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2017-10-15 Matthew 22 1-14 - Sin wears no robe
The kingdom of heaven is presented in parable form as a banquet where all are invited. No exception. The gospel text even clarifies; “both good and bad” were welcomed so the banquet hall would be full. You see, this is a story we can relate to, because no one wants to prepare for a celebration where no one shows up. No one wants 50 lbs of uneaten ‘cocktail shrimp’, or 30 cases of wine, or tons of those little BBQ sausages. No one wants to spend days preparing for an event, considering every detail, sparing no cost, and planning for years…. only to have a poor turnout. We can understand this…but would we invite ‘just anyone’ if the people ‘we wanted’ never showed up?
Well, this is exactly what Jesus explains will happen in the parable about the Kingdom of Heaven. Now we can make some connections to whom the parable is speaking about and who are the slaves and servants. The parable is an invitation to Israel first to join the banquet, then to the gentiles including the prostitutes and tax collectors (as referenced a few weeks ago when Jesus spoke to the chief priests). The slaves and the servants are those whom God sent, at first the prophets and eventually all those who are baptized into the kingdom of God.
Up to this point, we understand this parable just fine and we see ourselves seated at the banquet table. It’s a good place to be…nice…relaxing. Or is it? There is a very uncomfortable second part to this parable that has the power to scare the hell out of us. Something is out of place and our worst fear begins to manifest. There is an elephant in the banquet hall and The King, God, goes directly to it, points it out, calls is out, and casts is out!!!! You see, this is one of the few places where Jesus actually speaks of a literal hell, and clarifies this is a place that will NOT be empty.
The king comes into the banquet hall and finds a guest who does not have a wedding robe. And the king addresses this guest as ‘Friend’. (Now, exactly who would God call Friend in one moment and cast into the abyss the next?) This parable has the potential to defy everything we know about love, compassion, wiping away tears, and never abandoning us. (pause) Or does it?
Or does it confirm and strengthen our understanding of God’s eternal love for us? My dear friends, my brothers and sisters in Christ, my fellow workers in the kingdom…never forget or lose sight of God’s faithful, complete, and everlasting love for you and every human life. God is unchanging and God is righteous and holy. God’s plan for humankind has not changed since the foundations of this world were laid and nothing is conflicted with our faith within this parable.
As you hold tight to your faith in Jesus Christ, look again closely at the parable. ‘A guest without a robe’ is noticed at the banquet; the time when all peace is established. Who is this guest? Jesus tells us, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.”[1] And yet, someone has managed to accomplish precisely what Jesus tells us cannot be done.
Remember; Jesus died for each of us and all of us… “and then He took the cup, blessed it and said, “take and drink all of you. This is the new covenant in my blood shed for you and all people FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SIN…Do this for the remembrance of me.” Sin is the only thing that can separate us from God and our sin is remembered NO MORE because of what Jesus did for us. The robes we wear have been washed in the blood of Jesus Christ and are become the brightest, holiest, and purest white; our robes bear no stains. And yet there is someone in the room without a robe. Who is it?
There is no speculation and no coincidences with Holy Scripture, meaning we cannot guess who the guest without the robe is…we must know who it is. Through faith and wisdom, God leads us to the truth.
My friends, the answer to who the guest is comes in the words, “Bind him”. God did not bind humankind; rather He created us with incredible freedoms within limits. When we became enslaved, God liberated the Hebrews from slavery. When sin held death over us, Jesus conquered death so we would be free.
The only thing that God ever bound for our benefit was SIN itself. So you see, the Good News really is the freedom to believe that the unwanted guest at the table in none other and the source of all sin, the unwanted and unrobed guest is Satan.
As Jesus bound the demons that possessed people, so God binds Satan one final time and places him in a place of outer darkness, a place that we can never be in because we are children of the Heavenly Father who will always be the source of our eternal Light.
So maybe a few of you still hold out and ask, why is Satan at this table? I thought God cast Satan out of the Kingdom of Heaven. Again friends, as we remember all that our good and gracious God has done for us, on the very first Christmas…heaven came to earth. It was the fulfillment of prophecy that Jesus was born among us, in our world where temptation, sin, and the devil all reside. Jesus came to our world to conquer the only element in creation that could harm us; and Christ is victorious.
We know the end of the story, but how will it affect our life in the ‘here and now’? Will we accept this invitation; this news of great hope that liberate us; that frees us to be more in the kingdom? Or will we be the ones who do not accept the invitation and remain bound to the worldly ways, commitments, and conditions.
God has gone to great lengths to prepare a banquet for the crown of His creation and spared no cost to host an event for you and me. The banquet hall will be full and we will be in the presence of the pure and complete love that has endured all things for the sake of our life and relationship together.
The table is set and the invitations have been sent. God has done everything… and awaits our reply. Amen.
[1] John 14:6