Pentecost 18 presents us with the Parable of the Wedding Banquet. In my mind's ear I am hearing the Medical Mission Sisters' singing:
"I cannot come, I cannot come to the Banquet
Don't trouble me now,
I have married a wife, I have bought me a cow."
Interesting that these lessons coinside with Thanksgiving. God is the giver and his people respond. Depending on that response this is a joyful occasion or to the rejected a cause for the gnashing of teeth.
In Isaiah we begin with God's banquet feast on the God's Holy Mountain where God's faithful celebrate and the mighty are put to shame in their ignorance.
Psalm 23 presents us with every good thing if we but trust in the Lord.
And the Epistle:
Php 4:6 In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Php 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.
Today's Gospel Parable is truly apocalyptic in nature. The banquet is the Kingdom of Heaven and God himself is issuing the invitation which is open to all. The parable is a cautionary tale against complacency. It is not enough to put in an appearance to be seen to be present, one must fully participate or one has spurned the invitation as much as those who pass it up in the first place.
The commentator on Psalm 23 puts it best:
First, that God gives peace in the midst of conflict, life in the shadow of death. Second, the shepherd calls us to follow in a world where God’s mercy is often scorned. Walking in paths of righteousness for the sake of God’s name will put us at odds with the rest of the world.
"I cannot come, I cannot come to the Banquet
Don't trouble me now,
I have married a wife, I have bought me a cow."
Interesting that these lessons coinside with Thanksgiving. God is the giver and his people respond. Depending on that response this is a joyful occasion or to the rejected a cause for the gnashing of teeth.
In Isaiah we begin with God's banquet feast on the God's Holy Mountain where God's faithful celebrate and the mighty are put to shame in their ignorance.
Psalm 23 presents us with every good thing if we but trust in the Lord.
And the Epistle:
Php 4:6 In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Php 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.
Today's Gospel Parable is truly apocalyptic in nature. The banquet is the Kingdom of Heaven and God himself is issuing the invitation which is open to all. The parable is a cautionary tale against complacency. It is not enough to put in an appearance to be seen to be present, one must fully participate or one has spurned the invitation as much as those who pass it up in the first place.
The commentator on Psalm 23 puts it best:
First, that God gives peace in the midst of conflict, life in the shadow of death. Second, the shepherd calls us to follow in a world where God’s mercy is often scorned. Walking in paths of righteousness for the sake of God’s name will put us at odds with the rest of the world.
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