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Matthew 22:1-14
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In today's Gospel, Jesus speaks in a parable of a great feast. This is far more than a story. This parable speaks not of a theoretical feast that may or may not have happened. It points to one that happens again and again, one at which we as Christians are invited to attend and commanded to keep. Sunday after Sunday the Church keeps the feast with the proclamation of the Word of God and the administration of the Sacraments of the New Covenant. Today, again, we are present for the marriage feast of Christ and the Bride, the Church.
It's tempting for us to give ourselves a pat on the back for being regularly present Sunday after Sunday and on the most ordinary of Sundays when this Gospel is proclaimed. And the more we are tempted to pat ourselves on the back, the more we are tempted to lash out against those who find a list of reasons to not be present for this feast that resembles the list in today's Gospel who cannot be bothered to accept the invitation for the feast.
And if we are truthful, that temptation goes even further than a feast and the review of those absent and those present. We are tempted to judge our neighbors on a much wider scope. I say that because I caught myself in it this week while preparing for this homily. Last Sunday, you may recall, we heard the giving of the Law, the Ten Commandments. Mere chapters later, in today's Old Testament reading, our spiritual ancestors have broken the first two commandments with lightning speed. Did I judge them? You better believe I did, and as quickly as they broke the commandments.
Only, my friends, we are not called to judge our neighbors, living or dead. And when we forget that, we become the ones of whom Jesus asks elsewhere in the Gospel: "Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?" Recall that as in today's Gospel we encounter a guest at feast not wearing an appropriate garment. This one has not preparred to keep the feast. Perhaps he was too busy judging those absent to prepare himself to truly be present. Jesus tells us that those who have not prepared for the feast are no better than those who for many and various reasons have not come to the feast.
This is something we need to hear. We are here at the feast. Have we preparred for the feast? Have we reflected upon the time that has passed since we were last present at the Eucharistic Feast? We have what we need to examine our hearts, and we have just recently heard the Word of God that calls us to find the specks and the logs in our own eyes. Just last Sunday we heard the Ten Words of God, the Decalogue:
-₩1- I am the Lord your God who brought
you out of bondage. You shall have
no other gods but me.
-₩2- You shall not make for yourself any
idol.
-₩3- You shall not invoke with malice the
Name of the Lord your God.
-₩4- Remember the Sabbath Day and
keep it holy.
-₩5- Honor your father and your mother.
-₩6- You shall not commit murder.
-₩7- You shall not commit adultery.
-₩8- You shall not steal.
-₩9- You shall not be a false witness.
-₩10- You shall not covet anything that
belongs to your neighbor.
And if that list seems a bit too long, remember that Jesus took all of that and summarized it in two words:
The Lord our God is the only Lord.
Love the Lord your God with all your
heart, with all your soul, with all your
mind, and with all your strength. The
second is this: Love your neighbor as
yourself.
It seems so simple, and yet there is a reason why our spiritual ancestors so quickly broke the first and second commandments. Simply put, these are not easy. And the reason we are so resistant to examine our own hearts, words and conduct, and are so tempted to judge our neighbors, is because it is easier to judge others for missing the mark of righteousness than it is to examine ourselves. And when we judge others but don't examine ourselves, we are revealed to be the guest who has no garment. How we need then to hear the invitation to confess our sins against God and our neighbors.
This, by the way, is a moment in which I need you all to hear me say that when I say these things, I am speaking to myself as well as to you. When I take the time to prepare to be present before the Altar for the Eucharistic feast, I am deeply aware that I have no right to be here, that I have no garment that marks me as worthy to partake in the celebration of the Kingdom of God. But this is not the last word for us. We need not be fearful that we will be driven out of this feast as was the one who had no garment. Our readings today and in weeks past show us again and again the mercy of God; mercy that is often scandelous to us when we don't see our own need for it but observe it in those we don't believe to be deserving. In the whole of the Gospel, we find Jesus embracing that mercy and extending it to countless others. And when we see this, and are aware of our own nakedness before God, our own unworthiness, we are encountered by Christ who in mercy clothes us with a precious garment that makes us worthy to remain at the feast and celebrate as the redeemed and forgiven beloved of God. We are forgiven, and in turn we forgive, sharing the peace of Jesus who has clothed us with himself. And just in case there is any doubt about our own forgiveness, and whom we forgive, remember what we pray at this feast in our garments, clothed in Christ:
"Forgive us our tresspasses (our sins),
as we have forgiven those who have
trespassed (sinned) against us.
Thanks be to God for that mercy! I say that not only because of the great comfort that is ours today. On the day that Israel heard the Law spoken for the first time, there was comfort in knowing the mercy of God. And yet how quickly did they forget that mercy. Oh how right Paul was to say "I do the very thing I know I shouldn't, and fail to do what I should." Today we are clothed in Christ, but we can with lightning speed forget that mercy and be in need again and again of the grace of God that clothes us in our nakedness. As long as we live in this life, we will need to prepare and repent again. But today we find comfort in knowing that Christ is always merciful, and delights to show mercy and to forgive. And in that remembrance, we keep the feast, not judging those who are absent, but rather rejoicing in the One who is always in our midst and who loves us in spite of ourselves, who even now is preparing us for the Feast that shall have no end, longing for us to keep that feast without end.
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Father Timothy Alleman, Rector
The Church of the Holy Cross
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