Did you ever get a wedding invitation from a family member that perhaps you see to even say “hello” once or twice a year at the most, even if you live in the same town and even go to the same parish church? Did you ever get an invitation to a wedding and you wondered why in the world this person would invite you to something as intimate as a family wedding? Or, did you ever hear tell that so and so were getting married and the invitations were out and search the mail box all you want to there is no heavy two envelope, $.60 invitation for you? All of these things have, I’m sure happened to all of us at one time or another. I can still recall my father informing us in his most authoritative voice that the family was invited to this particular wedding in my mother’s family no less, and we as a family would be going. Needless to say, a good time was NOT had by all.

Interestingly enough the First Testament Reading speaks of a great banquet that would be prepared for the people of God. Did you ever notice that so many of the promises of God include food? I don’t think that’s why our faith appeals to me so much, but food is a wonderful image. Who doesn’t like a family meal? Not a compulsory, put in an appearance kind of meal, but one prepared lovingly by many kind and gentle hands with the joy of having loved ones gathered around a table. If the resources are meager, very little might be on the table: Perhaps a bit of cheese and meat, a loaf of bread, a few store-bought cookies. Maybe the fare is sumptuous, a roast, potatoes, a salad, several vegetable choices, and a wonderful home-made desert. Maybe there is only a bit of bread, simple and pure, wheat and water only pressed together and baked, and a bit of ordinary wine to dip it in. But, here is the family of faith gathered. Faith is a gift from God, and it matters not what we have or even what we know, there is that leap of faith that is essential. We must believe as the people of God that a face and frame, body and blood were taken on from a humble Virgin from a small town near Lake Galilee, and that is indeed the leap of faith. Jesus of Nazareth is the body and blood clothing the second person of the holy and blessed Trinity and he is our God. We are invited to share his feast here and now and always, and each and every time we gather around a table in our homes and with our family and loved ones.

This meal will clear up all the confusion. The shroud that covers all people, the sheet that is spread over all nations will be a sign that death is swallowed up forever. How wonderful it can be to gather with friends and loved ones and break bread once a family member has been laid to rest.

The Holy Gospel gives us one of the wonderful analogies that Jesus used in his teaching. The Kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a wedding banquet that the king gave for his son. Last week we spoke of indifference. The invitation that the king issued was treated not with indifference but with outright contempt. They blew off the king. Imagine if we were to receive an invitation to attend a wedding at Buckingham palace. Know you’re really talking. I could tell the queen that my favorite tea is Earl Grey and that I wouldn’t have thought being a colony was all that bad. But even those who were the monarch’s messengers were tortured and killed. The king took his revenge on those terrible people and had them slain by his soldiers. We are getting into what we call “end-time” imagery now as the days shorten and there is a chill in the air.

We might wonder if these people had forgotten the way Israel had always celebrated its closeness to God. There was Word and there was feasting! What we do in church each week is nothing new to the faithful. This is the measure by which we gauge our faithful response. Have they turned their backs on friendship and intimacy, trust and reconciliation? It appears so. Yet the wedding has taken place, and the banquet honoring the union has been prepared. There is going to be a celebration no matter what!

The parable may have been directed originally toward those who opposed Jesus. If they would not accept him as Messiah, they certainly would refuse an invitation to a messianic banquet in his honor! They are condemned for their obstinacy. We are also challenged by this parable. Have we willingly accepted God’s invitation to his banquet of Word and Sacrament? Have we willingly accepted the implications of accepting the invitation? Banqueting together implies friendship and intimacy, trust and reconciliation. We call it COMMUNITY. Are these the components of our lives? Let us hope and pray so.

The First Sunday in November we celebrate the feast of All Saints. It is the time when we recall not only the great heroes of our faith but also those of every time and place who have been marked with the Cross of Christ and sealed with the Holy Spirit forever. More to the point we also celebrate all those in our parish family who have died since the last All Saints Sunday. We light a candle for each of them and celebrate the great wedding feast in heaven that we will one day share with them through the mercy of God in Christ.

 --K.T.S.
October 9, 2005

• Daily Scripture Readings
• Sermon Transcripts
  
• Documents
• Lutheran Links