Matthew 22:1-14
The Message Translation
1-3 Jesus responded by telling still more stories. “God’s kingdom,” he said, “is like a king who threw a wedding banquet for his son. He sent out servants to call in all the invited guests. And they wouldn’t come!
4 “He sent out another round of servants, instructing them to tell the guests, ‘Look, everything is on the table, the prime rib is ready for carving. Come to the feast!’
5-7 “They only shrugged their shoulders and went off, one to weed his garden, another to work in his shop. The rest, with nothing better to do, beat up on the messengers and then killed them. The king was outraged and sent his soldiers to destroy those thugs and level their city.
8-10 “Then he told his servants, ‘We have a wedding banquet all prepared but no guests. The ones I invited weren’t up to it. Go out into the busiest intersections in town and invite anyone you find to the banquet.’ The servants went out on the streets and rounded up everyone they laid eyes on, good and bad, regardless. And so the banquet was on—every place filled.
11-13 “When the king entered and looked over the scene, he spotted a man who wasn’t properly dressed. He said to him, ‘Friend, how dare you come in here looking like that!’ The man was speechless. Then the king told his servants, ‘Get him out of here—fast. Tie him up and ship him to hell. And make sure he doesn’t get back in.’
14 “That’s what I mean when I say, ‘Many get invited; only a few make it.’"
REFLECTIONS:
Thoughts from John: There’s a paradox about the whole “Kingdom of Heaven” thing. It is wildly and indiscriminately open. Every person ever has an admission ticket. No measuring up needed to belong.
And yet, to really experience the “thing,” to really experience the party of abundance, we have to participate. We have to wear our wedding clothes!
Healing the world back into wholeness isn’t a spectator sport. It’s not someone else’s job to produce a heaven-on-earth reality that we get to sit back and enjoy. It’s our job. Our’s and God’s. Together. And if we’re caught loafing, we’ll miss out on the very thing we were made for.
May we be so committed to the hard work, welcoming everybody into God’s community. And on the other side, may we find ourselves swept onto the greatest wedding reception dance floor ever.
PRACTICE:
Outward Mindset Application
What hard or uncomfortable thing have you been avoiding? This week, cross it off your to-do list.
Pathways Toward Centeredness
Naturalism (Loving God through outdoors):
Each day this week, carve out 20 minutes for a walk outside. Try to notice one thing on each walk that sparks your curiosity.
Questions for Reflection
When or where do you get to have a real “heaven-on-earth” experience? What are the conditions that allow that experience to be so beautiful?
Is it good news or hard news to you that everybody gets to be in God’s community?
“Liturgy” refers to the habits and practices humans use to form community around shared values and meaning. At Church at the Park, we desire to be a community of practice, becoming people who see the world through the eyes of the marginalized, making meaning through the lens of pain and suffering, and committing ourselves to non-violence in a wounded world. This weekly email is intended to provide pathways of practice for becoming the type of people who embody these values.
Many of our reflections on each week's text come from other sources. If you're interested in reading more of what inspires us, here our our two favorite reflections.
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