Opening Responses
The world belongs to God
The earth and all its people
How good and lovely it is
To live together in unity
Love and faith come together
Justice and peace join hands
Song “Compassion hymn”
Let us in silence remember our faults and failings
Christ have mercy on us, and deliver us from our sins and may we amend our lives
Amen.
The Lords Prayer in our own language
Matthew 22v1-14
Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
4 “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
5 “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and 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 wedding clothes. 12 He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.
13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
Song “Song “Psalm 23”
Reflection
The gospels gives us many stories about Jesus, that relate to the Jewish law like behaviour at meals and what it really means to be a disciple, a follower of Jesus.
This story is writing about what qualifies us for entry into the kingdom of God. The Pharisees believed that they were the chosen ones. And there are people like that today, who believe only they are going to heaven and have the right way. They were incensed when they were questioned.
Interestingly the Greek word for guests means chosen ones. The gathering of God’s people at the end of time was commonly seen as a wedding banquet, God being the host.
Jewish and Greco-Roman societies both denigrated the poor and disabled, much like our society today. Some believe they will be excluded from heaven. Jesus cuts across this. All are to be invited to share in it. This was seen as a direct attack on the Jewish religious leaders.
Jesus takes the side of the exploited. The low are lifted up and the high brought down to earth. The first will be last. Mixing with cool people is very in now as then, but Jesus is presenting a very different picture of an upside down society. Mix with the uncool!.
Rich successful people stick to their own, but Jesus is interested in the virtuous who fight for social justice. They are the ones who hold the kind of party Jesus is talking about. Would a party with poor, sick, lame and blind people be a happy one? Jesus implies that it would be. Because the host sponsoring such a party would be with God, the God of the poor!
Jesus calls his listeners to break with friends, with a circle of the cool. When invited to a real party the poor stop being poor. Everything is shared. A party with poor, disabled, sick and blind people, isn't a very good party if they remain poor, sick and blind. It’s about sharing resources, like health and social care, sharing knowledge and possessions so all can join the party. Then there will be joy! Everybody is invited to this banquet!
One guest, perhaps homeless, destitute, did not have wedding clothes. When challenged he is speechless. The poor, the vulnerable are often speechless when confronted. For the first invitation people were unwilling to come. A second invitation resulted in people paying no attention and carrying on their destructive lives. Finally the streets are searched for guests.
The king is two-faced. He is a typical of power. He is a host, but he is also a tyrant, a wicked man and exercises his power cruelly and unjustly. As the rich and powerful sit down to feast they plan destruction. So then, so now.
Deuteronomic law (Deut 16v9-11) required that strangers, widows and orphans should be cared for, and including them in the harvest. So also in earlier times in our societies. How far are we removed from this today! Harvest is about us all. Deuteronomy shows us the whole community coming together to celebrate. Slaves took their place alongside landowners. Everyone was invited to the party because everyone had reason to give thanks for the harvest. None of them would go hungry through the coming year. None should.
Gods vision feeds our souls and motivates us to be change makers in our world today! Amen
Song “Lead on, Lead on”
Our Prayers
We pray for people and situations we are concerned about including, people coping with ongoing lockdown, the desperate people crossing the sea in dinghies, people with Covid 19, the people of Belarus, the people of Hong Kong and the people of war torn Syria and other places we never hear about, rising fascism, the government, the Rohinga Muslims, Muslims being persecuted in China, protection for key workers and adequate PPE, protection for Black and Asian people, for people on low or no incomes, for those with underlying health conditions and those over 60, care for those who are alone and those struggling in whatever way, suffering with depression, protection for asylum seekers and refugees and ensuring that food is reaching the vulnerable and global warming.
May we not fail you. Amen
Song “Courage”
The blessing of God be upon you
On those you love and those you meet
This day and forevermore. Amen
With thanks to the ©Iona Community adapted
