The Reading from 2 Corinthians 1:21-2:4 The Reading from St. Matthew 22:1-14 The question of today is: Why would anyone turn down a banquet? A free banquet! Today as we hear this parable about a wedding feast, in order to get a better understanding of it I want to start with a few verses from St. Paul’s second epistle to the Corinthians. 2 Cor. 10:3-5 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ So this is where we are, walking in the flesh, and struggling with flesh, yet the flesh is not our enemy, we do not war after the flesh. In other words, we have physical bodies of flesh and blood, which can take a lot of attention, but that is not the source of our spiritual problem. Our enemies don’t have flesh and blood. Then he says the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds. Strong holds are fortress like parts of our thinking that control our city, our hearts and minds. You will notice in the hymns and prayers of the Church that there is a perspective from which a person is a city. With walls, gates, wells, etc. Then he goes on, further saying, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. The final part, bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. That is a lot to consider. But this is where our issues lie. This points us to our true enemies and the source of spiritual disease. And today in the epistle reading St. Paul says this: He has put his seal upon us and given us His Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. So this is a counter measure of our struggle against sin, against warring with ourselves. Remember, much of what we must do to be Christian in word, thought, deed, is changing how we think, gaining control of our thoughts, cleansing our minds. We must change the negative tape that is always playing in our heads, we must rid ourselves of the inner monologue which we inherited from Adam, and replace it with a Divine Dialogue. Do you know what I mean? Am I the only one? Getting rid of the junk in our hearts and minds, makes way for holiness, heavenly awareness, attentiveness to God, freedom, and sanctity. Let me give you an example of how this works. Say I am experiencing shame, I have said something offensive to someone, or I have been caught in a lie, or I failed to keep a vow. What I would normally do is enter into a state of self-condemnation, self-hatred, reminding my self how worthless I am, how I never do anything right, just like I always have. This is a long established habit I developed when I was much younger and didn’t know about sin and my heart. When I accept these kind of thoughts in response to a situation, I am basically agreeing to evil thoughts about myself. I am agreeing with the evil one who truly wants me to condemn myself and go into despair, then I just give up. I am developing a strong hold in my heart. It is like an unhealthy person continuing to eat highly processed foods and drinking tons of Diet Coke. I can often take the easy, convenient way in response, but not be fully aware of this decision and its implications. As a child I don’t recall knowing that I had been invited to a banquet, but I decided to go dumpster diving. Did I know that was what I was choosing? No. I was trying to survive. What is an alternative way to respond to my own brokenness? Admit my sin, confess it to God, ask Him to help get back up from my fall, not go into despair but, but, to confess the Faith instead. What has God said about me? Confess that when you sin. The devil is the condemner the accuser, the deceiver; don’t agree with what he wants you to think, how he wants you to act, how he wants you to hide, to isolate, to become alienated from the very things I need to heal me. What do I do instead. Put Godly thoughts in, remind yourself of the Faith, confess your faith in God in the devil’s face. We figuratively spit on him, as at our baptism. Say “NO! I don’t believe that. And remember this short section from the epistle. Confess, remind yourself of our holy Faith. Say it, if you can, out loud. What is spoken on earth resounds in heaven. He has put his seal upon us and given us His Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. I have been baptized into Christ, I have put on Christ. I am being made new by the Holy Spirit. God did not reject the prostitute, the harlot, the thief, I pray Lord, just as you did not reject them, so do not reject me! Exercise your faith, confess your faith, remind yourself of your Faith. What did Christ say? What does the Creed say? What do the Holy Scriptures say? Do not live by lies, do not agree to lies, do not allow lies into your heart and mind. When we do this we are making agreements with evil, we are building strong holds in our hearts, rather than tearing them down. Turn to prayer immediately after you fall, remember the mercy and love of God for mankind. That He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should turn from their way and live. Then you will shine like stars in the heavens. The short prayer, Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner is a weapon against strong holds, it should be an instant response to a fall. Stay out of the shame cycle. Get in the repentance cycle. Get some humility. Don’t be shocked when you fall and berate yourself, instantly recognize the fall, your state of being a sinner, and begin to get back on the horse of humility and repentance. Turn to the parable from today. The parables of Christ keys to understanding His Kingdom. They are for you and me, not just for the people of second temple Judaism, and the Ancient Church. Find yourself in His parables, say I am that person, I am the one who was hungry but did not respond to His invitation, instead I began to long after the pods I was feeding to the pigs, I am the prodigal son. What are we doing? Bringing every thought captive to Christ, as I read to you from 2 Corinthians. The real struggle is inside us. The real problem in the world is within me. I have stinkin’ thinkin’. Strong holds are called that because they are hard to tear down. But with Christ all things are possible. The first step is recognition of the true problem. “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a marriage feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the marriage feast; but they would not come. They would not come. It doesn’t say, they could not come. It says they would not. Some where in your life, this is happening. Somewhere in my life, I am choosing the pods that the pigs eat and turning down the invitation to a banquet. And those servants went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good; so the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment; and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. What is the wedding garment? The garment you were given at baptism. It is to be kept clean, so clean that it is evident that it is a baptismal robe, as given to the Prodigal. Many are called but few are chosen. How can we be among the chosen? Clean the garment, keep it clean, come to the banquet on earth which is the Divine Liturgy, receive the food of the servants, the Body and Blood of The Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world. Cast down the strong holds in your heart with the healing power of the Sacraments and the Life of Christ in the Orthodox church. A banquet is prepared for you. RSVP today and commit yourself to the healing of your heart, soul, and mind, acquiring the Mind of Christ. He alone can truly clean your baptismal garment and make you worthy of His Banquet.