Sermon 2023.10.15
This parable, like the one last week, has been falsely interpreted to be God’s judgment against Judaism, Jerusalem, and the temple. There is sadly an anti-semitic tradition of misinterpreting scripture that needs to be named and dismissed. This is how it goes. The king that throws the wedding banquet is said to represent God, and the wedding banquet is said to be Holy Communion, the union of Jesus Christ to the church. The people who do not come to the feast who were originally invited, some say to be the Jewish people, who do not accept Jesus as Lord. So then the destruction of their city by fire is said to be the Roman destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in CE 60 as a divinely sanctioned retribution. Finally the eclectic crowd assembled for the wedding are the nations who have accepted Christ. But the one without the robe is the one who is not baptized, who tries to stand on their own righteousness. So the message is: believe in Jesus and be baptized or else God will burn your city and throw you into hell. It’s a turn or burn; hateful fear based theology. I name this, and I reject it. The Jewish people and religion are a legitimate and worthy expression of faith.
If we believe God will punish those who do not accept Christ, then what is to stop us from punishing non-Christians and to do so thinking we are doing the will of God? Muslim people and the Islamic religion are a legitimate and worthy expression of faith.
Here is another interpretation of the parable. The King who throws the banquet does not represent God, but simply represents a typical King or government whose coercive power has gone to their head. The people who do not go to the banquet would be people who resist the rule of an unjust coercive power. The king burns the city of non-compliant vassals as happens in history and world affairs. The one who goes to the feast but does not wear a robe is the one who protests and challenges the legitimacy of the feast, confronting the unjust king in front of everyone. This is exactly what Jesus did. The one without the robe is Jesus himself. We know that he was crucified, thrown into darkness, gnashed his teeth in pain on the cross, all because he did not bow to coercive power. We confess and believe that he was sent to tell the truth as it says in this parable. Jesus was crucified because he challenged the political religious thinking of the time he was in.
We are presently witness to thousands of deaths of innocent people in Palestine and Israel.
Jesus said many are called, but few are chosen. What does this mean? It means that we are all called to take up our cross and follow Jesus, by building trust and working for peace and justice. The few who are chosen are those who are in positions of leadership who bear the responsibility for protecting their people.
Justice for all people is the key to peace and to seeing God.
San Pablo nos da instrucciones de cómo alcanzar la paz y la justicia. El dice, “¡alégrense! Que todos nos conozcan como personas bondadosas. La justicia la alcanzaremos solamente con atraer personas. Tenemos que atraer con alegría.
Saint Paul gives us instructions for how to achieve peace and justice. He says, “Be Happy! So that everyone will recognize us as generous people. We can achieve justice by attracting people. We have to attract people with joy and happiness.
The other night we were having dinner when we heard a noise come from down the hall. It was a door slowly creaking open. I got a surprised look on my face, and the children jumped up from around the table and ran to behind where I was sitting. They put me between them and the hallway and huddled behind me. I have to say it felt pretty good to know that my kids trust me to protect them, to see them attracted to me in their time of need. I went to investigate. There was one room down the hallway with the door pushed open. I went in and what did I see? The cat! When I turned around two of the boys were behind me with plastic swords and shields.” “It’s just the cat!” They yelled. This tells you so much about who we are and what we need. We need to feel safe. We need to practice the long slow process of building trust.
Take for example. Isaiah 25. What are we to make of this? It says here that God made a fortified city into ruins. How long will we equate destruction with God? It says that strong people will glorify you. When was it that Jesus was glorified? On the cross. So the point is that those who are powerful will be brought low.
Again it says you have been a refuge to the poor and to the needs in their distress. If that is true then why are so many innocent people suffering? The point here is that despite so much suffering, whenever refuge is given, that is God. When the misdeeds of violence are stilled; then we see God.
On this mountain, that is, on mount Zion a feast will be made for all peoples: for Jews, for Muslims, for Christians, for Bahai, for Buddhists, for Hindus, and for Atheists. All nations will live peacefully on God’s holy mountain: Israelis, Palestinians, Ukrainians, Russians, Syrians, Turks, Iranians, Pakistanis, Indians, Chinese, Americans, and many more!
On the Holy Mountain God will destroy death and war. It is our collective responsibility to create peace in the Holy Land. We are presently covered with a shroud of death and shame. Our shame will only be lifted when we demand and realize peace and an end to war. “It will be said on that day, “Lo Here is our God.””
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