The Collect for the Twentieth Sunday after Trinity
O Almighty and most merciful God, of Your bountiful goodness keep us, we beseech You, from all things that may hurt us; that we, being ready both in body and soul, may cheerfully accomplish those things that You would desire to have done; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Epistle. Ephesians 5:15-21
15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
The Holy Gospel of St Matthew 22:1-14
1 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.”
Bishop Ian’s Thoughts
Today’s Epistle Reading is taken from St Paul’s the Epistle to the Ephesians Chapter 5, Verses 15-21.
St Paul commences our Epistle Reading with an exhortation to live our lives in a wise and cautious manner, as evil lurks at every turn in our daily lives:
“15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”
We are commanded to make the most of every opportunity to proclaim the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus and strive to understand the Lord’s Word and Will:
“17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”
Only fools do not attempt to know what God’s Will is. The wise always seek to know God’s will and then act upon it.
St Paul then exhorts the Ephesians not to overindulge in wine and become entangled in immorality, like pagans:
“18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery.”
St Paul further exhorts the Ephesians to be filled with the Holy Spirit and to use every variety of praise such as Holy Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs (Songs inspired by the Holy Spirit in praise of God and the Lord Jesus), to relate to one another and to praise and glorify the Lord Jesus, always remembering to give thanks to God for the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus, and all the Blessings that flow from this, His Greatest Gift:
“Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Our Epistle Reading concludes with St Paul’s command to always relate to one another, in Love, with a reverence for the Perfect Love which the Lord Jesus showed to us by shedding His Precious Blood for our Redemption, and Adoption as Children of God:
“21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
Submitting to one another means to place other people’s needs ahead of our own wants and needs. In doing this we show Reverence, Love and Honour to our Lord Jesus Christ.
By doing this God is honoured, pleased, and will always make sure that our own needs are met, often in a more full and rich way than we could have hoped for.
Let us ask God for His Guidance each day of our lives, thanking Him for His Great Gift of the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus, and may we always honour His Holy Gift as we meet and relate to other people, especially those who have no knowledge of the Holy Gospel and are in desperate need of the Love of the Lord Jesus. Amen.
Today’s Holy Gospel Reading is taken from the Holy Gospel of St Matthew Chapter 22, Verses 1-14.
St Matthew opens this portion of our Holy Gospel Reading with a parable told by the Lord Jesus while He teaching in the Temple Court area.
The Lord Jesus told his hearers a parable in which He likened God’s Great Kingdom to a wedding feast, prepared by a king, for his son:
“1 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.”
In the Lord Jesus’ time it was customary to invite guests to a function prior to the event being held, so as to alert them of the upcoming function, and then, on the day, to send his servants to advise the invited guests that the function was ready and about to begin:
“3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come”.
To refuse to come to a function when called to attend, having been previously invited, was a great insult and would have invoked the wrath of the host.
In the Lord Jesus’ parable the king sent further messengers to implore the invited guests to attend. These second messengers informed the guests that the king had expended much effort, and expense, in the preparation of the feast by butchering his finest cattle for the meal:
“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.”
The invited guests disregarded this second call to attend the king’s banquet, with many choosing rather to attend to their own routine day to day activities:
“5 But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business.”
The remaining invited guests so resented the king’s call to attend that they abused the king’s messengers and then killed them:
“6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them.”
The king was furious and sent his army to kill the murderers and destroy their city:
“7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.”
Having dealt with those invited guests who refused his call, and killed his servants, the king then moves quickly to ensure the success of his wedding feast.
The Lord Jesus then tells us that king judged the invited guests unworthy to attend his wedding banquet, and sent out his servants to invite any, and all, people who were willing to attend, and enjoy, the prepared wedding feast:
“8Then 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.’”
This rejection of the King’s invitation to come to the Wedding Feast is a direct reference to the nation of Israel who were invited to God’s Great Banquet that would come to pass after the coming of the Great Messiah and following the Great Day of God’s Judgement.
The nation of Israel, like the king’s invited guests, in the parable, ignored the invitation and went about their earthly business.
This retribution on the guests who refused the king’s call in the parable, foreshadowed the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD as God’s punishment on those who had refused to accept the Words of His only Son, the Lord Jesus, and then crucified Him.
The Lord Jesus is the Great Messiah who came to His people to bid them come to God’s Heavenly Banquet, and share in God’s Eternal Kingdom.
Following the Great Day of Judgement God’s Eternal Kingdom will be established and celebrated in the Great Heavenly Banquet, at which God’s Faithful, Chosen people will rejoice and celebrate with the Lord Jesus, His Heavenly Father, and God’s Mighty Holy Spirit.
Like some of the king’s wedding guests, who mistreated the king’s servants, so the nation of Israel had mistreated and killed a number of God’s Holy Prophets, in days gone by.
In the Lord Jesus’ parable he king’s servants went out into the streets and rounded up many people, both good and bad to fill the wedding banquet hall:
“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.”
By refusing to heed the call of the Lord Jesus, the Great Messiah, the people of Israel forfeited their right to be the people of God, so God called those outside Israel, the Gentiles, so that His Great Banquet would be full of joyful and thankful guests.
In the parable as the wedding banquet is underway the king came in to greet the guests. He noticed a man who was not wearing a wedding garment.
“11But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes.”
In the Lord Jesus’ time Jewish culture required the host of a wedding banquet to supply a special wedding garment to each invited guest. This was usually a white robe that was worn over the guest’s normal clothes.
The king asked the man how he came to be admitted to the wedding banquet:
“12 He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.”
The man could not provide an explanation as to how he gained admittance into the wedding banquet.
To attend a wedding banquet without wearing a wedding garment was a major insult to the host.
The king reacted swiftly to this insult:
“13Then 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.”
The Lord Jesus concludes His parable with a warning regarding God’s call to all people to attend His Only Begotten Son’s feast and to enter His Eternal Kingdom:
“14For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
God calls all people to accept the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus and so become clothed with the Lord Jesus’ Holy Righteousness.
The Lord Jesus’ Holy Righteousness is our Wedding Garment, to be worn at the Great Banquet to be held at the second coming of the Lord Jesus.
As we live our daily lives we can come across people who have the outward appearance of being Christians, even attending church on a regular basis, however they do not possess a true faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and are therefore not clothed in His Holy Righteousness.
They are not wearing the Wedding Garment, given as a Precious Gift, by God.
Without this Wedding Garment no person can enter the Great Banquet that ushers in the Eternal Kingdom of God.
May God give us His Grace to thank Him for the Gift of our Wedding Garment, which is woven with the Holy Righteousness of the Lord Jesus, and washed a brilliant white by the Holy Blood of the Lord Jesus, shed on the Cross of Calvary, through which cleansing we have become God’s Adopted Children and inheritors of His Great Eternal Kingdom. Amen.
Bishop Ian