“THE “DISPATCH”
First Presbyterian Church In
Volume
LXVII No. 7
May
2009
Of Wedding Feasts and Holy
Interruptions
As
I write this I am thinking about the parable we studied last night in our
Wednesday evening discussion group: The Parable of the Wedding Feast. (Matthew 22:1-14) Like so many of Jesus’
parables, it is deceptively simple – you know the story: There is a king who throws a wedding party
for his son. He invites the local
dignitaries, important businessmen and big time land owners to share in his
son’s joy. None of the invitees had time
to go to the king’s party. In fact, some of them were so annoyed with the
invitation -that they manhandled and even killed the messengers. So the enraged king sends an army to decimate
the city of those whom he first invited and then proceeds to invite everyone –
good and bad alike – to the wedding feast.
Then there appears to be a second part to the story – almost an
addendum: Some poor fellow gets into the
party without a ‘wedding garment’ and he’s bodily removed from the proceedings.
The
interpretation seems simple: there were those whom God first called to partake
in the joy of salvation. They largely rejected that call, ultimately putting to
death the Bringer of Salvation. So the
Good News goes out to others and they accepted.
Simple.
Or so it seems. You see, I believe that all holy
scripture is inspired by God and given for our understanding (2 Timothy
3:16) and as such, I am convinced it has something to say to us today,
something more than simply, ‘well, that is how it was in those days.’ I believe it’s entirely too easy for us to
say, ‘Okay, so those other people who rejected Christ, or those who reject
Christ today are the first group of invitees and we are the second. They’re out.
We’re in. Oh – and that poor
fellow who got kicked out… well he must be… _______ (okay, you fill in the
blank!)’
Because
this is a parable of God’s eternal Kingdom and because I believe God’s kingdom
begins right now, in the life God has given us, I’m pretty well convinced that
the invitations to the wedding feast are still going out right now. The more I think about this parable, the
more I see it as a story for today; and the more I realize it might not be so
easy to determine what part we play in that story.
So, who are we in this story
and what does it have to do with us? A very large clue may be found in the
reaction of that first group of invitees.
When they received the king’s invitation – an invitation to partake of
the king’s joy – it was met in some cases with indifference and some cases with
outright violence. These individuals did
not want their lives interrupted by the king, or the king’s son and his wedding
– for after all, isn’t that what a wedding feast is: a huge interruption. One needs to take the time, not only to go to
the party, but also to find the clothes to wear, the gifts to bring, in those
days a wedding feast lasted for days.
Today, it might involve a lengthy car or plane trip, an overnight stay
at a hotel… it can be an interruption; an inconvenience. Now if the wedding is for our nearest and
dearest, well of course, we are filled with joy at the prospect. But what
happens when it’s a long lost high school classmate who has invited us? A distant cousin? A former colleague from a job we were not
that fond of? The prospect of the
wedding becomes an interruption. And if you are anything like me, interruptions
can make one upset, even angry.
I
had a wedding feast experience a few days ago.
It wasn’t actually a wedding, but rather a funeral, though in a way, the
effect was much the same. By the way, I
need to interject as I relate this, that I am not proud of my initial
reactions. I received notice that the
brother of a colleague had passed on. I
knew it was the ‘right thing’ to go to the funeral. But I will confess, I
didn’t want to. I didn’t know the
man. The funeral was two hours away by
car. I needed to cancel an appointment
to make the time for the trip. It was an
interruption. I must further confess
(much to my shame, by the way) that I was annoyed. But somehow, something told me I needed to
respond to this invitation. When I
arrived, early, I was met with, much to my surprise, not words of welcome, but
words of suspicion from the clergy of the church where the funeral was taking
place, “Who are you? Why are you here?
Are you sure you’re in the right place?”
I have come to realize in that experience I nearly was part of the first
group – the ones who reject the invitation – in this case, an invitation to
show support to a colleague in ministry and to celebrate the life of a believer
who has been taken to the nearer presence of Christ. At first, I didn’t want any part of it – I
was too busy. Then I became one of those
who were on the highways and byways—invited as part of a general invitation to the
good, the bad… to anyone who would come.
And that invitation, for some reason that literally only God knows, I
heeded. Then, very much to my surprise,
I was cast in the role of the one who didn’t have the right ‘garment’ for the
‘feast’. To the pastor of that church – I didn’t look right. I wasn’t a member of his flock,
I didn’t look like I belonged in his neighborhood. And
here’s where grace came in. Do you
remember what the man who did not have the right wedding garment said when he
was confronted? He said NOTHING. (Matthew 22:12) He was speechless. But, in the case of my experience, I think
the Holy Spirit gave me what I had to say, or maybe it was common sense. And maybe sometimes that’s how the Holy
Spirit operates. But at any rate, what I said was, “I’m here because my
friend told me his brother died. I want
to be here to support him. In fact, I
have a right to be here.” The suspicious
pastor moved aside and let me in.
The
invitations to enter God’s joy – to be part of God’s kingdom keep coming. And they are always an interruption – always
an interruption of what we think is important; of what the world tells us we
should be doing or thinking. And those invitations always require a response. And like all invitations, we must decide what
to do with them. We can be the ones who say, “No, I’m too busy to heed God’s
call… to busy with the important things of my life to do this extraordinary
thing that I’m being invited to.” Or we
can realize that the invitation comes to us from our Nearest
and Dearest – the One who redeems us and calls us to Himself and wants us to be
part of that wondrous, extraordinary, eternal marriage feast of His Son.
One
last thought – about that poor fellow who got kicked out of the wedding feast.
When he was confronted by the king, he had nothing to say. When he was asked, “what
are you doing here?” his response was a blank stare. If ever you are asked,
“what are you doing here – doing this work, worshipping this God, sharing this
Gospel?” and most often those kind of questions come from inside of ourselves. Your answer may be this, “I’m here because
the King invited me.”
Wishing
you peace and blessing in Christ our Lord,
Anthony Mark LaMort,
Minister of Music
News from
the Missions Committee
The response to our annual giving to
the One Great Hour of Sharing Offering was most generous! The little fish banks brought in a total of
$152.77 in pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, and dollar bills . . . quite a
large and heavy amount of
rolled coins to take to the bank
Another
$656.00 was given in the One Great Hour of Sharing envelopes, making a total of
$808.77 for our 2009 response to the needs of people throughout the world whose
lives will be improved by your donations.
Thank You!
The
Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN)
Our
next project of helping others does not involve the giving of money, but the
giving of self. We are now approaching
our 26th year of housing homeless families in our church building as
part of IHN – The Interfaith Hospitality Network for the Homeless of Essex
County. The response so far from our
several Support Congregations has been heart-warming, but there are still gaps
to be filled. Where can you help in this upcoming (May 3
– 10) week of helping those in need? The
sign-up chart is on the bulletin board across from the Missions board . . . and
we are especially looking for Evening Hosts and Overnighters.
Evening Hosts arrive at the
church by 5:00 – 5:30 pm, ready to greet both the families and the volunteers
who are preparing and serving the evening meal.
You join the families for dinner, and leave when the Overnighters arrive
– usually about 8:00 pm
Overnighters are those who stay
overnight, and who prepare a simple buffet-style breakfast, ready by 6:30
am. Lunches can be prepared by the
guests either after dinner or during breakfast 7:15 am, at which time the
Overnighters are free to leave as well.
One
other way that you can help is by taking home on Sunday, May 10th
(Mother’s Day) – some of the laundry which will be In the Colonial Room. Sheets, pillow cases, blankets, towels, wash
cloths, mattress pads-all need to be laundered for our next scheduled IHN week
in October.
MUSIC EVENTS
Mother’s
Day Concert! Sunday, 10. May 3:30 pm. Section
leaders and soloists from First Presbyterian Church of Orange in a program of
favorite arias and songs. Special
guest: Mr. John Hammel. Reception to follow.
Blues Coffee House. Sunday, 24. May 3:00
pm. The ‘Mac Blues’ band, our very own version
of the ‘Blues Brothers’ (Roosevelt Abrams and Patrick Morrisy),
John Hammel and Kevin Brown perform selections from
the far reaching Blues genre. Reception
follows concert
Drop By
recitals: Sunday
– After the 11 AM Worship Service
(Generally
2nd and 4th Sundays)
May 10 “With a French Accent”
Organ
music from
May 24 “Stylus Phantasticus: The Music of Buxtehude”
Organ music of Danish born composer
Dietrich Buxtehude.
June 14 “Little Organ
Book” Chorale Preludes from J.S. Bach’s “Orgelbuchline”
June 28 “Rag Time
Organ” Piano Rags of Scott
July 12 “Organo Americana” Arrangements of Patriotic
or otherwise uniquely American music.
July 26 “Listener’s
Choice” Organ improvisation based on hymns chosen by the
audience!
ALL CONCERTS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE
PUBLIC. BRING YOUR FRIENDS!
A SACRED DONATION
It
was around 9:15 pm on Monday evening of
I
walked over to greet our visitor, who immediately asked me what was going on
here! I explained that we were hosting temporarily homeless families who
had suddenly lost their apartments for a variety of reasons such as fire, or
eviction with or without cause, and that congregations all over
He
interrupted to ask me if we accepted cash donations. I, of course,
replied "yes." He took a money clip out of his pocket, peeled
off a bill, and handed it to me. I thanked him profusely, but he turned
abruptly, muttered that he must go, and went out the door.
I
looked down at the bill in my hand. It was a hundred dollar bill.
God
works in mysterious ways.
Brian Bamforth,
A Thank You Note to First Presbyterian Church
The Gantuah
and Tulasi Families wish to express their profound
gratitude to the Congregation of First Presbyterian Church in
Our profound gratitude to Rev. Ed
Clydesdale for his time and the wonderful service he conducted.
We thank the Church Session, Bess
Whaley, Anthony LaMort, Charles Christian, Beverly
Douglas, Rebecca and Alex Douglas and the whole congregation for their support
and kindness. Our guests felt so much at
home.
We are so very grateful and proud to
be part of the First Church Family.
Again, we say thank you all and may
God Bless everyone.
Prayer
Concerns
Abiding Peace Throughout the World.
This month we seem to have a need for special
prayers.
Roosevelt Jr. and family –Toni’s son
Ida Douglas (mother of Beverly Douglas)
Phoebe Nwangw
(mother of Elizabeth Achebe)
Chiemezie Okobi
The Okani Family
The Pierce Family
Emmanuel Shu
(Joan Shu-Osobo’s brother)
Barbara Zeevalk
