The Wedding Feast: A Meditation on Matthew 22

What it is that occupies your time?  It is the most precious commodity you have been given, and perhaps it has been a long time since you asked yourself that question.  It is the only thing that passes which you cannot recover—the only thing you posses which you cannot keep, and cannot save for later.  You have this moment in time:  a moment that is unique, and shall never come again.  What you do with it will be remembered forever, as it is captured like a photograph or movie clip, written with indelible ink into the great Book of the Lord.  At the end of time, or the end of your life (whichever comes first,) you shall give an account of every one of those moments you’ve been given, standing before the throne of Him who gave you each and every one of them.  So again I pose the question, what is it that occupies your time?

There’s an old exercise that usually comes on the heels of a sad story, of a life that seems to be cut too short.  It winds up with easily levied quips that sound very philosophical, like, “What would you want written on your tombstone?” or “Nobody ever said at the end of their life, that they wished they had worked more,” or “Live every moment like it was your last.”  These secular wisdom nuggets point to something far deeper and more significant—we know our time is limited, and that we are accountable for what we do with it.  We seem to know intuitively that spending our time on wasteful things is disgraceful, but we often either numb our conscience regarding what we’re doing, or rationalize our activity according to our own self gratification.  I waste time at the golf course, because I enjoy it; I waste time on the internet, because I find it interesting; I waste time on social media, because I find it compelling; I waste time on blogs, because it makes me feel important; I waste time with (fill in the blank) because I (fill in the blank.)  It’s a series of self justifying attempts that in the present moment seem satisfying, but when held up to the light of truth and reality, show themselves as vapid and shallow.

If you were to ask a husband, “Who is more important to you, your wife or your video game?” he would probably tell you that it is his wife.  But what do his actions reveal?  Are the preponderance of his present moments absorbed in the soft glow of his TV or smart phone, or in conversation and relations with his wife?  If you were to ask a high school kid, “Who is more important to you, your sister or your social media news feed?” she would almost certainly say it is her sister.  But when she is together with her sister in flesh and blood, does she spend those present moments relating to her, or have her face buried in her social media device?  What we actually do with our time, and how we spend it, reveals what is really important to us… even when our words conflict with those same actions.

The story Jesus tells of the wedding feast, reveals the same incongruent things about the Jews He is talking to.  They said that God was the most important thing in their lives, and yet, when the King of the Universe sent His Only Begotten Son to save the world from their sins, they found better things to do.  The marriage feast is an image of God betrothing His people to Himself, saving them from all the misery and death they had earned on their own.  Jesus was pointing out that the religious leaders of that day were more impressed with their own pursuits than the Lamb of God sent to take away the sins of the world.  In fact, they were so absorbed with their own pursuits, that they attacked those who called them out of their shallow wastes of time, reflecting the truth that was in their hearts:  they actually loved themselves more than anyone else, especially God.  They preferred their own satisfaction and their own feasts, wedded to themselves in a sick and twisted social self-pleasuring, over the salvific marriage to the Savior of the world.

How true this can be for us, as well.  The Lord has set His banquet, and declared His wedding feast, even as He calls all mankind to repentance and faith in His Holy Gospel.  He has sanctified the waters of Holy Baptism, so that through those hallowed waters our own filthy garments might be done away with, and a new wedding garment woven of the merits of Jesus Christ be put on our shoulders.  He has given His own Body and Blood for the forgiveness of sins, in the bread and wine of the Holy Eucharist.  He has given His servants the blessed Word of Holy Absolution, so that those who have sullied their baptismal garments by sin, might be washed clean again in faith and repentance.  He has set this feast in every town and locality where His Word is preached purely, and His sacraments are administered according to His institution.

But how has His calling to the wedding feast touched your ears?  Are you angry when He tells you to turn off your cell phone, put down your wasteful distractions, and return to the font of life?  Are you too busy with your work, your play, your troubles, or your fears, to tear yourself away and receive the salvation of your soul?  Do you even carry your distractions with you into His Holy Temple, and before the altar of Almighty God, prostitute your time to other gods, while the Bridegroom stands before you with His gifts of life, forgiveness, and salvation?

Let the Law of Jesus’ parable sink deeply into your corrupted heart, O sinner:  for those who will despise this marriage feast, will feel the wrath of God descend upon them like the armies of heaven, judging them in their unforgiven sins, and casting them into the lake of fire forever.  For you who will repudiate your Bridegroom with all His blessed gifts, wasting your time pleasuring yourself with shallow and temporal pursuits, your self absorption will be shattered when the King of Glory gives to you your heart’s true desire… your own adulterous and unfaithful heart forever bound to you in your selfish lust, in a sea of flame and darkness forever.

But to you who will hear the Word of the Lord and guard it in your heart; you will hear the terror of the Law and fall down in faith and repentance before the Bridegroom you have despised, there is life and hope in Jesus Christ.  For He has suffered and died for your self absorption, your wasteful and vane pursuits.  He has shed His blood to redeem you, and to sanctify your every moment to His love, and mercy, and grace.  Hear the voice of your Bridegroom who calls you to His wedding feast, and away from your self seduction.  Hear His Gospel of forgiveness and life; be clothed in His baptismal wedding garment; be fed upon His Body and Blood, that you may have life in you; be absolved of your sins by grace through faith in Christ alone; be reconciled to the lover of your soul, who crosses all eternity to seek and to save you; repent, believe, and live.  Amen.