Sermon 2
Matthew 22.1-14
*sigh*
Doesn’t this passage just remind you of how loving and kind Jesus is? Can’t you just imagine him so clearly on a grassy hill, holding the children on his knew… See him now as he preaches the beatitudes or shares the first communion or even as he hangs on the cross. And in all of those times he sighs and says, “I looooooooove yooooooooooou. I wove wooo. Isn’t life sweet and wonderful? I’ll just look at you for a while now...” *sigh*
OF COURSE JESUS DIDN’T DO THAT! And yet, when we hear something that Jesus says that kind of gets a little scary or challenges us a bit, it almost seems like that’s the picture of Jesus that we run to. The first thing that might pop in our heads might sound like,
(sing) Jesus loves me this I know, for the bible tells me so. Little ones to him belong, they are weak but he is strong, yes Jesus loves me…yes Jesus loves me…yes Jesus loves me…the bible tells me so…
All of this is emotion driven; driven by your own good feelings about the person; focused on how good you feel. I WANT TO FEEL GOOD! ISN’T LOVE A GOOD HAPPY FEELING ALL THE TIME?!
But wait, think about the times you’ve been in love, as the relationship deepens though the love turns into something more about them. You care more and more about how they are feeling and being with them. It’s not just about sharing a feeling; it’s about sharing life. And we all know life isn’t good and happy all of the time.
Now think of what happens at a wedding. You don’t say “will you marry me” or “I will marry you” and leave it at that. You don’t just show up and look pretty for the wedding, take nice pictures, and feel all good and gooshy. If you are getting married, you are there to change. You are there to share life and change. You can’t really be in love without changing. When you get married you aren’t just saying “I loooove yoooou so much,” you are inviting another life, their family and friends, into your life and saying “change me.” From that point on, your life will change. Together, you’re making a whole new life.
In today’s gospel, we hear the king say, “The wedding is ready.” The wedding is a call to a new reality. The people who chose to take the invitation lightly, those who went back to their daily lives instead of joining in the banquet chose to live their old lives. Mistreating and killing the slaves who invited them to the wedding banquet is an example of their immersion in the old world. Death rules that world. The King, God, is inviting all of us to a new world and a new life where LIFE and CELEBRATION rule. Think of it, weddings are times of celebration and joy. You take time out of your busy schedule to eat, drink, dance, see old friends, come together and enjoy life! God is calling us to LIFE!
Every time we gather together in this building for worship we are accepting God’s invitation to us to be made new and to live anew. We aren’t just at a wedding saying, “I love you.” We are saying, “God, make this life new, change me, change us, change the world.” And from there we are called out to the world with God and just like in a marriage our entire lives will change. We will have a new life. The things we do together in worship, or when we gather with others during the week, helping each other and reaching out to others, is living out and being the new identity Christ gives us.
Think of the ways we find ourselves caught up in our old, comfortable reality: Patriarchy, hierarchy, rules, fear, anxiety, paychecks, and isolation. I know for me it can easily feel like all of the weight of this world on my back. It binds us up and clouds our vision, darkening our world. Living like this says, “Sorry, I’m all tied up at the moment.” It’s not about who’s going to heaven and hell, it’s about who’s living in hell right now because they continue to live a life run by the old rules.
But, with the life, death, and resurrection of Christ those rules are shattered. We are called and invited to light, love, and grace. We are called to proclaim this in everything we do! We proclaim this in everything we do by actually living and being the life Christ has given us not only for ourselves, but for everyone we meet, for the world. We’re watching TV see someone dying from starvation. We don’t just say, “Oh. That’s sad. I wish I could do something about it but I’m all tied up at the moment with all of these things I have to do and I hardly have enough money for myself anyway and and and…” With our new identity in Christ, we can’t say that anymore because we are freed from those old weights and are called to live out and bring the life of Christ to everyone.
Instead of pushing people underneath us as we strive to climb up each rung of the ladder, we wrap our arms around each other holding each other up, lifting each other up, loving each other because of the new identity that Christ has given us. Because of our new identity in Christ, we don’t have to worry about who is next in line, who has all the answers, or who’s being good or bad…remember, ALL were invited, the good and the bad. It’s not up to us at all, it’s up to God. And in Christ, God has already made the choice. God invites us, God takes us just as we are, where we are and God makes us completely new.
The church and baptismal identity isn’t just about doing all the right things, making the right motions, following the right rules, it’s about BEING the new identity to the world.
At the end of today’s gospel, the king says to that man, “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?” He calls the man “friend.” He doesn’t say “sinner” or “hellion.” This is similar to the rich young man who is told he needs to give up everything to follow Jesus. That story doesn’t end with Jesus condemning him to hell and hating him forever. That story ends with Jesus reminding his disciples that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. It is our own inability to unburden ourselves with the rules of our old life that keeps us from new life. But even that doesn’t stop God. God continues to invite us, God continues to love us, God continues to call us, God continues to forgive us.
“The wedding is ready.” God loves us not just in that sappy “I wove woo” sort of way. God is bursting with love for us and bursting for us to live and share a new life RIGHT NOW. Come to the wedding banquet, come to communion, with arms encircling you, feeding you for new life, to be new life.
*sigh*
Doesn’t this passage just remind you of how loving and kind Jesus is? Can’t you just imagine him so clearly on a grassy hill, holding the children on his knew… See him now as he preaches the beatitudes or shares the first communion or even as he hangs on the cross. And in all of those times he sighs and says, “I looooooooove yooooooooooou. I wove wooo. Isn’t life sweet and wonderful? I’ll just look at you for a while now...” *sigh*
OF COURSE JESUS DIDN’T DO THAT! And yet, when we hear something that Jesus says that kind of gets a little scary or challenges us a bit, it almost seems like that’s the picture of Jesus that we run to. The first thing that might pop in our heads might sound like,
(sing) Jesus loves me this I know, for the bible tells me so. Little ones to him belong, they are weak but he is strong, yes Jesus loves me…yes Jesus loves me…yes Jesus loves me…the bible tells me so…
All of this is emotion driven; driven by your own good feelings about the person; focused on how good you feel. I WANT TO FEEL GOOD! ISN’T LOVE A GOOD HAPPY FEELING ALL THE TIME?!
But wait, think about the times you’ve been in love, as the relationship deepens though the love turns into something more about them. You care more and more about how they are feeling and being with them. It’s not just about sharing a feeling; it’s about sharing life. And we all know life isn’t good and happy all of the time.
Now think of what happens at a wedding. You don’t say “will you marry me” or “I will marry you” and leave it at that. You don’t just show up and look pretty for the wedding, take nice pictures, and feel all good and gooshy. If you are getting married, you are there to change. You are there to share life and change. You can’t really be in love without changing. When you get married you aren’t just saying “I loooove yoooou so much,” you are inviting another life, their family and friends, into your life and saying “change me.” From that point on, your life will change. Together, you’re making a whole new life.
In today’s gospel, we hear the king say, “The wedding is ready.” The wedding is a call to a new reality. The people who chose to take the invitation lightly, those who went back to their daily lives instead of joining in the banquet chose to live their old lives. Mistreating and killing the slaves who invited them to the wedding banquet is an example of their immersion in the old world. Death rules that world. The King, God, is inviting all of us to a new world and a new life where LIFE and CELEBRATION rule. Think of it, weddings are times of celebration and joy. You take time out of your busy schedule to eat, drink, dance, see old friends, come together and enjoy life! God is calling us to LIFE!
Every time we gather together in this building for worship we are accepting God’s invitation to us to be made new and to live anew. We aren’t just at a wedding saying, “I love you.” We are saying, “God, make this life new, change me, change us, change the world.” And from there we are called out to the world with God and just like in a marriage our entire lives will change. We will have a new life. The things we do together in worship, or when we gather with others during the week, helping each other and reaching out to others, is living out and being the new identity Christ gives us.
Think of the ways we find ourselves caught up in our old, comfortable reality: Patriarchy, hierarchy, rules, fear, anxiety, paychecks, and isolation. I know for me it can easily feel like all of the weight of this world on my back. It binds us up and clouds our vision, darkening our world. Living like this says, “Sorry, I’m all tied up at the moment.” It’s not about who’s going to heaven and hell, it’s about who’s living in hell right now because they continue to live a life run by the old rules.
But, with the life, death, and resurrection of Christ those rules are shattered. We are called and invited to light, love, and grace. We are called to proclaim this in everything we do! We proclaim this in everything we do by actually living and being the life Christ has given us not only for ourselves, but for everyone we meet, for the world. We’re watching TV see someone dying from starvation. We don’t just say, “Oh. That’s sad. I wish I could do something about it but I’m all tied up at the moment with all of these things I have to do and I hardly have enough money for myself anyway and and and…” With our new identity in Christ, we can’t say that anymore because we are freed from those old weights and are called to live out and bring the life of Christ to everyone.
Instead of pushing people underneath us as we strive to climb up each rung of the ladder, we wrap our arms around each other holding each other up, lifting each other up, loving each other because of the new identity that Christ has given us. Because of our new identity in Christ, we don’t have to worry about who is next in line, who has all the answers, or who’s being good or bad…remember, ALL were invited, the good and the bad. It’s not up to us at all, it’s up to God. And in Christ, God has already made the choice. God invites us, God takes us just as we are, where we are and God makes us completely new.
The church and baptismal identity isn’t just about doing all the right things, making the right motions, following the right rules, it’s about BEING the new identity to the world.
At the end of today’s gospel, the king says to that man, “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?” He calls the man “friend.” He doesn’t say “sinner” or “hellion.” This is similar to the rich young man who is told he needs to give up everything to follow Jesus. That story doesn’t end with Jesus condemning him to hell and hating him forever. That story ends with Jesus reminding his disciples that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. It is our own inability to unburden ourselves with the rules of our old life that keeps us from new life. But even that doesn’t stop God. God continues to invite us, God continues to love us, God continues to call us, God continues to forgive us.
“The wedding is ready.” God loves us not just in that sappy “I wove woo” sort of way. God is bursting with love for us and bursting for us to live and share a new life RIGHT NOW. Come to the wedding banquet, come to communion, with arms encircling you, feeding you for new life, to be new life.
posted by Looking Glass Girl @ 3:05 PM
1 Comments:
Casey...Im so proud of you. What a great sermon...you are already a seasoned veteran
-KK
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