Mark 16:9-20 (Matins)
2 Corinthians 1:21-2:4
Matthew 22:1-14

The Marriage of Heaven and Earth

When the Great Flood recedes, the second Creation begins with the same preoccupation with evil, with father-drunkenness and mother-incest.

God begins again with Abram of the Chaldees (in the region of Babylon) and His great-grandchildren the Twelve Tribes of Israel. But this story, too, culminates in near fratricide (with a brother left to die) and, according to the Book of Exodus, bondage. The Twelve Tribes are then dragged through the wilderness grumbling and sinning. The Hebrew prophets bear witness to God's unfaithful people and confront them. And the whole tale comes to climax in the murder of God's Son (which was depicted in last week's parable).

In our own time, God is mocked, His holy ways are trampled upon, and the Creation is coming apart at the seams. Remarkably, this very scenario is depicted in one of the best attested books of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Book of Enoch. ¹

The angels, too, bear the shame of a checkered history of rebellion, out-of-control lust, and betrayal, which is mentioned in the Book of Genesis and fulsomely described in the Book of Enoch. It is, perhaps, for this reason that mankind was created: to re-people (so to speak) the society of God in Heaven, which had been emptied of perhaps one-third or two-thirds of the angels, who also bear the Divine gift of freedom.

As a counter-principle, God put in place the life of Theosis, of which Enoch is the prime example:

It was this aspect of earthly life, which Jesus was sent to restore to us, for, as the Early Fathers have written, we did not know who we were (children of God, Who is our Father); we did not know where were going (to the Kingdom of Heaven, ideally); we did not know how to behave (according the portrait of mankind, which Jesus restored); we did not know that our salvation lay in becoming like God (sotería, the underlying Greek, which means "the way ahead has been cleared").

Other exemplars of Theosis include Abraham, Elijah, and the Most Holy Theotokos. Certainly, all Christians must participate in this process of becoming Divine, for this is Christian life. Anything that falls short of this in not Christianity at all. And we celebrate a weekly ritual of this most sacred transformation but having placed within us a particle of the Divine — God's Most Holy Body and Most Precious Blood — that He may dwell in us and we in Him. A saying current in Jesus' time is that "every drop of wine in the sea interpenetrates every part of the sea."

God attests throughout the Hebrew Scriptures: "I AM Holy; therefore, You shall be Holy." Doesn't that say it all? In this God pronounces the Marriage and Heaven and earth. We are to be Holy. The Kingdom of Heaven is our destiny. Jesus gives the Law of Moses a second time enunciating the Laws of the Kingdom of Heaven (Mt 5,6,7), which thoughts are higher than earthly thoughts (Isa 55:8-9).

Our lesson this morning is a condensed story of all of this. Jesus begins simply and directly:

Jesus followers would have understood instantly that the "certain King" is Father God. Anyone would, for the phrase "Kingdom of Heaven" is following immediately by the phrase "is like a certain King." And we all understand that the marriage He is arranging is for Jesus, Whom Peter has already named: "the Christ, the Son of the Living God" (Mt 16:16). Indeed, Jesus followers refer to Him as the Bridegroom in all four Gospels. And the marriage of Heaven and earth requires that relatives be summoned from everywhere.

This family is, well, like all families. There are parts of the family who style themselves above the others. They ignore their relations who enjoy less worldly favor lest anyone discover these "lows" connections. We learn in the course of the parable, however, that these lordlings underestimate their humble relations and have forgotten their King, His Son, and their values and ways. The King is King over all — those along the highways and byways, and among the lanes and hedges. Moreover, His Royal Son is not ostentatious in His dress or manner. We learn elsewhere in Matthew's Gospel that He has nowhere to lay His head (Mt 8:20), that He teaches His followers not to lord over others (Mt 20:25), and that He practices deeply intentional humility (Mt 11:29). Even when He reveals His Royal Character, He says,

Yet, while His vesture is simple and His comportment meek, this is not to communicate laxness. There are certain requirements that can never change. Needless to say, Heaven is an unchanging constant and never bends to suit the current fashion, or more to the point, the current cultural delusion. Therefore, the lordlings in the family, priding themselves as "knowing better," have come to despise God and God's superstitious simpletons. But the King does no consult their opinions. And in response to their abuse, even murder, of the royal servants, The King

No doubt, this was the glaring cue that prompted the Fathers to identify this parable as a depiction of the Last Judgment.

But let us remain focused on ourselves as invited guests. We are all summoned to the Wedding Feast, that is, we are all enjoined to take Theosis most seriously. Before coming into the King's presence, we must be aware of our spiritual temperatures. We must ensure that our hearts are right. We must watch for the symptoms of spiritual illness? But what are they? Surely, if we ignore our brothers and sisters who are without shelter, food, or decent clothing, yet we possess many and fine possessions, then the prognosis is not good. If we have been blessed with a comely and fragrant garden where our marriages might thrive and our children's souls might prosper, but we have introduced adultery and perversion into this garden, then our report must be grave. If we have received the gift of a terrestrial paradise, but have despoiled it through recklessness, selfishness, and greed, then surely, we have spiked a deadly fever from which we might not escape. If we have been granted the daily miracle and unspeakable beauty of new life, but have extinguished it, even in its pre-born nascency, then we, too, shall be extinguished.

Remember, no one can surpass God's mercy. He knows everything about us yet tenderly loves us in our sufferings and our repented sins. At the same, time no one is above or beyond God's perfect justice. There is no use in making excuses. For He always already knows everything about us and every context and extenuating circumstance. And we vainly imagine that He will not notice our double or secret lives, hiding in the crowd of people whom we declare to be no better. In this we only belittle ourselves further. Small wonder, the King shall approach many guests at the wedding banquet and say,

For God will not fill the Kingdom of Heaven with those whose thoughts are on evil continually. And this is the purpose of Theosis: to cleanse our thoughts and control our imaginations until we are every thought is Heavenly. Should we be distracted, then we have been given the Jesus Prayer to drive out the demons. No doubt, this is why St. Paul counsels us to pray without ceasing (1 Thess 5:17) and why he enjoins us again and again to control our passions, which he singles by name.

Without question, we have come to a difficult moment in this meditation on family. For if family is the ultimate expression and experience of love, then grave breaches in family relations are most traumatic. Why can't everyone honor holy love? For this is the path to the Kingdom of Heaven and to the only life worth living. Yet we must accept and already know,

This parable is no fairy tale. The vast Table most certainly has been set. The King says, "All is prepared." And every minute of every day the Eucharist is celebrated somewhere in the world. From the bread and wine of Abraham and Melchisedek (Gen 14:18) to the Lamb's invitation to dine with us and we with Him (Rev 3:20) whose bounds are infinite and eternal. The Marriage of Heaven and earth is in progress. Everyone is called. We must not fail to heed the King's summons. For He decides the acceptable season, and to ignore Him is clear rebellion. Yet, to obey Him: to live in His fragrant garden, to put on His easy yoke, to grow to be more like Him every day, in these things, we ".... [we] will find rest for [our] souls" (Mt 11:29).

This is His promise. And His promises alone are good. For He alone is good (Mk 10:18, Mt 19:17, Lu 18:19).

Heed Him. Follow Him. Become Him. As Pascal would say, what is the downside, for the upside is obvious: the Kingdom of God.

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

¹ 1 Enoch, Ed. George W. E. Nickelsburg and James C. VanderKam (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001).