OrthoAnalyika show: 29 August 2010
A Lesson on the Wedding Feast (St. Matthew 22: 1-14)
Two of our parish families have just celebrated weddings. Others are preparing for their own. If you do not remember the various emotions- joys and disappointments – that such an event brings with it, then I am sure they will be willing to bend your ear a bit!
Here at St. Michael’s, we just had our BIG FESTIVAL, and it brings similar emotions – to include the fear that “no one will come” (both to work and to celebrate).
So this parable speaks to our hearts – we can sympathize with the king who has offered up the very best of what he has to all those in his realm; and whose offer is rejected in no uncertain terms. But I fear that this familiarity with the events in Our Lord’s parable may also lead us to miss the most important part of His lesson – and as the lesson is designed to move us away out of our sinful complacency with short-term pleasures and concerns toward something far better and more permanent, it is probably worth learning to hear this lesson more properly.
You see, we are not the King in this parable. Our feasts are pitiful in comparison to the kind that a King can offer; nor is it simply a difference of degree. It’s not like His feast is like the kind that we put on, only a lot bigger. The difference is so great and along so many dimensions that it is a complete difference of kind. Even if we pooled all of our resources we could not do this. Why not? What is so different about the kind of feast described in the parable? If it’s not just about resources and size, what else is there?
A king is special. Yes, he can use all the great wealth of his kingdom to make sure that the wedding celebration of his only son is “one for the ages.” And for reasons that will become clear, it is safe to assume that this is exactly what this king did: he spared nothing at all for this great celebration. Everything of value that he had went into this feast. But there is still something more about being a king – I mean other than his wealth – that makes this parable really stand out. [Yes,] The king is more than a rich man. You see, as king, he has authority over the lands and subjects of his kingdom. This authority is even greater when the king is good and just and blessed by God – and you must know that the king in this parable is completely good and just and blessed. It is important to remember this because such a king’s rule is completely right and legitimate.
I stress this point because we are not used to thinking in these terms. For us, a ruler is only legitimate as long as he has the support of the people (and in this fallen world, this is a fine way to think!]. But imagine a world where kings were legitimate because they were good and because they were set aside and ordained for this very purpose [to rule]. The king in this parable is not a petty tyrant, but an ideal king, one who embodies every virtue. A king who loves his people and knows how to lead them and bring prosperity to all. In such a world, just as it is natural for there to be such a thing as a king, and [just as] it is natural for that king to rule; it is also completely natural that there also be such things as subjects, and it is natural for these subjects to obey. The relationship [between the king and his people] is simple and fair; and when everyone lives according to their obligations, everyone benefits. In such a world, it is no more right for a cobbler or teacher to want to rule than it is for a cobbler or teacher to want to perform surgery. This is a strange way of thinking – it may even be offensive – but this is how it is in the land of this parable.
So now, perhaps, you begin to understand why this feast is different; and why ignoring the king’s invitation so bad. To ignore our invitations is rude; to ignore such a king’s invitation is willful, profane, & sociopathic disobedience. [Indeed,] Because of all the blessings the king continually bestows upon his subjects – remember this is an ideal king ruling a fairy-tale kingdom – such behavior is the very definition of ingratitude.
But wait, there is more: according to St. John Chrysostom, it is even worse than this. In last week’s lesson, we learned of the ingratitude of the vinedressers and how they went so far as to kill the landowner’s son rather than render the landowner that which he is rightfully due. This week’s parable follows directly on the heels of that one, and both were told during a very particular time: Holy Week, the time between Christ’s entrance into Jerusalem and His Passion, Death, and Resurrection. So while last week Jesus was trying one last time to convince the people to see Him as was so that they would not be complicit in His crucifixion, this week He is telling those with ears to hear to prepare for His coming resurrection. The parable of the wedding feast is more than just a story designed to get us to take our obligations seriously: it is a story of the celebration of Christ’s Resurrection and His intimate union – or wedding – with the Church. And it is through this bond that all of God’s subjects are to be brought into eternal perfection and joy in community with one another and with Him.
This is what the invitation means, and this is why forsaking it is self-destructive, ungrateful, proud, and just plain stupid. Why would anyone turn down such an invitation?
No, in this parable, we are certainly not the King. So who are we? Well, that really is up to you. The invitation is in your hands. The call has gone out. The time to join the feast is now. You are God’s subject – He is Your King. Will you come to the eternal banquet that has been prepared for you? Or do you have something better to do?
You are free to chose, but there is only one response that brings the kind of joy every rational being desires. So answer the call. Recognize God’s righteous authority over you and your world; repent of your sins – all those times that you have gone against His will – and accept Christ as your Lord and Master [and then join His Wedding Feast!]
Many are called – will you join the chosen?
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A clarification on conversion: Where is Truth in all this?
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News!!!
World News:
In Antarctica they Baptize in the ocean, and in Thailand they serve barefoot. You need to visit that site (Ukrainian site, “Today” – in an Eastern Dialect…); but Interfax pulls some of the bits out in English. How far should we be willing to adapt to the local culture? Too far and you lose the meaning/Truth/effectiveness; too little and you aren’t evangelical… A challenge is that blockheads on both sides are too willing to drop the “blasphemy/pharisee” bombs. Charity and love, folks. Charity and love.
Just in time for Ecclesial New Year (and St. Simeon the Stylite): Georgian monk seeks to revive the stylite tradition. What would our culture do with this? How would St. Simeon’s witness be in the age of reality tv?
News of the Obvious:
Our Best and Worst Moments Occur within Social Relationships, Research Shows. If there is a “Natural Law” that can be discerned in any meaningful way, I think it has less to do with individual rights (per Locke et al) than with the benefits that accrue from healthy communities (and curses that mount in sick ones). Yes, Kropotkin was more right than Huxley (and Rand).
Making Major Moral Decisions: We use brain circuits that are also used to make mundane choices. Come to find out, “moral judgement is just a brain process”. What else would it be? Are we back to figuring out the weight of the human soul (per Dan Brown’s new book)? The final quote is interesting; “complex life-and-death moral decisions that affect others depend on neural circuitry adapted for more basic, self-interested decision making involving material rewards.” Because basic decisions affecting material outcomes don’t affect others? What planet are these people living on? First they separate the spiritual from the material, then completely ignore the spiritual, and then pat themselves on the back for finding completely material explanations for allegedly “spiritual” phenomena?! Wouldn’t science (and modern theology) be more accurate if it admitted that the two were inseparable? Only a modern (university educated) person would be surprised to learn that we use our mundane brains to think about moral and spiritual questions (in Bizzaro world, theologians would marvel that people actually use the vocal cords for talking about the weather that they do when chanting Psalms).
Culture News
Fr. Alexander Webster (a retired chaplain) worries about the effect repealing DADT would have on the freedom of Orthodox (and conservative) clergy. Given his history, his concern should be taken seriously.
Then again, maybe we are just missing the entire point of Orthodoxy and the Gospel… by taking Scripture too seriously (or at least literally).
Some Great Satire
Mark Shea writes about how our society needs to confront our Obesophobia (along with Obesophobic concepts like gluttony).
Next Week: Throwing down the gauntlet – Paul Davies on the incompatibility of Christianity and the Existence of Intelligent Aliens.
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Volya Moment. An interview with The Quiet Revolution’s Demetra Perlegas
Questions about “A Great “Kardio” Workout”:
It’s been a few months since our last interview, how have you been?
In your most recent entry at your blog “Quiet Revolution” you wrote about how well working out augments your spiritual life; what did you mean?
How does physical exercise affect my heart? my soul? is it only by making my body stronger?
How do you reconcile Christ’s yoke being easy and burden being light? What kind of coach is Christ being here?
You move from explaining the role of exercise in our spiritual life into using it as a metaphor for the spiritual life (e.g. nutrition) – can you say more about that?
Another topic: Orthodoxy and ET
A few months ago, I shared an article that talked about the Orthodox response to the possibility of life on Mars. You are a biologist, how would your faith be affected (effected?!?) if we found proof of microbial life on Mars or anywhere else besides Earth?
Do you think such life exists? Why/why not?
How about intelligent (biological) life from outside the Earth; how would that affect your faith?
Are these questions that came up during your training as a professional biologist?
Tell us about how your study of biology has affected your faith.
