[RCL] Exodus 32:1-14; Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23; Philippians 4:1-9; Matthew 22:1-14 The gospel for today begs allegory and analogy, leading inevitably to dividing people into groups of good and bad. It is an invitation to play the Blame Game. Coupled with our innate curiosity, like Pandora, we cannot help but want to know just who is…

The gospel for today begs allegory and analogy, leading inevitably to dividing people into groups of good and bad. It is an invitation to play the Blame Game. Coupled with our innate curiosity, like Pandora, we cannot help but want to know just who is going to be bound hand and foot and cast into…

Today’s gospel passage probably requires a bit of translation. There’s a big difference between the cultural expectations of first-century Palestine and 21st-century America. Not only about marriage, of course – but marriage is what today’s gospel highlights. Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a marriage feast given by a slave-owning king. Now, slave-owning kings…

Isn’t today’s gospel reading the darndest parable? The whole thing just sort of jerks along, and doesn’t quite work – especially when you get to the poor fellow who is tossed into the outer darkness for violating the dress code. Puzzling. Let’s unpack it a little and maybe make it a bit easier to grasp….

Our gospel reading is one of those stories from the Bible that makes you want to call for a time out or an instant replay. In fact, if the parable was a football game, at least one referee would throw his yellow flag high in the air. He wouldn’t be calling “failure to wear proper…

The readings this week from Exodus and the Gospel of Matthew are about the unexpected. In the story from Exodus, Moses has been up on the mountain for a long time. The people are getting worried, even scared. They don’t really know where Moses has gone, or why they don’t understand. Like so many times…

A man flips lazily through the television channels and stops for a few minutes to look at a religious program. He then turns the set off, gets up, and walks into the hall where he encounters his wife. “Will you,” he asks her, “be ready when the Bridegroom comes?” “Yes,” she responds quickly, “I have…

This parable, found also in Luke, is embellished by the writer of Matthew’s Gospel and contains some points that may be difficult to understand. But the heart and meaning of it come through clearly. The story is definitely an allegory. That means that the king in the story stands for God. The people found in…