Hi everyone,
Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you’re able to spend time over the next few days to reflect on and recognise all the reasons that we have to be thankful. I, for one, am thankful for the wedding that happened yesterday here at the church, that some of you may have heard about. Weddings are always fun, but they are usually a very joyful time. But I do admit that I always have a bit of stress when I’m trying to figure out what I should wear.
Like, is my suit clean enough? My shoes shiny enough? My hair stylish enough? I know, if I’m officiating the wedding, I could at least hide under all the robes and stuff, but still, there is about 4-5 inches of me left visible even when wearing them. And I want those 4-5 inches to look good.
But then I think, vain much? The wedding isn’t about me (unless it’s my own wedding) and I’m pretty sure no one cares what I’m wearing (not even at my own wedding), so why am I so worried? Regardless of what I’m wearing or how I look, the wedding will still happen (well unless my attire is so atrocious that I get kicked out for indecency). The couple is still in love. There is still reason to celebrate.
And I think that is appropriate for this Thanksgiving Sunday as well. Even though we might not see it, while things might be blocking our view, when we might not be able to get over our own stresses and worries, we have reason to be thankful.
Here are the readings for next week:
Isaiah 25:1-9
Psalm 23
Philippians 4:1-9
Matthew 22:1-14
Celebration and reasons for thanksgiving, indeed. These texts that we get for next week speak of the many reasons that we have to be thankful for our God. Well, maybe except for the gospel reading, which sort of makes God sound pretty angry and vengeful.
Angry and vengeful, if God were equated to the king at least.
While Jesus does say that “the kingdom of may be compared to…” and goes off in his parable, it isn’t exactly clear who each of the characters are. And I wonder if we focus too much on that, we miss the point. I think the point of the story is that there is a celebration. People are invited. But those who don’t care enough to embrace the invitation are worse off because of their unwillingness.
The point isn’t that God is vengeful. The point isn’t that we HAVE to accept the invitation or have our city burned down. The point isn’t that we must come in proper attire. I get why it might seem that way though.
This wedding and union is open to all, whether they come or not. The banquet will be plentiful and inviting, whether people accept it or not. The celebration is going to happen, whether we are there or not. But it’ll just be so much better if we are there.
Thanks be to God! Have a great week, everyone!
Photo by Mariano Rivas on Unsplash