The Best of Times, The Worst of Times

Pentecost 23, October 9, 2011
Exodus 32:1-14
Psalm 106 from BCP
Phillipians 4:1-9
Matthew 22:1-14

“It was the best f times; it was the worst of times” penned Charles Dickens in referring to the French Revolution. But he could have just as appropriately been writing about another event that can involve battles, bayonets and even beheadings—weddings! Having been the parents of the groom recently in Bordeaux, we can attest to that! However, there were no beheadings in France that we were aware of. A wedding can certainly be times of high emotions, high expectations and high anxieties—all pointing to the importance we place on them. For a marriage ceremony is a most important rite of passage, a sign of ongoing life, and an embodiment of divine and human love. If only the details of guest lists, invitations, witnesses and families weren’t so complicated!
Jesus tells of a highly complicated wedding in this Sunday’s gospel. Though many customs differed in His day, guest lists and food preparations were as crucial then as they are now. But this father-of-the-groom is having trouble. The slaves he sends out to gather the invited guests are receiving troublesome responses. Some treat the invitation lightly, others are too stuck to their work, and some are so hostile that they actually kill the messengers. What would the host do after being treated so badly?
Since the banquet was already prepared, there was no time to get on the internet and Google around for an answer. After sending troops to take revenge on those who killed his messengers, he gives his slaves new orders. This time they are to go into the streets, inviting anybody and everybody to come. Even after the hall is filled, there is yet one more episode—someone is there without a wedding robe, and he must be punished and banished. I wonder if that is something like showing up at Prince Charles’ wedding without a hat? Well, anyway, Jesus’ closing words are brief, “For many are called, but few are chosen.” Is that all he can say to us after such a complicated story about such a complicated wedding banquet? We’ll get back to the wedding after we read about the music that will be heard and participated in at Grace Anglican Church on Sunday.
Sharon Helppie and I will be at a choral retreat in the Wallowas for the weekend. We are very grateful for Pat and Bruce to be willing to carry on with music from the Lofty Pews. The music at Eucharist will be Seek Ye The Lord, by Dr. John Varley Roberts, sung from the loft by Bruce Moberly, our ‘resident’ Bass . This is a setting of a famous invocatory text from the prophecy of Isaiah and the work of famed 19th century choirmaster and organist John Varley Roberts. Successively at Halifax Parish Church and Magdalen College Chapel, Dr Roberts was a native of Stanningley between Pudsey and Leeds and the donor of the fine organ in the Parish Church of his home village. Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23 will also be done in Plainsong Chant from the loft.
One of the enrichments of the hymnody of the Episcopal Church came in the Hymnal 1940 with the addition of a number of German Church songs, including two that we will be singing this Sunday. Our processional hymn this week will be Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above and is suggested to go with our Old Testament reading. Described by the German hymnologist Eduard Emil Koch “as outweighing many hundred others; and a classical hymn which from its first appearance attracted unusual attention”, this buoyant hymn of Johann Jacob Schutz is found in nearly every German hymnal and translated into many English service books. Johann Schutz is interesting in that he was, in addition to being a lawyer, heavily involved in the German Pietistic movement. He became a Separatist and severed all ties with the Lutheran Church. The present hymn, however, is surprisingly devoid of the intensely personal and decision-oriented devotional content of most pietistic hymnody.
Saviour, Again To Thy Dear Name We Raise, our recessional hymn was written by John Ellerton (1826-1893). Ellerton is well represented in many hymnals and this is probably the most popular of the fifty or more hymns that he wrote. It was designed for a choral festival. The last stanza was sung at his funeral.

Back to our wedding parable. If we have spent time with this parable before, we probably already know that this is not about an average, every-day wedding. This is the messianic banquet, the supreme fulfillment of God’s own kingdom, the ultimate Holy Communion, the marriage feast of the Lamb.
This is one wedding we do not want to miss; it truly will be one to remember. Just how can we properly acknowledge the invitation and be best prepared to honor the host? Forget shopping for the perfect hat, choosing the right suit and tie and worrying about your shoes. Just what is the proper wedding robe?
The robe is that of Jesus’ righteousness given to us in baptism. Any further adornments spring from our joy at being invited. In our sequence hymn, Deck Thyself, My Soul, With Gladness, Johann Franck bids us:
Deck thyself, my soul, with gladness,
Leave the gloomy haunts of sadness,
Come into the daylight’s splendor,
There with joy thy praises render
Unto him whose grace unbounded
Hath this wondrous banquet founded;
High o’er all the heavens he reigneth,
Yet to dwell with thee he deigneth.
“Deck Thyself, My Soul with Gladness”
For all who accept the invitation, this wedding will surely be the “best of times!”
Sources:
Hymnal ’82 Companion
Deacon Ron Jutzy
Tune My Heart to Sing
Youtube.com
Bardon Music
PipeChat Digest