Walk this Way

 

Sunday 11^th October – Trinity 18 – Proper 23

Isaiah 25: 1-9. A text rich in itself and with strong echoes in the New Testament which speaks of the salvation of God destroying even death itself. Death being the greatest thing that prevents us making sense of the world. Jews knew this day as “The day of the Lord” and is represented in both old (as here) and new testaments as a great feast or wedding banquet as in Jesus’ parables in Matthew and Luke.

Philippians 4: 1-9. Peace is the keynote of this passage and it amounts to the same as the protective shield of salvation. Healing, peace, health, salvation are all synonyms of each other. It includes the famous injunction not to worry but to place all our cares and faith in God. If only we could all take this to heart – me very much included – how different the character of our community would be!

Matthew 22: 1-14. This parable recounts how the Jews (the original guests) rejected the gospel and were destroyed (possibly a reference to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in AD70) and then the people from the street (good and bad) representing us – the gentiles – were invited. The most perplexing thing is how one guest was upbraided for not having the correct wedding clothes. The generally accepted explanation for this is that the wedding clothes represent “doing” the will of our Father in heaven and not just giving lip service to faith. The point here is that this person was subject to God’s judgement not human judgement here on earth.

 

In the parable there is a man invited to the wedding banquet who is then attacked because he isn’t wearing the right clothes! That’s a bit strong in anyone’s language so what is going on? As ever we have to understand the symbolic language to get what it really means.

A clue comes earlier in Matthew’s gospel Chapter 7 verses 7 to 23 where there is a passage that I think is what the parable means when it says that he wasn’t wearing the right wedding clothes. It goes like this and it has always sent a chill down my spine.

²¹ ‘Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord”, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only one who does the will of my Father in heaven. ²² On that day many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?” ²³ Then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.”

I always automatically think “is that me?” What did that man lack? He seems to be preaching and prophesying in the name of Jesus.

What the man doesn’t have, even while he is doing all those things is the most fundamental Christian attribute of Love. And we know from Paul don’t we that if we have not love then we are just a clanging cymbal.

The parable says that if you talk the talk you must walk the walk. Words and actions have to match which is why when they don’t match the shock is amplified – which is why when Christians go off the rails or are caught out doing something they shouldn’t, it is always big news.

Probably the most shocking and distressing scenario is the story of abuse in the church that raised its ugly head again during this week. All the priests that have ever been caught abusing youngsters, so much in the news again this week were missing that great attribute of real Love. What they had was perverted lust – a very different animal indeed.

Love doesn’t and wouldn’t force, coerce, trap, demean, abuse or exploit for personal gain.

One of my duties in Romania was visiting British prisoners in Jail. Paedophiles were well represented because of the poverty and neediness in Romania at that time and it was cheap to get to and corruption was endemic. One of them was a priest. A truly pitiful case because he couldn’t discern the difference between real Love and sexual lust. Or perhaps he deliberately blurred the difference in his mind to try and convince himself that he really wasn’t doing anything wrong.

But his words of love were clothed in sin, and abuse. He wasn’t wearing the right wedding clothes, to use the symbolism of the parable

Now admittedly that is an extreme example I have used to make the more generally applicable point that our words proclaiming love of God and neighbour must be given substance if they are to have any reality to them.

1 Corinthians 13 is read at weddings and many other occasions and I think because of that we have become immune to its hard edge.

Read it again. It doesn’t matter what else I do, or achieve, without love I am nothing and I gain nothing.

When someone dies, the only reality we have left is the love that existed between us. That can never be taken away and besmirched or belittled.  

Love is the binding force of the universe and as John says in his first letter this is because quite simply – God is Love.