"Christ, the Unrobed Guest?"
Before I begin the sermon, I just thought I'd throw this out there and see: Does anyone here feel inspired to preach on the parable we just heard Jesus tell in Matthew 22? (Asking for a friend, of course!...) Yeah, I figured that would be the response because I know how my colleagues and I respond when this particular passage shows up in the cycle of Sunday Scripture readings every three years: There is much moaning and groaning and maybe even some weeping and gnashing of teeth, as we desperately try to wriggle out of preaching on this text. In fact, the last few times this passage from Matthew 22 has appeared in our lectionary, several of my colleagues have declared, "I'm preaching on Philippians this week!" Honestly, I don't blame them because Paul's letter to the church at Philippi contains some real treasures that are worth lifting up and examining.... However, it seems the Spirit doesn't want to let me off the hook when it comes to preaching this "ugly" text that even many of the brightest biblical scholars struggle to interpret. I just can't escape the words of my seminary preaching professors, which still ring my ears: "If there's ever a text you don't want to preach on - THAT'S the one you need to preach on." And: "If you read a disturbing text in worship, you can't just let it hang there; you need to address it."
Sigh. So, after much procrastinating, handwringing, and head scratching, here I stand: In the spirit of our old friend, Martin Luther, I cannot do otherwise than endeavor to interpret this doozy of a parable!... As I begin my engagement with Jesus's thorny parable, I want to acknowledge that I take some comfort in knowing I'm not alone in struggling to interpret it. I also take heart from listening to the professors on Luther Seminary's weekly preaching podcast - Dr. Karoline Lewis, Dr. Matt Skinner, and Dr. Cody Sanders -- all three of whom agree that this particular parable is impossible to wrap up and present in a neat little package!
Now, before we dive in and begin to unpack the parable itself, I want to give you a heads up: My understanding of Jesus's parable may differ greatly from more traditional sermons you've heard based on this text. For one thing, I don't think this parable can be strictly interpreted as an allegory - that is, as a story in which each character or element symbolizes someone or something in particular. For another thing, as a Christian who believes in a God of grace and forgiveness, I definitely don't buy the traditional interpretation that the murderous and unmerciful king in the story represents God!
I also think it might be helpful to give you a more general refresher about parables: Again, parables are not meant to be interpreted as allegories, where one thing stands for another. On the contrary, parables are, by nature, perplexing. They come at us sideways, compelling us to see things from a new perspective. They do this by prodding us to think for ourselves...which, by the way, is a very countercultural thing to do these days!... As I've said, the parable Jesus tells in today's gospel reading is one of the most perplexing of all, especially since it's presented as a way of understanding what the Kingdom of God will look like It's also important to bear in mind that parables often use hyperbole, an extreme form of exaggeration, to get their point across. On that note, I don't think I need to tell you that this particular parable is truly absurd: I mean, what kind of king destroys his own city, for goodness' sake?! And how can the wedding banquet possibly go on while the city is in flames?! (One commentary I read actually offered the darkly humorous contrast of tiny Sterno cans keeping the food hot, while a raging fire consumes the city outside the banquet ha11!)1 At any rate, I think you and I can see that because of its very absurdity, we must handle this parable with great care....
So, when I'm preparing a sermon, I like to ask this question: "Where does the rubber of this Scripture meet the road of our lives?" In other words, "How is this Scripture relevant to our lives as followers of Jesus in this time and place?..." So, what do you think, friends? How does this gnarly parable speak to us in our day? I mean, seriously: Where's the gospel? Where's the Good News in this story for you and me?... Again, I can't speak for you, but from where! sit, equating the king in this story with God just doesn't work. Nope! The loving, gracious, and merciful God you and I worship is not a harsh, self-centered judge who wreaks violent revenge on a whole city filled with innocent people just because a few evil people shun his invitation and kill his servants. As I said in last week's sermon, God's justice is always restorative, rather than retributive. The examples of Moses and Paul teach us that our God never gives up on anyone; indeed, as perplexing as it seems to us humans, God chooses to redeem even those people who commit the very worst crimes....
One of the more intriguing interpretations I've read of Jesus's parable was written in 2020 by one of my favorite writers, Debie Thomas. As a child, she grew up hearing sermons that interpreted this passage to mean that the Jews had rejected God's invitation and were, therefore, punished and shut out, while the Gentiles were invited into the kingdom. According to that interpretation, the person who showed up without the wedding garment was a "lukewarm" believer who tried to get in without fully repenting.... Ugh! Friends, can you see what a terrible and unhelpful theological interpretation that is?! I mean, can you imagine the undeserved and unnecessary guilt and shame, the anxiety and fear experienced by many Christians who've heard similar sermons over the centuries, as they've wondered: "Am I the one who's going to be thrown into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth?!..." Again, the king in the parable is NOT God. In fact, the king in Jesus's story actually looks and acts a LOT like many of our human rulers who want to be adored and to get their own way - no matter what the cost to others!
As an adult, Debie Thomas has come to see the fatal flaw in the interpretation she heard as a child. Today she believes the king represents the greedy and ruthless rulers of this world, who seek to make their subjects conform to their wishes, and so, in her commentary, she wonders whether the person who gets kicked out for not having a wedding robe is Jesus. Her analysis certainly fits within the context of the later chapters in Matthew's gospel, which show us how Jesus confronts the religious and political leaders of his day, who are ignoring the justice and mercy - the weightier matters of God's law. So, now I'm going to share a longe quote from Debie Thomas's 2020 commentary because I find that her on-point observations and pointed questions offer us much food for thought in 2026. See what you think! She writes:
What if the "God" figure in the parable is the one guest who refuses to accept the terms of the tyrannical king? The one guest who decides not to "wear the robe" of forced celebration and coerced hilarity, the one guest whose silent resistance leaves the king himself "speechless," and brings the whole sham feast to a thundering halt? The one brave guest who decides he'd rather be "bound hand and foot," and cast into the outer darkness of Gethsemane, Calvary, the cross, and the grave, than accept the authority of a violent, loveless sovereign?
Yes, it's disturbing. But stay with it for a minute.
What would change for you if Jesus was the unrobed guest and not the furious king in this story? How would you have to change to welcome such a guest? To honor such a guest? To accompany such a guest? What robes of privilege, power, wealth, empire, location, and complicity would you have to refuse to wear? What holy rebuke would you have to speak or embody when the king demands yo'ur cheery presence at his table? What feasts would you have to forego to follow the unrobed dissenter when he's escorted into the darkness, bound and broken for the sake of love?
To read the parable this way is to accept its indictment. To sit under its searing, breaking grace, and confess that I need to change my location in a story I thought I knew inside out.
The parables of Jesus are meant to afflict the comfortable. The parables are meant to show us who God is, and who God isn't. So. May we embrace the loving God who is rather than the vindictive God who isn't. May we choose affliction over apathy, even when it costs us a spot in the palace. May we refuse sham banquets while our cities burn and our streets run with blood. May we always reject the invitations of heartless kings. And may we, like Christ the unrobed guest, disarm all powers that bind God's children, and render the world's oppressors speechless in his name. 2
Friends, I want to lend a wholehearted "Amen!" to Debie Thomas's powerful interpretation. And the only thing I'd like to add is God's Word of invitation: The Good News for today is that God is throwing a party, where everyone is welcome just as they are, and you are invited! So, come to the banqueting table: Come, be filled with the bread of life and the wine of grace, in which Christ is mysteriously present for you and for me, nourishing and sustaining us for the ongoing work to which we are called: the work of bringing wholeness to our little corner of this broken, yet beautiful world, which God loves so deeply.
Thanks be to God! Amen.
1 Lance Pape, "Commentary on Matthew 22:1-14," www.workingpreacher.org, 12 October 2014.
2 Debie Thomas, "The God Who Isn't," www.journeywithjesus.net, 4 October 2020.
"Christ, the Unrobed Guest?"
