Dressing for the Feast

Gospel Reading

By the Rev. Darren Miner

In today’s Gospel reading from Matthew, we find Jesus arguing with the chief priests and Pharisees of Jerusalem. He tells them a parable, an allegory really, about the Kingdom of Heaven, an allegory that ends with a dire warning. He likens the Kingdom of Heaven to a royal wedding banquet. Now, the key to understanding any allegory is to know what each person, place, and thing in the story represents. In a sense, allegories are written in code. This particular allegory is quite complicated. So, let me just go ahead and give you the decoded version.

God sent his prophets to the leaders of Israel and invited them into his Kingdom. But they refused. God sent more prophets. Some leaders of the people dismissed the call because they were more interested in money and power. Others reacted violently to God’s call: they killed God messengers, the prophets. Because of the violence of these leaders, God allowed their nation to be destroyed. God then sent missionaries and apostles to go far and wide, from one end of the earth to the other, to invite other people into the Kingdom of Heaven. And the missionaries and apostles invited many people—some righteous and some unrighteous—to join the community of the New Covenant. Then, in the fullness of time, God came to examine those who had responded to this second invitation. And he found that some had not responded with a whole heart. Some had not spiritually prepared themselves for life in the Kingdom. These people were handed over to the angels to be cast into Hell. For many are invited to share eternal life, but few are found worthy, few are chosen.

That last bit is the kicker! “Few are chosen.” Up till then, we can follow along without the least bit of anxiety. After all, we are not the leaders of ancient Israel who ignored, or even killed, the prophets. We are those other people who were invited later and accepted the invitation. Everything was fine, till Jesus had to ruin it all with that last saying: “For many are called, but few are chosen.” That final word of warning leaves us all wondering, “Will I be found worthy of the Kingdom of God? Will I be chosen?”

Let me reassure you just a bit. Jesus is fond of hyperbole. He quite often exaggerates to get his point across. So I wouldn’t read too much into his use of the word “few.” Even so, we are left with the troublesome teaching that not everyone who calls him- or herself a Christian will be saved. Not everyone who owns a Bible is destined for the Kingdom of Heaven.

Now, we have two options: 1) we can worry about the state of our salvation till we are sick at heart, or 2) we can do something about it. We can prepare ourselves for life in the Kingdom. We can prepare our spiritual wedding robes, so to speak.

St. Paul advises: “Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.” Let me be a little more specific. First, join the Christian Church, if you haven’t already. Accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and be baptized in the Name of the Holy Trinity. Second, read the Bible regularly, focusing especially on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Third, pray every single day, and attend church services every Sunday. (And now that worship is all online, you don’t even have to get out of your pajamas in order to attend!) Fourth, practice love. Practice it as a musician practices his or her instrument. Practice it till you become a virtuoso. Fifth, when you screw up (and we all do!), repent. Acknowledge what you’ve done. Make amends, if possible. And do everything in your power to turn back to the path of Jesus Christ. Last but not least, trust God. Despite the harsh saying that concludes today’s Gospel reading, God is, in fact, both merciful and compassionate. And my hope is that, in the end, very many will be chosen.

Amen.

© 2020 by Darren Miner. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

June 8: Blessed Pentecost and Happy Birthday to the Church!

Almighty God, on this day you opened the way of eternal life to every race and nation by the promised gift of your Holy Spirit: Shed abroad this gift throughout the world by the preaching of the Gospel, that it may reach to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Film Screening: In God’s House – Asian American Lesbian & Gay Families in the Church

Incarnation Episcopal Church & Network for Religion and Justice  present

In God’s House –

Asian American Lesbian & Gay Families in the Church

Saturday June 21, 2014 at 5 p.m.
1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94122  (between Noriega and Moraga)

Asian American lesbians and gays have been largely invisible in Christian churches. Some Asian American churches silence the issue for fear of division and conflict. Yet lesbian and gay Asian Americans and their families worship and serve in churches every day. Where are their voices? This honest and thought-provoking film tells a story that the church needs to hear: that of Asian American Christian lesbian and gay people, their pastors, and their parents.

Watch this film. Come join in the conversation!

Q&A and a special Pride Taizé service follows the film.

For additional details or directions visit www.incarnationsf.org. You can also register for the event on our facebook page www.facebook.com/incarnationsf or http://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-gods-house-a-film-about-lgbt-asian-american-christians-in-the-church-tickets-11437214015

To learn more about the film visit www.ingodshouse.com. The film was featured in the 2007 Frameline San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival.

Alleluia! Christ is Risen. The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!

http://www.incarnationsf.org

 

 

Building a Fence around the Torah

Homily for the Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year A

By the Rev. Darren Miner

Since last Sunday, we have been hearing excerpts from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Last week, we heard Jesus say, “… not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.” Today, we hear what biblical scholars have named “The Antitheses.” (To be more precise, we hear four of the six antitheses; the other two will be heard next week.) Now, an “antithesis” is a rhetorical contrast of opposites. And the presumption has often been that Jesus is opposing his new laws against the old Jewish laws. But considering what Jesus said about not abolishing even one stroke of one letter of the Law, it seems unlikely to me that “The Antitheses” are, in fact, antitheses!

What then, is Jesus up to? Well, he’s doing something very Jewish. He’s “building a fence around the Torah.” It has long been a practice in Judaism to draw a legal circle around a commandment, so that one would never even come close to breaking the original commandment. A classic example is the commandment not to eat a baby goat boiled in its mother’s milk. From this came the prohibition against eating meat and dairy products at the same meal. And from this came the prohibition against ever cooking meat and dairy products in the same pan or storing meat and dairy products in the same refrigerator. I think that this is what Jesus is up to in today’s Gospel reading!

With that in mind, let’s go through each of the four so-called “Antitheses” and try to figure out what Jesus was asking of his disciples then and what he is asking of us today.