Oration the 19th
Sunday after Pentecost
Lord of the feast, you have prepared a table before all peoples and
poured out your life with abundance. Call us again to your banquet. Strengthen
us by what is honourable, just, and pure, and transform us into a people of
righteousness and peace, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
Oration for
Thanksgiving
Almighty God our Father, your generous goodness comes to us new every
day. By the work of your Spirit lead us to acknowledge your goodness, give thanks
for your benefits, and serve you in willing obedience, through Jesus Christ,
our Savior and Lord. Amen.
Additions to the
Prayers of the people:
·
For
our bishops, Susan and Michael, and all who are given authority in the Church,
let us pray…
|
·
For
Trinity,
Windsor – Pastor Mike Lees |
, and for the ministries of Trinity, let us pray…
·
For
all the needs and prayers we hold in our hearts…
(a time of silent
prayer)… let us pray…
Amen.
1 O Lord, you are my
God; I will exalt you, I will praise your name; for you have done wonderful
things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure. 2 For you have made the city a
heap, the fortified city a ruin; the palace of aliens is a city no more, it
will never be rebuilt. 3 Therefore strong peoples will glorify you; cities of
ruthless nations will fear you. 4 For you have been a refuge to the poor, a
refuge to the needy in their distress, a shelter from the rainstorm and a shade
from the heat. When the blast of the ruthless was like a winter rainstorm, 5
the noise of aliens like heat in a dry place, you subdued the heat with the
shade of clouds; the song of the ruthless was stilled.
6 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, of well-aged
wines strained clear. 7 And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is
cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; 8 he will
swallow up death forever. 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, for
the Lord has spoken.
9 It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so
that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad
and rejoice in his salvation.
Psalm 23
1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not
want.
2 He makes me lie down in green
pastures;
he leads me beside still
waters;
3 he restores my soul. He leads me in
right paths for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the
darkest valley,
I fear no evil; for
you are with me; your rod and your staff—
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the
presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head
with oil; my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in
the house of the Lord my whole life long.
Second
Reading: Philippians 4:1-9
1 Therefore, my
brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in
the Lord in this way, my beloved. 2 I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of
the same mind in the Lord. 3 Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these
women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together
with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of
life. 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your
gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about
anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let
your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all
understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8
Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just,
whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is
any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these
things. 9 Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard
and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.
Gospel
Reading: Matthew 22:1-14
1 Once more Jesus
spoke to them in parables, saying: 2 "The kingdom of heaven may be
compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his slaves
to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not
come. 4 Again he sent other slaves, saying, "Tell those who have been
invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been
slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.' 5 But they
made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, 6
while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. 7 The king
was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their
city. 8 Then he said to his slaves, "The wedding is ready, but those
invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore into the main streets, and invite
everyone you find to the wedding banquet.' 10 Those slaves went out into the
streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding
hall was filled with guests. 11 "But when the king came in to see the
guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, 12 and he
said to him, "Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?' And
he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, "Bind him hand
and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth.' 14 For many are called, but few are chosen."
·
This parable of
the wedding banquet a king holds for his son’s wedding seems odd at times. There’s
disappointment, rejection, violence, and one guest who is removed by
‘security.’ Yet even this strange story reflects the grace of God… somehow.
·
The one thing I
want to avoid here is to equate the original guests and their refusal to attend
with the Jewish people. This has often been done and it’s led to discrimination
and even atrocity. That is not the way I want this to go, just so you know up
front.
·
This parable
remains a parable of grace. Despite initial rejection, the party will go on.
Others will be invited and will join in the celebration.
·
Look at it from
their point of view. Matthew says Those slaves went out into the streets
and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was
filled with guests. Imagine sitting on the curb or window shopping
or taking a message from one field to the other and you’re stopped by an agent
of the king who says “You there! The king is inviting you to his son’s wedding
banquet! Let’s go!” You think to yourself “Me? Well, why not?” and off you go…
and to the palace no less!
·
The invitation
did not depend on your financial status, on your looks, on your race or colour,
on your country of origin, or even on your morality. After all, the servants gathered
all whom they found, both good and bad. That’s how grace is; it’s not really picky. As someone once told
me “Grace takes you where it finds you, but it doesn’t leave you there.”
·
Once inside the
banquet hall, some other trouble comes around. One of the guests is not
properly dressed. I’ve wondered how you could be “properly dressed” in a
wedding robe if you came in off the street or out of your farm field. Some
commentators say that the robes for the wedding were provided by the one who
threw the party. Others say this is not the case. In any event, the fellow was
not ready for the banquet in spite of his being there. It is often implied that
he refused the garment. So the attendants are told to Bind him hand and foot, and
throw him into the outer darkness… and out he goes because many
are called, but few are chosen.
·
So that is that
to you and to me? Do we live our lives in fear and trembling lest we step out
of line and risk getting chucked into the outer darkness? That
sounds like more than the bun’s rush out the door to be dumped in an alley; it sounds
like something theological and mystical and mythological! It’s meant to sound
that way, since we’re talking about far more than court etiquette or polite
company.
·
To you and to me,
the word is “grace” and the prescription is “trust.” In the face of all the
suffering we might have endured… of all the sin we’ve been involved in… of our
own self-image, gentle or harsh, it is the grace of God – unmerited, unearned,
and unchanging – that is our salvation and our hope. Our trust in that grace could
be an explanation for the wedding robe; if the fellow refused it, we see where
it left him. Of course, there are many other ideas as to what the robe might
stand for. Gratitude? Joy? Who knows?
·
God’s merciful
invitation of grace to the wedding banquet is offered every day. It has been
given to us and we are responding to it despite sin, fear, pandemic,
persecution, limitations, and troubles. Like those brought in from the highways
and byways by the king’s servants, we have gathered, ready or unready. At the
very least, we can be joyful that we are gathered at the banquet.
·
When the banquet
is over (if it is really ever over), we continue our lives, but as changed
people. After all the king invited us to his Son’s banquet! No so much because
we were special, but because HE is.
·
Grace takes
you where it finds you, but it doesn’t leave you there.
Go therefore into the main streets,
and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.
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