On this mountain the
Lord of Hosts will make for all
peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled
with marrow…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. [Isaiah 25:6, 8]
You spread a table before me in the
presence of those who trouble me; you have anointed my head with oil, and my
cup is running over. [Psalm 23:5]
...stand firm in the Lord...The Lord is near. Do not worry...but
in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be
made known to God. And the peace that passes all understanding, will guard your
hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. [Philippians 4:1b, 6-7]
The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding... He sent his slaves to call those who had been
invited...but they made light of it and went away...Then
he said to his slaves, 'The wedding is ready but those invited were not
worthy'...those slaves...gathered all whom they found...But when the king came
in...he noticed a man...not wearing a wedding robe...the king said...'bind
him...and throw him into the outer darkness...' For many are called but few are
chosen. [Matthew 22:1-14]
In these recent weeks of
ever-growing unsettling news in our own country and across the world, the
readings for this Sunday speak of cities in ruins, banquets, and the importance
of proper attire. Isaiah starts us off with a prayer of praise to God after a
great destruction that had been building for several prior chapters. On Mount
Zion (“this mountain”) God is providing a great feast and will wipe away the
tears from all faces. My favorite phrase in this comes at the end of verse
5: the song of the ruthless was stilled. Oh that we may yet live to know
that peace!
A smaller more personal banquet comes in
Psalm 23, also verse 5. We, of course, are each one a sheep of God’s pasture. This, as all
psalms are attributed by some traditions to David himself, and surely, he or
whoever authored it, thoroughly understood the nature of sheep and shepherding.
The symbolism comes through the depth of each line that refers back to how to
work with real-life sheep.* For example, sheep are
inherently nervous creatures and are frightened to stampede by an apple
dropping from a tree. The shepherd massages each sheep with oil to keep
burrowing insects from infecting their eyes and to comfort them. They are
terrified by fast flowing water and can only drink from water that appears to
be still. The psalmist asks the Lord to lead him beside still
waters and the lectionary’s timing for this could not be any better
given the turbulent times in which we live. And we
are each fed many times and ways from God’s own hand; and as we are marked as
Christ’s own forever, in Baptism.
Matthew tells a Jesus parable of a king's
wedding banquet where the guests declined and made light of the
invitation. Even after a second invitation was issued, the invitees refused and
killed the king's own messengers. The king destroyed them and their city as
retaliation, but was still determined to fill the banquet hall and people out
on the streets were all invited. I wonder if Jesus is using Isaiah again,
his listeners would likely have understood this parable from that perspective.
The
perplexing part is that one guest wasn't dressed properly infuriating the king
who had him bound and thrown where there will be weeping and gnashing
of teeth (one of Matthew’s favorite phrases). And Jesus then
tells us that many are called but few are chosen. I realize
that trying to understand this allegory through the lens of my everyday life,
I'm surely missing the point. Others who are more learned and wiser than me
will likely have a clearer and more theological explanation, but what comes to
me hearkens back to this week’s passage in Isaiah. We can be chastened or even
frightened into submission and obedience even if that "obedience" is
only from fear, half-hearted, and insincere. But if I dress my heart and soul
with the proper attire of prayer and supplication with thanksgiving as
Paul tells us, the peace of God that passes all understanding, will
guard my heart and my mind in Christ
Jesus. The more I pray and continue to work toward an honorable, just,
and pure mindset, the more of God's peace I will receive, through both the most
difficult and the most delightful days of my short temporal existence.
Upon
self-reflection, I re-discover too many empty distractions in my life that call
me away from the ultimate invitation. By my own lack of attention, willfulness,
or laziness, I am making light of the purpose for which I was created,
dismissing the gift of being called and chosen. Avoiding the
temptations of the something shiny syndrome is no easy task for this imperfect
mortal. As I ponder these readings God’s great forgiveness and restoration, and
what is an appropriate wardrobe to meet the Divine, I realize how now is
always a good time for me to RSVP in prayer ~ Dear God, I accept! I have the
directions, and THANKS for inviting me and encouraging me to put down my phone more
often than I pick it up. Keep reminding me, please, and I'll accept again and again and yet again.
*I commend to
you a lovely little book titled, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by
W. Phillip Keller who once was a real-life shepherd. He unpacks line by line all
that the psalm speaks of in relation to how a shepherd cares for sheep each as
God cares and (tries to) lead us.
LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY
Leader: ~
Most Merciful Lord, grant us the courage to disavow worship of
shiny distractions to stand firm in Your always present love. May we humbly
accept Your continuing invitation to be joined with You through our prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving.
O
God, our Peace
RESPONSE:
Guard our
hearts
~ Most Merciful Lord, visit Your saving help upon us to
slow the ruin of cities and lives, and that we may successfully prevail upon political
leaders to act with restraint, in justice, and great consideration for what is
right for the health and safety of all on our Planet, in our Country, and
throughout every village, town, and city in Your Creation. We pray
especially for: add your own petitions
O God, our Peace
Guard our hearts
~ Most Merciful Lord, shine Your light and
whisper Your comfort into the shadows of those suffering through illness,
emotional trials, and natural and human-made disasters. We now join our hearts
together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions
O God, our Peace
Guard
our hearts
~ Most Merciful Lord, joyfully receive our beloved
into the sunshine of Your grace upon grace, in the fullness of Christ, the very
expression of Your love for us all. We pray especially for… add
your own petitions
O God, our Peace
Guard
our hearts
~ Most
Merciful Lord, we pause in this moment to offer You
our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and
memorials… add your own petitions
O God, our Peace
Guard
our hearts
~ Most Merciful Lord, refresh and excite those
who are called to lead us in Your Church and who inspire us to learn, grow, and
live in and through Christ, by thought, word, and action. We
pray especially for: add your own petitions
O God, our Peace
Guard
our hearts
The Celebrant adds: O God, Mighty and
Good, guide us to follow all that is true, honorable, and just, in
excellence and purity, as You would have us do, to be among Your chosen. We ask
for Your continuing patience as we pledge ourselves again to Jesus, our
Redeemer Christ; and the Holy Spirit, our Constant Companion; who together with
You, live and reign as One God, now and for eternity. Amen.
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