The Wedding Banquet

Whenever it think of Jesus parable about the wedding banquet a song pops into my head, gets stuck there really, an ear-worm.

I cannot come to the banquet, I cannot come to the banquet,
don't trouble me now.
I have married a wife; I have bought me a cow.
I have fields and commitments that cost a pretty sum.
Pray, hold me excused, I cannot come.

You might know the song too (here's a Lego version). It was composed in the mid 1960's by Sister Miriam Therese Winter and was a favorite  at our youth group in the mid 1970's. We sang it a lot. We loved the music, and we knew what the parable meant. We knew that we were the ones who had been found along the highways and byways, the blind and the lame, the broken, and that we had been invited, welcomed, into the celebration that was going to take place, the wedding banquet. The song was uplifting, warm, and uncritical. It simply said, be ready to accept the invitation.

The song is likely based more on Luke's account of the parable than Matthew's. Matthew's version has a lot more death and destruction, a lot more judgement, and ends with the confusing account of a guest being tossed out for not wearing the right clothes. It seems like Matthew might have a different reason for recording the parable than Luke had.

This Sunday, we'll spend some time with Matthew's wedding banquet, unpacking what it means for us as we are invited to participate in the celebration.