28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 23), Year A

​Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying:  “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son…”
~Matthew 22:1-2
 
The king who is hosting a wedding banquet is widely perceived to represent God and God’s son Jesus. But the king in this story is demanding and venomous. He’s more like Herod or other ancient near-eastern rulers, and seemingly alarmed that he’s losing his grip on power—a golden calf of an idol, to be sure!
 
Tali Hairston reminded us last week of the link between scarcity and violence. Is this story an illustration of that link? If so, what has it to say to us, amidst a sea of institutions that are similarly losing a hold on the power they have long taken for granted—religious institutions among them?
 
What has this story to tell us of the kindom of heaven for which we long and to which we belong?
 
Enter into worship.
 
Readings: Exodus 32:1-14 † Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23 † Isaiah 25:1-9 † Psalm 23 † Philippians 4:1-9 † Matthew 22:1-14
 
About the Art: Hofheinz-Döring, Margret, 1910-. Worship of the Golden Calf, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=55987 [retrieved September 18, 2023]. Original source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tanz_ums_goldene_Kalb,_Margret_Hofheinz-D%C3%B6ring,_%C3%96l,_1962_(WV-Nr.2756).JPG.

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