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Expensive Wedding. Expensive Grace
By Pr. Lisa Rygiel

An average wedding in North America can easily cost tens of thousands of dollars — or more! From the venue to flowers to food, invitations to music to photos, formal wear to centerpieces to officiants, getting married is not cheap.

In Sunday’s gospel, Jesus tells a parable about a wedding invitation, a banquet, and God’s grace. Jesus teaches about a king who ultimately invites all people to a wedding banquet. At first, this parable seems to portray a wide open and gracious invitation to a wedding celebration. However, by the end it is hard not to feel sorry for the poor guy who gets a last-minute invitation but gets thrown out for not wearing the correct wedding duds! Again, getting married is not cheap — but neither is grace.

Receiving God’s grace changes people. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer taught, God’s grace is not cheap; it comes at a great cost upon the cross. Once we receive this costly grace, our lives are never the same. This grace compels us to act, and it calls us to bear fruit with our lives, sharing this grace with others. To continue to live in the same way after receiving this gracious invitation is not an option. So, what are we to do? We simply receive the gracious invitation to the banquet and find a changing room — it’s time to live a new life.

Day Resources - Sundays and Seasons

20thSunday After Pentecost, Oct. 11

Announcements

  • Fellowship: Join us after worship on Sunday for coffee & conversation in the Fellowship Hall. All are welcome.
  • Church Telephone Outage: The Zion’s telephone system is down due to an infrastructure problem. We are waiting for the system to be repaired. In the interim, please send communication through our email: ZionsLuth@gmail.com, or contact one of our church council members. We will provide updates as they become available.
  • Thank You: We are grateful to Pastors John & Charlotte Strecker-Baseler for presiding at worship on Sunday, Oct. 11, while Pr. Lisa and John are out of town to attend the memorial for John’s sister.
  • Church Council: The Zion’s Church Council will meet at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 13. This represents a new monthly council schedule that allows the council to meet upstairs, which is more accessible.
  • Zion’s Book Club: Our Adult Study is at 10:30 a.m. each Tuesday in the Fellowship Hall. Our next study is Tuesday, Oct. 20 in the Fellowship Hall as we discuss “What if Jesus was Serious about Prayer”. We will not meet Oct. 13, as Pr. Lisa is out of town.
  • Dinner & A Movie: Mark your calendar for a special event at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 28, when Zion’s will screen the movie The Shack. We will also have dinner and discussion. The Oct. 28 date allows people who wish to do so to read or listen to the book prior to the screening. If you need a copy of the book, let us know as many members have copies or downloads to share.
  • We’re Here for You: For pastoral care, Pr. Lisa has office hours from 9 – 10:30 a.m. on Tuesdays and by appointment. Call Zion’s at 719-846-7785 or send an email to zionsluth@gmail.com. While she is out of town, call any council member for assistance.

E-Formation

We don’t invite strangers to our wedding banquets, but God does. Come to worship with us this coming Sunday. Join with millions of strangers, all around the world, who come to be filled with God’s mercy.

Matthew 22:1-1
Matthew’s parable of the wedding banquet, written perhaps about 80 ce, seems to have been influenced by the memory of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 ce: the host is a king, and he burns the city. The “both good and bad” guests refer to members of the early Christian communities. Matthew and Luke include versions of this parable, but the extreme harshness of what some refer to as the second parable—Matthew’s conclusion, verses 11-13—has left most interpreters baffled. However, the extended parable does include two of Matthew’s themes: the gracious mercy of God and an absolute requirement for holy living.

Isaiah 25:1-9
From first Isaiah in the eighth century bce comes one of the Bible’s most lovely descriptions of the final and full messianic banquet. The sacred mountain no longer inspires terror but welcomes all peoples to a feast. The destruction of the city is seen as part of God’s plans and as divine punishment on the people. Verses 8-9 exemplify the Bible’s eschatological vision: in the end, death will be defeated, for God will save the world. Eschatological hopes especially mark a people who see no way out of their current dilemma.

Philippians 4:1-9
As in several other places, here Paul alludes to the importance of women as leaders in the early Christian communities. Paul names the women in Philippian leadership between whom there has been some controversy. Such specifics realistically record primitive Christianity. Joy in the Lord and a generally positive attitude are now suggested as part of the reconciliation within the community. Yet even this troubled assembly Paul refers to as his “joy and crown.”

Zion's Lutheran Church
zionsluth@gmail.com
719-846-7785