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Lectionary for Oct. 11, 2026
20th Sunday after Pentecost
Isaiah 25:1-9; Psalm 23;
Philippians 4:1-9; Matthew 22:1-14
Have you ever been invited to a fancy dinner? Maybe it was a wedding, a fundraiser, a synod assembly dinner. Were there assigned seats or name cards? Frequently, when we throw a party, we limit the number of guests. Fancy food is expensive, and we want to make sure there is enough for everyone. For the preparers of a feast, there is often the excruciating process of going over a guest list and determining who is in and who is out. In this week’s lectionary readings, the issue of who is in and who is out of God’s banquet is addressed three times.
In Psalm 23, a dual metaphor portrays the psalmist’s dependence on God. First, he is a sheep who is taken care of by God-as-shepherd. Then the metaphor changes, and the psalmist is sitting at a table (which I’ve not known sheep to do), where God anoints his head and serves rich wine from a cup.
It’s where the table is set that is most interesting to me. This meal isn’t happening in some hidden retreat or banquet hall. Instead, the table is set conspicuously in front of the psalmist’s enemies. The Hebrew word translated “in front of” is of the same root that describes the ideal of Eve and Adam coming to face each other after the primeval human was severed in two. As the psalmist eats, he stares into the eyes of enemies, who stare right back at him. They aren’t invited to the feast. And, apparently, they have no power to harm the psalmist under God’s protection.
In Isaiah, in the heart of the Little Apocalypse (24-27), we have a description of God undoing the colonial infrastructure of occupying foreigners in two movements. In the first, God simply tears down buildings. The palace of strangers (2) and the uproar of foreigners (5) is overthrown to such a degree that even ruthless nations (3) come to revere God. God has been a stronghold for the helpless and the poor as they have been oppressed by invaders. Now, finally, the people are free!
Isaiah could end here, but the prophet continues. Instead of sending away the foreign occupiers, God makes them a lavish meal with the best wines and succulent meats for all peoples. Some people were previously covered with violent ignorance, as if below an obscuring veil. God removes that veil so all nations will see each other—and God—fully and completely. This is Isaiah’s apocalyptic vision: death and sadness will be wiped away by nations finally sitting down together at God’s banquet. No one is excluded from this party, even former oppressors.
Everyone is welcome to the feast, and God’s gracious hospitality is ours to accept or reject.
In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus picked up Isaiah’s vision of God’s open-to-all banquet and turned it on its head!
The kingdom of heaven is like a king throwing a wedding banquet for his son. When the food is ready, the invited guests refuse to come. The king invites the people again, describing the rich provisions for those who would just come to the party. But the people would rather dishonor the king than enjoy the food that has been prepared for them! Some even kill the servants sent to bring them to the party.
What did the king do? As Jesus frequently described, those who violently reject the kingdom of God meet a fiery end.
Just because the invited guests would rather insult the king than party doesn’t mean that all the food is wasted. Instead, the king sends the servants out into the roads to gather all whom they find there, both good and bad (10), to bring them to the feast. Now, ancient custom demanded that if someone was invited to a feast but didn’t have suitable clothes, the host was to provide garments so the guest wouldn’t face ridicule. Someone not wearing wedding attire is not a sign of poverty here, but a deliberate act of disrespect toward the king and his offers of hospitality—the same as the original invitees. In this case, all people were eventually invited to the banquet, but those who refused entry or wished to shame God were excluded by their own choice.
This week we have three banquets and three groups of enemies. While the psalmist envisions a pause in fighting, Isaiah and Jesus see both friends and enemies sitting down together, if they are willing. I think that is the takeaway for me: everyone is welcome to the feast, and God’s gracious hospitality is ours to accept or reject.
