Philippians 4.1-9, Matthew 22.1-14
Trinity 17, Proper 23, 12 October 2014, Weston Bampfylde
Trinity 18, 15 October 2017, Queen Camel, West Camel
One moral which we might draw from today’s parable of Jesus is: never let a man arrange a wedding.
My wife is a fan of the TV programme Don’t Tell The Bride, a ‘Series in which the groom must choose every detail of his wedding, from venue to cake to wedding dress’, in a three-week period of planning from which the women are completely excluded, and the result is more often than not completely different from the wedding day the bride had been hoping for. In a typical example a country girl who had always dreamed of a traditional wedding in her village church, was driven two hours north of home to an airfield where she - who has no head for heights - and her adrenaline-junkie husband-to-be, were to make their entrances by skydiving, and later to exchange their vows at the top of a bungee jump…. [1]
Today’s parable is of course of a different measure altogether. For the wedding organiser in this tale is a king who, if we read between the lines, we can discern is a tyrant whose tyranny his subjects are growing tired of, and beginning to rebel against. He seizes the opportunity of his son’s wedding to try to regain some popularity in his land, and when that fails he reverts to intimidation and violence to try to reassert himself as king of the people’s hearts.
We can sense that his subjects are rebellious comes from the way that they first reject his invitation - a bold act of resistance which asserts their rejection of him as their chosen king. Some do this passively, peacefully, by simply snubbing the invite; others take violent action against the king’s messengers, murdering them.
The king’s response underlines for us that there is no good in him. I think Jesus meant us to see him as an example of the worst kind of brutal dictator, who would even fill his banquet hall for a joyful occasion by using lethal force and terror. He doesn't just kill the first invitees who turned him down - he makes a big show of it by also destroying their city. No wonder the second round of invitees come to this wretched wedding - they’ve just seen what this king does to those who turn him down! [2]
Now this parable isn’t really about wedding planning. It’s part of a discussion which Jesus was having about authority. At the end of the previous chapter of Matthew we read that
When [Jesus] entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?" Jesus said to them, "I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?" (Matthew 21:23-25a)
The context for the story of the king’s son’s wedding is a controversy over authority, and Jesus sets the parameters in terms of a contrast between heaven and things human. “The man, the king" in the story is just that - one who can only draw on his limited and conflicted human resources to assert his authority. He is not God, whose authority is of a different measure altogether.
You’ll be familiar with The Collect for the Sovereign from the Book of Common Prayer, which says,
Almighty God, whose kingdom is everlasting, and power infinite: have mercy upon the whole Church; and so rule the heart of thy chosen servant Elizabeth, our Queen and Governor, that she (knowing whose minister she is) may above all things seek thy honour and glory … [3]
Now we should rejoice that even in our world today there are some kings and queens and other rulers who do manage to save themselves from megalomania, who avoid becoming obsessed with building themselves up at the expense of their subjects. To do this they have to have a sense of something or someone to whom they themselves are subject. Our own Queen Elizabeth is a fine example of this to us, for she is explicit about her understanding of her dependence on God. In a recent Christmas Day broadcast she said,
‘I know just how much I rely on my own faith to guide me through the good times and the bad. Each day is a new beginning. Like others of you who draw inspiration from your own faith, I draw strength from the message of hope in the Christian gospel.’
Our Queen is happy to be subject to one who cares for her. It’s perhaps the most important lesson we can learn from her, to be a willing subject of God, conscious of being formed in love, of living in hope, of drawing inspiration from a greater power who is for us, not against us, and who makes every day a new beginning.
The special Diamond Jubilee £5 coins which were minted in 2012 carry, alongside the image of Elizabeth, the Latin words DIRIGE DEUS GRESSUS MEOS - meaning ‘MAY THE LORD DIRECT MY STEPS’. [4]
In a different modern context but in similar light,
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, in a speech to mark the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, spoke of the need for Muslims to be tolerant of others and to promote dialogue. By so doing, they would "prevent bloodshed and avoid disunity, ignorance, and extremism". But this goal would not be achieved, he said, "unless we create the necessary and appropriate atmosphere. Taking care in bringing up children and guiding the young is essential for dialogue. We are all responsible for guiding them, and we hope that the scholars, preachers, and thinkers of the Islamic world will present role-models for the young by showing them the appropriate way to engage in dialogue." The King said that Muslims themselves needed to be shown "the tolerance and moderation of the Islamic religion”. [5]
So good monarchs today point us in the same direction that Jesus wanted his hearers to turn - towards our God as the source of moral authority. And this is a fresh message for us in a world where the authority of so many of our leaders is drawn into question, where there is widespread disillusionment with those who rule, seemingly purely for the gratification of their own ambitions rather than for the well-being of their people.
The Collect for the Sovereign from the Book of Common Prayer goes on to ask Almighty God that
… we and all [the Queen’s] subjects (duly considering whose authority she hath) may faithfully serve, honour and humbly obey her, in thee, and for thee, according to thy blessed word and ordinance; through Jesus Christ our Lord … [6]
Our call as Christians is to keep a watchful distance from the rulers of the world and to follow first the way of Jesus. In so doing, we place ourselves first and foremost under the influence of the moral authority which he has as the Son of the living God, not a self-imposed authority but the authority which comes to him from his loving Father and which he demonstrates through all those acts of grace and self-giving love he makes towards us.
How do we ensure that Jesus is the one whose authority we first and foremost favour?
We might duly consider whose authority we take to our hearts at present - who we allow to influence us the most.
Is it the authority of those closest to us - family, friends or colleagues - whose opinions go deep within us; is it the authority of those leaders who most represent our political views - but whose authority may be compromised by their shortcomings in our eyes; is it the authority of the newspaper we read or the documentaries we watch; is it the authority of those we hope to emulate, those we aspire to be…?
Having duly considered how these sources of authority shape and form our lives, we might filter them through what we know of the witness of Jesus, the Son of the Father, the moral man, the self-giving God of scripture. We might then duly consider how placing him in the highest authority, over all others, may shape and form us differently.
We might do this daily, in prayer, perhaps by stopping to reflection at the end of each day, on the questions, ‘When I did such-and-such a thing, I did it under whose authority? Next time I do such-and-such a thing, how can I do it under the greater authority of God?’
St Paul wrote to the Philippians,
Stand firm in the lord, my beloved. [7]
And the Prayerbook again, teaches us these words to use in our daily prayers:
Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep [your] law. [8]
Notes
[1] Ellie and Craig, Don't Tell The Bride Series 8 / 10. In Sky Dive Bride, a brief online extract from BBC iPlayer, bride Jackie displays extreme reactions to a similar situation to that described in the sermon.
[2] Paul Neuchterlein, Girardian Lectionary, Year A, Proper 23a.
[3] The Collect for the Sovereign: Common Worship Holy Communion Order Two (Traditional Language), my italics.
[4] Elizabeth II passage is taken from my 2012 Diamond Jubilee sermon, Do you object to being a subject?
[5] Gerald Butt, Prayers for ‘martyr’ Henning as air strikes fail to bite, Church Times, 10 October 2014.
[6] The Collect for the Sovereign: Common Worship Holy Communion Order Two (Traditional Language), my italics.
[7] Philippians 4.1.
[8] The Ten Commandments: Common Worship Holy Communion Order Two (Traditional Language), my italics.
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