October 11, 2026 First Congregational Church UCC, Brimfield MA
Matthew 22:1-14 Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.’ 5 But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ 10 Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad, so the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, 12 and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Philippians 4:1-9 — Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.
2 I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3 Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my coworkers, whose names are in the book of life.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.,* 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 As for the things that you have learned and received and heard and noticed in me, do them, and the God of peace will be with you.
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O God our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
Today’s reading from Matthew is one of those parables that Jesus tells that – at first reading – is really clear. We know what it means, right? When God calls, you should respond, right away… or your invite will be cancelled. And if that’s what it says, then it makes sense that the folks who don’t respond are turned away… but then in the story, people kill the king’s messengers, and are then killed in their turn… what’s that about? And it gets weirder. New people are invited, and they come, but one of them isn’t dressed right… and he gets tossed out. Now it’s really confusing….
Parables aren’t really moral stories like one of Aesop’s Fables. Instead of giving us clear instructions, they’re intended to make us think. The right answer isn’t clear; in fact, the point can change from time to time, because what’s going on in our lives changes and that changes the questions we bring to the story.
Today the question is this – what’s the relationship between the truth that God has called us to be guests at the banquet, and the reality that we’re not always ready to live up to that call.
We are indeed called to be guests, to be at home, with God. The parable describes living in God’s way as if we are guests at a great banquet… not one of those interminable “special events” where the chicken is dry, the room is too cold, the speeches go on way too long, but rather a really tasty meal when you discover that the people at your table are just great, and you’re making new friends… you just don’t want the evening to end.
Everyone is invited to this meal; some don’t come. Everyone is invited, but some don’t bother to prepare. Don’t get caught up in worrying about that wedding robe. In Jesus’ world, men wore a clean white robe to weddings. But for us, in a world that’s a lot more relaxed, so imagine someone coming to the feast without putting on clean clothes, without washing their hands and faces, wearing their worst, while everyone else is clean and tidy. And the host throws them out, saying they missed the point, pointing out that you’ve got to make an effort.
But the real point isn’t about wearing clean clothes or even about washing your hands and face; it’s about living out your commitment, about what you do after you accept God’s invitation. How do we live out our acceptance of God’s invitation?
The reading from Philippians gives us a really broad hint: “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable…” That’s what we’re supposed to do. And it’s not just how we live; it’s also about how we help our world see what’s right.
Responding to, living into, God’s invitation means being willing to name wrong things. And that means speaking out on public issues from time to time when we see harm about to happen.
We believe all people matter, even the worst among us – maybe even especially the worst among us, because it’s so very clear that respect for human beings is not something we earn by being good, it is basic to being human.
This was one of the first things people in the Roman Empire realized was different about Christians – different from the usual Roman customs. In Rome, if you had too many children, you took a baby out and abandoned it, the way we take used furniture to Savers, or to the dump, for others to pick over, maybe. Christians said that every child had value, and began to create homes for unwanted children.
That’s why we feed the hungry without making them prove their worth. All people matter.
That’s why it is never right to turn an execution into entertainment, to execute someone publicly, as if by watching it, we will all learn something, or people will be intimidated. That’s one of the vilest proposals I’ve ever heard.
Many of us heard the news, this past week, that the Department of Defense intends to live-stream the execution by firing squad of a convicted murderer in early December. I want to be clear; there is no way that a public execution is a moral act – something that a devout, faithful Christian can take part in – and make no mistake, watching this proposed execution is indeed taking part in something.
Because Jesus teaches us to treat every person as a child of God; because we learn that everyone has a right to exist — when we are required to kill, we do so in whatever way is the quickest – to kill in the way that most respected the other’s humanity.
As a country, we have agreed that when we have to kill – either in war or by capital punishment – it will be done as quickly as possible, without unnecessary pain, and without making a public spectacle of the event.
This is all aside from the ongoing discussion about whether or not capital punishment is every acceptable. But today, that’s not the argument. The question today is not whether this person should be executed, but whether the act should be live-streamed. Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops condemned the action. So has the Florida Conference of the UCC. So has the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the USA.
Here’s one reason why: When I first joined the Marine Corps, I mostly worked with career Marines, men who had first served in World War 2, mostly in the South Pacific islands, like Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima. As I got to know those men, it became clear that, no matter how justified the action, killing someone changes you. Their memories often damaged their souls; some found it so painful that they became alcoholics – that’s what happened to my husband – whenever he began to think about his war, in Korea, and remembered the people he’d killed, he’d drink until he couldn’t remember anymore.
Being there, seeing dead people, changes you. The Christian leaders I’ve mentioned all talk about the way viewing an execution changes us, and not for the better. Killing people is sometimes necessary, but it is never fun, never pleasant, never never entertainment.
After World War I, the world agreed to never again use poison gas, because it killed people in horrible ways. And gradually, we have tried to come up with methods of execution which cause less pain. In all that time, we have agreed that out of respect for the humanity of even the killer, the recognition that even if death is appropriate, it has to be done in a dignified way, we have held our executions behind closed doors.
It is always right to advocate for food for the hungry, jobs for those out of work, opportunity for our children, enough homes for everyone in town. It is always necessary to name prejudice – whether that’s racism or hatred of gay people, trans people, or folks from away – because there is no time when Jesus tells us that we should build walls instead of community. It is always right to treat your neighbors with decency, even when you disagree with one another.
The old medical axiom – first, do no harm – is a good guideline. In all we do, do not hurt others; in all we do, work for the good of our world.
We are all called to God’s banquet. We are all invited to the table. Let us respond to the invitation by putting on our desire to be like Jesus, to step away from the temptation to degrade a man’s humanity by making his death a spectacle.
Respond to God’s invitation by living in God’s way. Today and always.
Amen.
©2026, Virginia H. Child
