Matthew 22:1

As I started to look over the text for this Sunday that lifts up the lives of all those who live on the outside of life, I wondered what their lives would have been like, what their lives would have missed, if Jesus had not opened up the wedding feast to the outsiders, both the good AND the Bad, and called them out of their old life, into new life. What would have happened to them if Jesus had not broken open the doors to the feast, and welcomed them in?

Then I started to wonder about any of us, if Jesus had not in some way, through relatives, friends, the community, encountered us, moved us, changed us, prodded us, loved us, guided us, welcomed us into His Kingdom, even though often the guiding was done while we were kicking and screaming to be let go in the opposite direction.

Most times in change, we ask, "why me?" because we do not like the change or cannot see its benefits. Generally it is response to something awful. However, for the those on the outside of the wedding feast at the end of the parable, ask "why me?" because they have now been welcomed inside, a most pleasant surprise. The "why me?" is in awe of the gracious invitation/command of our Lord. "What did I do to deserve this gift of gracious reversal in life? What am I doing in a place that never welcomed me before?" This was a good, "why me?"

Most of the times in life, however, when we say, "why me?" it is in deep frustration, sadness, anger and fear. We experience the transformation in a negative way, when life appears much worse because of it. "Oh, why did this have to happen to me? What did I do to deserve this kind of treatment?"

Some time the change can be good in the long run, though annoying in the short run. We are all familiar with the Apostle Paul, when Saul, triumphantly on his way to persecute Christians, at the top of his game, is knocked to the ground by Jesus. He is stopped in his tracks and forced to turn around- a type of repentance against his will. He might have said at that time, "why me? Why did you have to do this to me?" For Saul become Paul, this was a complaint. "Why didn’t you just leave me alone and let me do what I wanted to do?" Of course, this was done for the best, for Paul.

We too when we say, "why me?" usually protest this loudly when someone or something puts a brakes to what I want to do in life, just when things were going well. A drastic illness to our self or someone close by, can bring up this response. Usually, the "why me?" comes when I am no longer allowed to do what I want. "Why was I fired? Why was I overlooked? Why was I not chosen? Why was I given the lousy job? Why do others have it better than I do?" We’ve all been there when the "why me?" describes a gut reaction to an unwelcome surprise that disrupts my life in a most negative way.

However, today in the gospel, the "why me?" is asked by those who knew they did not belong at the wedding, did not belong with others who were invited, did not belong in the king’s presence, and did not usually belong where the good things in life were ever handed out. All of a sudden, the doors, the doors that had locked you out for what seems an eternity, are now open, and you are being ushered in where you never even thought you belonged, other than to clean up the mess afterwards. "Why was I invited? Why was I remembered? Why would they now want me near them?"

Think of the person who is on the outs in a family, ignored, maybe even for good reasons. Then all of sudden, when there is an upcoming wedding in the family, they receive an invitation with the sense, "they actually want me to attend?" Or maybe it is the worker who has felt they were unappreciated in the firm, and the bosses daughter is getting married, a wedding that will be the talk of the town. When, low and behold, you get the invitation. "Why me? I thought you didn’t even know me. I didn’t think I belonged at that special party?"

As I thought about this parable, I started to wonder about those people whose lives changed dramatically for the good, not bad. The shock. The outright surprise? The bewilderment? The doors that kept me out of the joy of living, are no longer closed to me. "Why me? I belong? How could that happen? Why has my luck changed? Why is my bad luck, changed to good luck? How did this happen? Why this total reversal, going from a shunned and ignored outsider, to a welcomed guest? My life has changed! Wow!"

The day before the wedding gates opened, and Jesus arrived, as most days, they could look forward to not much of anything but the same, simply wondering, "how do I keep the people from hurting me anymore than they already have by their looks, snide remarks and haughty behavior? How do I just keep from making things worse? I don’t want to give them another excuse to push me even deeper into the unwanted and unwelcome areas of life." But of course there would also be a sense of jealousy, wondering, "when will it be my turn? When will I belong? Why is the door of life always slammed in my face?" The strange struggle between the haves and the have nots, those insiders and those outsiders, has gone on from the beginning.

Today there is going to be a change. The joy of THIS DAY is going to be complete. Those on the outside of all of life, will not only be welcomed inside, but do so at a marvelous feast.

Things have changed this day. Those invited to the feast were not ready, for whatever reason, and would not come. The king, not un-mildly upset, opens the doors to His banquet, to the good and the bad, inviting as many as you can. However, the one who showed up without the second invitation is shown the door. This day, those in attendance are the ones the king wants to share in His special day.

To those on the outside at the beginning of the day, now the question is, "why would the king want to spend and share His special day with me?"

Our thought in the same situation, like the "sinful" outsiders, would also be, "why me, Lord? Why would you want me to help you?" But it is really the wrong question. When we are called into the faith, usually as an infant in baptism, or at any time, it is never because of any good, or bad baggage we have attached to our lives, stained or otherwise. It is never about me. It is about our Lord entering our lives to get closer to us, to love us more strongly, to lift us up out of whatever we are in.

Or the best answer to "why me Lord?" would be, because "you need me! You need to be in the faith. You need my love and mercy. You need my care and grace. That's why! Especially because of your bad baggage, I have come to help you." He comes to us first and foremost to provide new life, long before anything is expected from us in return, long before we could even think about seeking out Jesus with anything we might be able to offer Him.

In some ways, these outsider guests are in the same boat with anyone sought out by our Lord. The really good people have no more to offer than a despised tax collector or notorious sinner. The only common denominator here is our Lord, not which kinds of people he called. *For the most part, in His eyes, we are all remarkably the same, sinners in need of His saving love. The good people don't like to hear that, and people like these unsuspecting guests find it too remarkable and confounding to believe.

It is commonly heard around that people go off at times, to find them self, assess where they stand in life, get in touch with them self, find out who they are! Most commonly, people do that by looking inward and asking: what am I made of, what can I truly accomplish, what suits my life, so I can honestly be myself. At times, that is not the worst thing someone can do, though it is not the faith response, but it is only a partial answer, and done best after like what happened when the doors to the wedding feast burst open.

*These unwanted guests, found themselves, when Jesus found them. It wasn't because any of them had a crises of confidence, or saw their job as beneath their dignity. They didn’t one day wake up and say, "boy, I really have to change my whole outlook on life. This isn't me. I want something better for my life"

They all found them self by allowing Jesus to open up the doors for them, and usher them into a new way of life. They might have thought they knew what life was all about, "first, do whatever you have to in order to survive." Throughout their journey together in the faith, Jesus showed them what life is all about, through his words, through his deeds, through his sacrifice, through his love shared with them.

To the rest of this society, what Jesus did was unrealistic and only deserving for the highest of the best. What they learned was, "this is who and where I was created to be!" That journey was not one of naval gazing, but walking with Jesus, following Jesus, listening to Jesus. The more they journeyed with Jesus, the more all of this fit, even made sense, though at times it sounded quite outlandish.

Finding themselves, any other way, would have eventually brought them back to the tax booth, back on the outsides, back as an undesirable, with a little more wisdom and understanding, but nothing really would have changed in the long run, except a more profound disappointment with their lot in life. Or maybe they could have found some mind tricks to justify why they deserved to be on the outside, "someone has to do the work others find beneath them"

Without Jesus we can get along, at times rather well. However, even if they moved into the upper crust, they would have missed knowing Jesus, and probably be the ones who turned down going to the wedding at the agreed upon time! Even if Jesus wanted to have them stay as a tax collector, or on the outskirts of society, they needed Jesus. Whether physically following Jesus or staying at their previous posts in life, they would know their worth came only from their Lord, nothing else. They would know how to treat their neighbors, good and bad, fairly, because they would know the worth of them all as children of God. They would know, even if they were looked down upon by the rest of society, our Lord looked at them in a most different way.

Most importantly, they would also know the answer to that most critical question, "why me, Lord?" Or better yet, "do I recognize I need Jesus?"

AMEN