Continuing from the book of Judges (Judges 11:29-39), we have the story of Jephthah killing his own daughter, his only child, as a “burnt offering” to God. In Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 22:1-14) we read about how guests who are invited to a prince’s wedding feast lay hold of the king’s messengers, mistreated and ultimately killed them. As might be expected, the king was enraged and destroyed those murderers and burnt their city. Finally, this harsh king rejects a guest who is wearing the wrong clothes – in fact, tells his servants to “Bind his hands and feet and cast him into the darkness outside.” This difficult Gospel ends, “Many are invited, but few are chosen.” I don’t like to think about that! I don’t like the grief, the violence, the judgment, and the punishment in these selections. What do all these terrible lines mean to me?
A clue may be found in the Psalm’s refrain (Psalm 39) “Here I am, Lord, I come to do your will”. Right after we hear Jephthah’s story, the Psalm sings, “Sacrifice or oblation you wished not…Burnt offerings or sin-offerings you sought not.” Instead, “To do your will, O my God, is my delight.”
So maybe I should reflect on how I tend to take God’s love for granted. Don’t we tend to think that nothing more can be asked of us beyond what we’re already doing quite comfortably? We have smug and ready excuses for not feeding the hungry, tending the sick, or any of the other corporal mercies – in other words, for not truly living the Christian faith: “I do enough already,” or “I can’t be expected to be more than I am.”
Today’s readings haul us back, not to the ancient practice of human sacrifice or to an obsessive concern with proper attire, but to faith, fidelity, and commitment. Jephthah is no ordinary man but a mighty warrior, a figure that has power and success. But he has made a promise to his God. The daughter is no ordinary child, bouncing out the front door to greet Daddy, but rather a princess giving a ceremonial welcome. Together, father and daughter represent something greater still — about not taking the Lord for granted, and about sacrifice beyond human reason, all for love. To accept her role in fulfilling her father’s vow, the daughter must have loved God, and her father, very much! I see parallels in Jephthah’s story with the “Binding of Isaac” by Abraham, and even with the sacrifice of the Son of God on the Cross.
Let us now consider how the man “not dressed in a wedding garment” in the Gospel parable reminds us that the Kingdom of Heaven is not to be taken for granted. When the king notices him, the lazy guest “was reduced to silence.” It is not like he didn’t have or couldn’t get the proper clothing. (The other last-minute invitees managed to dress appropriately.) This guest complacently preferred the comfort of his old jeans and t-shirt (or the first-century equivalent) instead of sacrificing a bit of convenience to do the right thing for this festive occasion.
So today, may these readings shake me out of my slothful self-satisfaction! Let me not take God for granted! Let me love God enough to sacrifice any convenience and comfort to say honestly, “To do your will, O my God, is my delight.” Or, to quote a prayer that impressed me fifty years ago and haunts me still, “Dear God, keep me from offering sacrifices that cost me nothing.”
May God Bless You and Grant You His Peace!