"The Chosen Ones"

Sermon Preached By Rev. Kendrick D. Weaver - October 9, 2005

Matthew 22:1-14

As a society, we have a fascination with persons who stand out.  We love to observe prodigies and stars in the making.  We can’t get enough of people who always rise above the rest despite the obstacles presented.  We are attracted to people who seem to be pre-ordained, selected or chosen for greatness.  When Oprah Winfrey came on the scene as a talk show host, people immediately began to say, “There is something different about this young woman.” When Tiger Woods was just a boy, people were amazed with the precision and form that Tiger displayed with the golf club.  Within the last year, a young man, named Roger Federer, impressed tennis commentators by making great players look average on the court.   Over the past few weeks, reporters have discussed how fast John Roberts ascended to the top of the highest and most powerful court in the nation. 

We are propelled to those people who seem to have been chosen for greatness.  We are attracted to those people.   This attraction for some of us is a result of the fact that we have been told that most of us will never become that successful.  We’ve been told that most of us will never be that distinct.  We’ve been told that we will never be that great.  The closest we can come to this type of greatness is by watching the greatness of others.  We have been told that we might not be chosen for greatness, but we can get a little closer to the greatness by buying jerseys, by watching these people on TV or by reading their books.  

Well, what if I told you that we could be just as distinct, special and great as Oprah Winfrey, Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, or John Roberts?  What if I told you that we too can become chosen ones?   When Jesus walked the face of earth, he was looking for some chosen ones, some stand outs, and some rising stars.  He was looking for some people who were distinctive enough (from all the rest) to usher in God’s Kingdom.  The scripture tells us that Jesus spoke to the people in parables, saying “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.” (v. 2)   “He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.” (v. 3)

  This king had planned a party and invited some guests, but when the guests were sent for –they refused to come.  We must understand the protocol for throwing a banquet during this time.  If someone wanted to have a banquet, then they would invite a number of people and give the guests the date of the banquet but not the time.  On the day of the banquet, the servants would go out and summons the guests to come when it was time for the dinner.  The servants would not go to persons on the day of the banquet unless he or she had already accepted the invitation. 

We’ve already been baptized.   We’ve already been confirmed.  We’ve already celebrated Christ’s birth, death and resurrection every year.  We’ve already had ashes put on our foreheads every Lent.  We’ve already said we were Christians.  We’ve already accepted the invitation; now its time to go to the banquet.   We may be at our jobs, with our friends, with family members, or at school when the opportunity to extend God’s love presents itself.  When that time comes we won’t know it beforehand.  Someone will just show up at your door and say the banquet has begun.  Will we be ready to go?

How do we become the chosen one?  First, we must be on time.  We must display and express our faith when the opportunity arises.   I was never really much into parties or going out to clubs.  However, I did know enough to know that you should never arrive early or on time to a party.  If you did, you might be the first one there.  You want to be fashionably late to a party.  You want to get to a party not too early, but not too late.  You want to arrive at a party around the time when everyone else is showing up so you can blend in and mingle.  God has invited us to his banquet and told us what time the banquet starts, but some of us have decided that we are going to be fashionably late.

We don’t want to be the first one to start tithing.  We don’t want to be the first one to sit down and eat lunch with that homeless person.  We don’t want to be the first one to lead that ministry.  We don’t want to be the first one to defend a mistreated person.  We don’t want to be the first one to say “it’s wrong.”  We don’t want to be the first one to stand up for what is right.  No, we don’t want to be the first one to arrive at the banquet. We want to get there when the other people start arriving. 

My friend spoke some words a few years ago that stuck with me.  He said, “Everyone wants to be the exception, but nobody wants to do the exceptional things.”  Everyone wants the praise and the glory, but fewer people want the sacrifice and commitment it takes to get the praise and glory.  When it is time for us to be recognized and praised, we have no problem standing out.  However, when God asks us to step up where no one else is shining the light of Christ, then we want to be fashionably late.  When God tells us that the banquet is ready so come now, then that’s when we decide we want to be fashionably late.  In order to be the chosen ones, we must be on time.

Secondly, we have to accept the meal.   The scripture tells us that, “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fatten cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready.  Come to the wedding banquet.’” (v.4)  Prior to this scripture, the guests had refused to come.  So this is the king’s attempt to give the guests another opportunity.  He told the servants that maybe the guest didn’t come because we didn’t tell them what was on the menu.  The king thought that once the guests see what was being served, they would change their minds.   So the king gives each of the servants a menu and sends them back to the guests.  The servants went out and knocked on the doors of the guests again.   

Servant:        I know you said you wanted to arrive fashionably late to the banquet, but the king wanted you to know that we are serving some really great dishes. It might be worth your while to come now.

Guest:           Ok, what are you serving?

Servant:        Well, for our appetizer we are having Joy.  Our main course meal consists of Sacrifice, Commitment and Fulfillment with a side of Prosperity and Wisdom. For dessert we are serving Salvation and Eternal Life.

Guest:           That sounds okay, but I’m really busy.  I have some leftovers in the fridge and that’s what I was planning to eat. 

Now pay attention to this.  The scriptures don’t say that the guests aren’t hungry. It indicates that they were not interested in eating what the King had prepared.  Sooner or later the guests were going to eat; they simply wanted to eat something different.  The question is not if something is sustaining us, the question is “what is sustaining us?”.  God has come to us and offered us an opportunity to feast on his Word, embrace his Son, serve his people, and to grow in his wisdom.  We have responded by saying thanks, but no thanks.  We have something else to sustain us.

We have a counselor.  We have the advice of our family and friends.  We have this new book on loving ourselves. We have the guidance of our mentor.  We have our TV talk show hosts and radio show hosts.  We have the college classes and professors.  We have doctors.   God, I have something else that can sustain me.  Thanks but no thanks; I’ve got some leftovers in the fridge.   We need to accept the meal. 

The scripture tells us, “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come.” (v. 8) The king had made several attempts to get the guests to come to the banquet, but they didn’t come.  So the king decides that the first guests invited are no longer worthy of an invitation.  There are times when God has opened up an opportunity at our jobs, among our friends, in our family, or at our school for us to shine the light of Christ and we blow it.  We ignore it.  Finally, God decides that we don’t deserve to be called Christians because we are not acting as Christ would act.  Christ would have eaten with that homeless person.  Christ would have defended that co-worker.  Christ would have led that ministry.  Christ would have said it was wrong.  Christ would have stood up for what is right.  But since we decided to act differently, we don’t even deserve to be called Christians.

            The scripture tells us that “So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.” (v.10)  The king sent the servants out into the streets and the public places to invite new guests, who are hanging out, to come to the banquet, and they came.  The king discovered that these people were more receptive to coming to the banquet. 

            Even though there are many situations where we reject God’s nourishment, in situations of uncertainty, suffering and confusion, most will eat from God’s table.  In universal situations such as sickness, death and turmoil, in public spaces of life where everyone must cross, very few reject  God’s sustenance.  That’s why the Sunday after a natural disaster, the churches are always packed.   That’s why a person on their deathbed usually will not refuse a meeting with a pastor.  That’s why a person experiencing a time of turmoil, drops down on their knees and prays.  Regardless of our beliefs, theologies or philosophies, when we enter that space where all of humanity crosses, we will begin looking for that banquet hall.

            The scripture tells us that “But when the king came to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing clothes.” (v. 11) The king now has some guests at his banquet.  It was customary that a cloak would be given to all guests and the cloak was to be worn during the banquet.  In this verse when it refers to a man not wearing clothes, it is saying he was not wearing the cloak which the king had provided for him.  Remember these people were homeless and indigent people.  They had dirty rags with holes in them for clothes. But the king wanted all of his guests to be covered in something nice while they ate at his table so he gave them a cloak.   The king wanted to know why the guest was not wearing the cloak.

            It is not good enough just to step up when God says step up.  It is not good enough just to feast on his Word, the sacrifice of his Son and on God’s wisdom.  We must accept the covering grace that God has extended to us.  We must take the cloak that God’s Son gave us at the door when we entered the banquet hall.  By doing so, nobody will be able to see our faults, failures, inadequacies, sins and iniquities when we sit at the king’s table.  When we sit down at the table nobody will be able to see our dirty, filthy rags.  The only thing that they will be able to see is the nice, clean cloak which his Son gave us.

            Lastly, we must wear the proper attire.  We have to understand the nature of a cloak.  A cloak does not have any sleeves.  In other words, it will not stay on your body without another piece of material.  The cloak that the king’s son distributed had two strings attached to it. The two strings enabled the cloak to stay on the person.  God has offered us grace through his Son, Jesus.  God has offered us a covering.  He has offered us a cloak.  But we have to take the strings of faith and tie them together so the covering will stay on.  We have to accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord.  We have to believe in God’s redemptive power in order to receive the grace of salvation.

            In 2 Kings 2:8-14, Elijah wore his cloak in such a way that Elisha wanted that cloak.  It’s like when we are wearing a designer suit.  There are two ways that we can wear a designer suit.  We can wear it by sloughing, head down, nails not done and our hair frazzled.  Or we can wear the same suit by standing up straight with confidence and a little swagger in our walk.

We can accept the grace that God has given us and not do anything.  We can wear the cloak and look average. Or we can accept the grace that God has given us and give generously, serve passionately, and love unconditionally.  We can wear the cloak God has given us by standing up straight with a swagger. 

We want to wear God’s cloak in a way that people  will say, “Where did you find that cloak?”   We want others to say, “You sure are wearing that cloak.  “A cloak made by God the father.  A cloak sold by Jesus, the Son.  The cost is free and all we have to do is to tie the strings. 

We’ve all been invited to the party, but only a few will be chosen.  Only a few will be on time.  Only a few will accept the meal.  Only a few will wear the proper attire.

Only a few will be chosen for greatness.   Amen.

THE CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER

Dear Lord, despite your righteousness and knowledge, we become distracted and faithless with ease.  One period of silence from you produces doubts about your presence.  A moment of discomfort allows questions of your goodness to multiply.  Unfamiliar and uncertain situations ignite knee jerk reactions absent of your wisdom.  Almighty God, we are thankful that your patience and love remain steadfast even when we deserve otherwise.  May undesirable times in our lives be transformed into training grounds for similar moments yet experienced.  Always send us to make the light of Christ in us more visible to the world. Amen.