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Dressed For The Banquet

Sermon
Proper 23 | Ordinary Time 28 - A
Matthew 22:1-14
Chris Ewing
Sermons On The Gospel Readings
Series II, Cycle A
This is an ugly story -- and the better you understand it, the uglier it gets.

Both Matthew and Luke record versions of this parable that Jesus told (Luke 14:16-24), and it is not a comfortable story no matter who tells it; but Matthew's version is downright harsh and, as we'll see, extremely inflammatory. Because, no matter what Jesus may have originally meant in telling it, Matthew has worked it into his gospel as a very fierce piece of anti-Jewish polemic. To understand why, we have to understand what was going on at the time.

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Jesus, sometimes we envy others because of all they possess.
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This story begins with gift -- with blessed gift -- with miraculous, blessed giftedness. And I will even tell you now the theme of the story: if you keep your eye on the giftedness of everything, then you yourself can be a gift, you can be a giver, rather than a hoarder.
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