Come to the Party! – October 11, 2026

Isaiah 25:1-9, Matthew 22:1-14
October 11, 2026

This is a sort of “Follow up” to my sermon from last week.  That one was called “All Together Now!”  If you remember, it was a sermon about unity – unity in the church, and unity in the world.  It was World Communion Sunday, and I hope you were with me on all that!  (Maybe you want to go back and watch it again, or read it, on the website.)

This week is similar in that Jesus tells this famous parable about the Wedding Banquet.  But before we think about that, I want to remind you of what was happening.

Jesus was in the Temple, and he had just told some hard-hitting parables!  You can go back and read them in chapter 21.  Also, it was the day after Palm Sunday.  So the religious leaders were already not happy with him – after that whole “cleansing of the Temple” thing!  Not to mention some of the other encounters he had already had with them, and some of the criticism he leveled at them!  It was pretty harsh!

So, when the day of Palm Sunday ended, Jesus left the city and went back to Bethany.  But then in the morning, he came back into Jerusalem, and went back to the Temple, where he was again, teaching the people.  And of course, the chief priests and elders were there.  And can you imagine how awkward that scene must have been?

Well, as he taught the people, the priests confronted him, and they asked him by what authority he was doing what he was doing.  In our modern world they might have asked, “What gives you the right to do what you do?”  People ask it that way, don’t they?  I heard someone say that just the other day.  “What gives you the right?”

That’s when Jesus started in with those hard-hitting parables – parables that called them out, and told them that those they thought very lowly of, were more likely to make it into God’s kingdom than they were.

Well, you can just imagine how that went over!  Matthew tells us that they tried to arrest him.  But they couldn’t because of the people.  “They feared the multitudes” he says.  They would have to find some other time, when Jesus was by himself, without all those people around him.  And of course they did, that Thursday evening in the garden of Gethsemane!

So, that’s what leads up to this parable for today.  It was told all the excitement, all the fallout from the previous day, and all the tension in the room when Jesus came back again and started teaching the people again.  And remember what Pastor Kari told the Confirmation Class last week.  The Gospel writers tell us the important things Jesus said.  But they’re not word by word, or action by action, transcripts of everything Jesus did and said.  John tells us that if everything he did and said were written down, the world could not contain the books that would be written.  So it’s safe to assume that his teaching in the Temple that day was much longer than just what was recorded by Matthew!

Now, I gave you all that set up because today we focus on this parable Jesus told next, which I think pulls all of this together.  It’s “The Parable of the Wedding Banquet.”  And whenever I think about this, I think about two things.  One, I remember the song we used to sing when I was in youth fellowship.  Maybe you sang it, too!  “I cannot come to the banquet, don’t trouble me now.  I have married a wife, I have bought me a cow…”

The other thing I think of is Tony Campolo.  Because, in a number of Tony’s sermons and writings, he refers to God’s kingdom as a Party.  And with good reason!  The kingdom of God is often portrayed that way in the Bible.  Especially the kingdom at the end of all time.  In Revelation 19, it’s referred to as “The marriage supper of the Lamb.”  And in those days, marriage feasts were really big deals!  Whole villages of people would be there.  And the celebration would go on for days!  So, that’s an even better image for God’s kingdom than we might realize – from our perspective!

So, as I think of this, I don’t think Jesus pulled the theme of this parable out of thin air.  I think he would have had in mind the passage from Isaiah 25, or at least the idea behind it.  “On this mountain, the Lord of hosts will prepare for all peoples a feast.”  I think he understood that imagery from Isaiah from last week, when he told about all of the nations streaming to the mountain of God.

I think that helps with what Jesus was trying to get across in this parable.  As I said last week, God chose Israel so that they could bring the light of God to all nations!  Not just them.  And this parable exudes that message!  And those religious leaders should have known that!  And they had to have felt the weight of his message even more!

So, here we have this story about the people who did not come to the party.  And it wasn’t because they weren’t invited.  They didn’t come by their own choice.  And when Jesus told this story in Luke’s Gospel, we hear more of the excuses they gave.  “I have bought a field.”  “I have bought some oxen.”  “I just got married.”  (I think Luke’s version is the source of the song.  “I have married a wife, I have bought me a cow.  I have fields and commitments that cost a pretty sum…”)

But here in Matthew, the story is a bit more serious in tone.  Here, the people made light of the invitation to the banquet, and they went off to their farms and businesses.  And then there are those who treated the servants who brought the invitations shamefully, and even killed them!  (You can’t make a very happy sounding song out of that version, can you!)

So the King sent his servants out to the “highways and the byways!”  and suddenly, those not thought of as being “in,” were in!  And there again, we have that picture of who God includes in his kingdom.  And it’s a much bigger picture than that of those religious leaders!

But we get that, don’t we?  We can see how God offers his Grace to all.   We feel sorry for these guys who were so exclusive in their faith, and we agree with what Jesus was saying. We’ve talked before about the light to “all nations.”  And we even feel glad, thinking about the poor and the lame and the outcast sitting at the table, and being included in the party!  And that’s all great!

But there’s a further message here in Matthew.  Because here Jesus includes this ending that might seem a little strange to us.  He tells us that, during this feast, the King noticed a man who was not wearing the “wedding garment.”  And he had that man tossed out – with some rather strong words!  And that seems strange to us, doesn’t it?  It almost makes us want to focus on Luke’s version of the story – which was much more upbeat!

Well, the best explanation I’ve heard for this is that the tradition was that the king himself would have provided the wedding garments for the guests.  Remember the people they pulled in off of the highways and the byways wouldn’t have been wearing their own wedding garments!  And so this man wasn’t wearing it because he refused to wear it.

So Jesus is telling us here that this is about more than just receiving an invitation to the party, or just showing up.  It’s about being changed by that invitation to be part of God’s kingdom!  And it’s about understanding that it is a party – a celebration!

We don’t just get into God’s kingdom and breathe a sigh of relief, because we made it.  We need to realize what a big deal the party is!  And we need to know that we get in because of Grace, not just because we have the best wedding garment!  In fact, we’re given the wedding garment!

So, in reading this story, the question becomes, what about us?  Can we rejoice that God’s Grace calls all people?  But more than that, are we changed by the fact that God has called us – that God has invited us to the party?  Are we participants in the celebration?  The invitation to God’s kingdom is more than giving our RSVP and walking in the door.  We’ve got to wear the “wedding garment!”  We’ve got to be part of the celebration.  It has to change us!  And by that, I mean it has to change us in this life!

So, the table is set, the feast has been prepared, and the invitations have gone out.  And you are invited!  So, “Come to the Party!”

Prayer

Eternal God, we thank you that you have called us to be your people, part of your kingdom.  Help us to know that we are changed by that calling.  Help us to see your kingdom for the celebration that it is!  Fill us with the joy of being your people, as we look forward to the marriage supper of the lamb!  For we pray in his name, Amen.