of those in attendance to worship with us on a regular basis. Calling all who have been invited to the king’s banquet is what the king’s slaves do. Another of those in attendance yesterday came up to me after worship and said, “You have a really special congregation here.” And she’s right, we do. That’s because little by little we are being formed into something closer to the vision of the kingdom of heaven on earth that Isaiah describes. Saying yes to the king’s invitation and being obedient to his command tends to do that.
But I got to wondering: This person who said that this is a special congregation: Has anyone among us represented to her the persistence of the king? Has anyone among us invited her to share in the banquet? To what extent do we the king’s slaves claim our job description of calling those whom the king has invited?
The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet…
Has it been awhile since you’ve received a dinner invitation? Dear friends in Christ, you are already at the table! The king has sent out invitations to many others. Whom have you been sent to call?
AMEN
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