All Are Chosen
Matthew 22:1-14[1]
Many of
us experienced the childhood ritual of “choosing up teams.” A group of children
would decide to play a game, and two would be selected as “captains.” Then the
“captains” would take turns choosing their teams. If you were like me, you were
one of the last to be chosen. I was a bit clumsy in those days. My hand-eye
coordination wasn’t the best. Most times I was one of the last to be chosen—if
not the very last! Which meant that my team didn’t “choose” me, they got
“stuck” with me. No matter how many times I went through that ritual, I don’t
think I ever got used to the feeling of being “chosen” last.
Fortunately,
we also had church sports leagues. I played on our church’s volleyball and
softball team. There was no question about whether or not you would get to be
on the team. Anyone who showed up was on the team. But, again, I wasn’t the
fastest, or the best at bat, or the best at fielding a ball. I played right field.
Anyone who’s played softball knows what that meant. In church league terms,
that’s the spot for the weakest player on the team. And when I came up to bat,
I was the “easy out.” Even on our church’s sports team, I felt like they didn’t
“choose” me, they got “stuck” with me.
Our
Gospel lesson for today has to do with this dynamic in our world. Jesus tells a
story about how “many are called, but few are chosen.” I think we have to be
careful here, because I would say this is another ironical parable. Jesus is
teaching us about the Kingdom of God by telling a story that illustrates the
opposite way in which the world works. In the story, a king throws a wedding
feast for his son. Now, in the Mediterranean world of Jesus’ day, any “king”
was nothing more than a “stand-in” for Caesar. And it would seem that the
people he ruled knew that he was no real king, because when he threw a party
for his son’s wedding, none of the “movers and shakers” of his kingdom would
come. What we have to understand is that a royal wedding was about
demonstrating the ongoing legitimacy of one’s rule. And that means that when
the wedding guests refused to come, they were repudiating his rule over them.
Not a very welcome RSVP, to say the least!
So the
king responds the way any petty ruler of the day would—with force. He sends his
soldiers in and they attack his “subjects” and kill them and burn them out. No
surprises there. But then the king does something strange—he decides to invite
all the “riff-raff” to the party. After all, he’s throwing a party to celebrate
his rule and its continuation through his son. When you throw yourself a party,
and nobody shows up, it’s not much of a party! So he decides to save face and
fills the banquet hall with anyone and everyone his servants could find on the
streets.
Just in
case you’re beginning to think this guy must not be all bad, the story includes
his not-so-friendly interaction with one of the guests. When the king sees one
of the people who have been whisked off the street to fill the party not
dressed in the appropriate garment, he flies into a rage and throws him out.
After all, perhaps the fact that he didn’t have the right wedding garment was a
reminder to the king that the party was a sham and his “guests” were really
just there to make the party look like a “success.” So he vents what’s left of
his anger over being snubbed on this unsuspecting fellow.[2] And the
justification for his temper tantrum sounds reasonable enough: “many are called
but few are chosen.”
I find it
interesting that while Jesus said many things that sound like that, this is the
only place where those precise words are recorded. At first glance it seems
that “many are called, but few are chosen” would be something Jesus might have
said. But if you compare the way Jesus acted, you find a different picture. You
find Jesus welcoming those who were outcast. You find Jesus sharing meals with
the most notorious of sinners. In fact, so much so that Jesus had the
reputation of being “a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax-collectors and
sinners” (Matt. 11:19)! In light of that, I don’t think it makes sense to take
the statement that “many are called, but few are chosen” at face value.
That’s
the way the world in which we live works. Only the best players are “chosen” to
play for the team. The rest sit on the bench. Appropriate attire is required;
and if you’re not dressed appropriately, don’t bother showing up. But the Kingdom
of God that Jesus envisioned and proclaimed works very differently. In fact,
you could say it’s completely opposite from the way the world works. There is
no dress code. Everyone is welcome at the table. Everyone is invited, and you
can come to the party just as you are. In the Kingdom of God, “all are called,
all are chosen!”
[1] © 2020 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Alan Brehm, Ph. D. on 10/11/2020 for Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.
[2] Cf. Daniel Berrigan, “A Parable For Today, If Not Tomorrow - The Parable Of The King's Banquet,” in National Catholic Reporter (May 4, 2001): 10-11: “Imagine a homeless person in New York rounded up to appear at a wedding and then berated for not being clothed in a tuxedo!”
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