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Sermon
Finding our way
Proper 23A
Exodus 32:1-14
Matthew 22:1-14
The Cathedral Church of the Nativity
The Rev. Canon Anne E. Kitch
October 10, 2005
I’ll begin by giving you four images: a golden calf, a wedding party, a Shakespeare Sonnet, knowing you’re
on the right path. Just tuck those into the back of your mind for a bit.
It turns out that knowing street names is important to me. On a recent trip,
I had to stop and call for directions. They went like this: take exit 7 from
the highway. So far, so good. Turn right, go to the intersection and turn right.
When you have to, turn left. Go for a block, turn right, turn left at the second
light, turn left again, turn left again and you’ll see the driveway. Oh. I had been there before and I knew it wasn’t
that simple.
“Do any of these roads have names?” I queried.
“Well yes, but I’m sure they’re not marked so there’s no point in telling you.”
OK. It turns out that I did remember how to get there, but I wanted those street names for confirmation. I needed reassurance that I had taken the right turn. I like reassurance quite a bit. I don’t
always trust my sense of direction, on the road or in life.
The Israelites did not get to check mapquest before they followed Moses into
the desert. They had to go on faith. They had to trust that Moses knew what
he was doing. There did seem to be some confirmation along the way. After all
Moses had led them safely across the Red Sea. He worked out a plan with God
to get them manna from heaven. He even called forth water from a rock. But
then he went up to the mountain to speak to God and was gone for days. The
people begin to worry. Had they taken a wrong turn somewhere? How long should
they wait? What if Moses had led them the wrong way? What if everything about
Moses had been wrong? What if he were wrong about God? After all, what about
this God who had no name and no image? Who could put their trust in something
unseen? In their doubt, they turn to the one leader they can see, Aaron, and
he makes gods they can see. Now, a Golden Calf is something they can trust.
After all, it won’t
go wondering off up a mountain and leave them alone.
We all know how well that turned out for them. But Moses did not forget the
path he was on. Moses recalls the covenant God had made and God is faithful
to that covenant.
We often put faith and trust together. But being faithful is more than being
trusting. When it comes to our relationship with God, the opposite of faith
is not doubt; the opposite of faith is unfaith. If you are not being faithful,
you
are unfaithful. Faithfulness to God is like faithfulness to a spouse. That
is why marriage imagery is so prevalent in scripture.
Jesus spoke to them in parables saying, “the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.” The people to whom Jesus told this parable would have recognized the situation. In a small village everyone knew you were going to have a party. You told people it would be on a certain day and when all was ready you sent someone to fetch all the people that had been invited That’s
what happened in this story, except that when these invited guests were finally
called to the feast, they were too busy.
I guess it might be like a modern day wedding reception in this respect. The
guests arrive at the reception hall and enjoy the open bar while they wait
for the couple to arrive. In the next room, the banquet tables are all set
and waiting. The couple, who has been off taking pictures in scenic spots,
finally arrives. They are formally announced and everyone is invited into the
dining room for dinner. But no one moves. In the time they have been waiting,
the guests have all decided they are too busy to heed the invitation. One is
trying the make a deal with her broker on a cell phone and can’t be interrupted. A few others have started a heated discussion of politics in the bar and can’t be bothered to move. Another is busy flirting with the groom’s
cousin and is oblivious to all else. The couple and their family move from
disbelief to anger. Finally, they throw up their hands and invite all the catering
staff
and anyone they can find in the parking lot to sit down and enjoy the feast.
You get the picture.
My example is a bit outrageous, but so is Jesus’ story. Parables are like that. they do not easily lend themselves to literal or allegorical interpretation. So, what do we make of this one? Here’s one thought: it is important to accept your invitation to the kingdom of God. This is really one party you don’t want to miss out on. As insanely busy as our lives can be, you really don’t
want to be too busy for this. Oh, and one more thing--if you are going to be
at the party, you really have to be there. No sulking in the corner.
Jesus’ parable about faithfulness continues. Having finally filled the tables at his banquet, the king comes to meet the guests. He notices a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe. “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?” There is no reply. The guest is expelled form the party, somewhat violently. Now don’t misread this. This is not about a dress code for church. Or is it? Think about it--what do you suppose is the dress code for the kingdom of heaven? St. Paul has a suggestion. “As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience (Colossians 3:12). That’s
a pretty good list to start with.
So, the kingdom of heaven is like a wedding feast, or perhaps even more like
a marriage. Now before I lose any of you for whom marriage is not a helpful
image, let me say something about it. In our Anglican tradition, marriage is
a sacrament.
That means it is a covenant relationship. A covenant is a sacred agreement
that is binding. It is a promise that binds us not only to another person,
but also
to God. So when I speak about the bond and covenant of marriage, I hope you
hear it as one example of a covenant relationship. There are many covenant
relationship
we might be a part of. By virtue of our baptisms, each of us has a covenant
relationship with God. Marriage is not the only image that Jesus uses for the
Kingdom of heaven.
He uses many others including a woman cleaning house, a shepherd looking for
sheep, a vineyard owner, and a person finding treasure in a field.
What is it that sustains a covenant relationship? Faithfulness. Whether our
covenant is with another person or with God, faithfulness is the key. What
does it mean to be faithful? It means to hold fast to the one who loves us,
to show up when invited and to enjoy the party once you get there. So often
we mistake teachings in the bible about love to refer only to romantic love.
But there is so much more to divine love than romance. Now for the Shakespeare
sonnet.
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O, no! it is an ever-fixèd mark,
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand'ring bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his heighth be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom:
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
William Shakespeare (Sonnet 116)
The love the poet talks of--the marriage of true minds--is one that doesn’t change or shift just when the circumstances do. Rather it is a constant, like a star in the sky which is not shaken by any of the storms that toss us about. Such love is a sure beacon for every ship that wanders. This love is so great that we can never know its full measure. Time may change those who love, but cannot change love itself. This does not sound like romantic love to me, but like the love God has for us.
I have seen love that approaches this faithfulness. I have seen it in a mother who chooses healing rather than hatred after the brutal murder of her son. I have seen it here in this parish in the celebration of a 30th anniversary. And I have seen it in the woman who sits at the deathbed of her husband of 54 years.
When we lose sight of where we are going, when we stop to build golden calves, when we get too busy to come to the party, or go off to sulk, love has not died. When I lose all sight of hope, somehow through God’s grace, I know that God is still there. God is always faithful. In the desert the Israelites followed the Golden Calf; it didn’t stop God from loving. Through the centuries people ignored the prophet; sit didn’t stop God from loving. When Jesus came the people didn’t listen and then they killed him; it didn’t stop God from loving. When we lose our way, it doesn’t stop God.
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