Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY
Br. Luc Thuku, OHC
Proper 23 A - October 11, 2020
The first one is envy, because if you are uncircumcised and therefore not initiated to adulthood as per the culture, then you are still regarded as a kid despite your chronological age, and therefore you can do anything you want and get away with it.
The second reason and I guess the most important, is to show the boys that they are nothing important till they are initiated and therefore incorporated fully into the tribe.That act of always being treated with contempt made one look forward and even pressure his parents to let him go through the rite.
This is important to prepare them psychologically because it is a painful business and with it also comes responsibility for family and tribe, and one needs to go through it voluntarily. Young initiates graduated to being warriors who protected the tribe and later would marry and procreate to ensure the continuity of the tribe.
When my tribe embraced Christianity, this practice of shaming was to some degree carried on to the new faith and if you did something wrong, as a young person, it was not uncommon for parents to punish,(or according to them challenge or encourage) you in form of a song if caning and tongue lashing failed. The song went like this:
Kihii giki mukuru thiini Ukaharuruka urio wiki Haha hatiri onaumwe ugaguteithia Na niukarira uri o wiki.Caitani nake ndagaguteithia Na riria ukwihia mwihagia nake akehugura na thutha aguthekerere ha ha ha na niukarira urio wiki.
Loosely translated it says:
You uninitiated one to the valley of hell you will descend all alone there is not even one here who will help you and you will cry all alone
Satan too will not help you and when you sin you sin together he will just turn and laugh at you Ha ha ha and you will cry all alone
As you can imagine, this song was sung to me numerous times when I faltered and it used to disturb me a lot. I used to question myself why I had to suffer in hell for a life I had not chosen to live in the first place. I was not baptized by choice or born a Kikuyu by choice, and when I was old enough I was forced to go to church and punished if I got there late and so the entire God/ church and tribe business became very confusing and oppressive.
This question presents itself again in today's gospel reading(Matthew 22:1-14) where those invited to the wedding don't seem to have a say or freedom to choose to go or not. When they attempt to assert their freedom, although some did it in an unacceptable manner(murder), they get killed. Then idlers are invited or rather forced to come to the wedding feast, and to the credit of the host both good and bad are invited, but one of them who did not have a wedding garment is bound up and thrown into the outer darkness. One would imagine that the host would have been more forgiving or understanding to this second group because they were picked up on the road going about their business, but it seems it is either his way or no way at all. This gets even more concerning when it is presented as coming from the mouth of Jesus explaining how things will be at the end of time and yet, Jesus had come to reveal a loving, forgiving and respecting God, and the explanation given that it is because “many are called but few are chosen” doesn’t make any sense at all! This passage can be and is very depressing right?… No!
Today's gospel passage will only make sense if read and interpreted in context as opposed to literally. Matthew is writing to an ethnic Jewish congregation that first and foremost thinks it is entitled to salvation due to it’s descent from Abraham; and that also is familiar with the language of right or wrong, reward or punishment, life or death, male or female, heaven or hell, righteous or evil, God or satan… In short a language of black or white with no grey areas in between, although most of them lived their lives in the grey areas. This could therefore be basically the language of Matthew teaching, and not a verbatim quote from Jesus. However, it doesn’t diminish its value or validity as the word of God as we shall soon see.
If we want to know God's language in this regard, we should not look further than the first reading that we heard from the prophecy of Isaiah chapter 25:1-9. In this prophecy especially from verse 6, God promises a feast on "this" mountain which is not named and could therefore represent any city…remember cities were built on hills or elevated land those days for easier protection from invaders, hence the imagery. Isaiah was writing to give people hope that despite the destruction of their city by invaders, in this case the Babylonians who will exile them, God will have them return and reward them. Isaiah continues and says "the Lord of Hosts will make for ALL people a feast of rich food, a feast of well aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well aged wines strained clear”. Despite the feast sounding delicious and sumptuous(my apologies to vegans and teetotalers), the catch phrase is that The feast will be for ALL, not for some or for those dressed for the occasion. He continues to say that the Lord will also wipe away the tears from all faces(not just of the good ones), and the disgrace of His people he will take away from all the earth! This doesn't sound like a mean God who seems to derive pleasure from punishing those who exercise freedom or those who make simple mistakes like our inappropriately dressed fellow at the wedding in the gospel passage.
The language in today's gospel therefore should not be taken to mean God is unforgiving, death happy, or one who looks for the slightest mistakes to punish and does so out of proportion to the offense. It should be taken as an encouragement to the hearers not to take things for granted and think they can live life without a care and get away with it. Like the uncircumcised kikuyu boys who are born Kikuyu yes, but are not fully Kikuyu, until they are initiated into the tribe voluntarily, Jesus through Matthew is reminding the ethnic Jews that being born a Jew does not guarantee them eternal life. They have to accept the invitation and choose to be in relationship or communion with God.
The gospel today is also reminding us, albeit through reverse psychology, that although we are christians(most of us “ethnic Christians” as a result of infant Baptism and regular church attendance), we should not take it for granted that we will be saved, but we have a responsibility to make a conscious choice every day to cooperate with the divine plan of salvation. Being a Christian alone does not guarantee anyone eternal life…It is living as a Christian daily that puts us on the path to eternal life!
In the second reading that we heard this morning from Philippians Chapter 4:1-9, Paul lays down for us the strategy of cooperating with this divine plan and of living daily as a Christian. In verse 8, He tells us that whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is anything worthy of praise, to think about these things. Finally in verse 9, he urges the Philippians and us to keep on doing the things that they have learned, received, heard and seen in him and the God of peace will be with them. Simply put, Paul is telling us that as followers of Jesus, we should not be self centered, egocentric, selfish and narcissistic. Whatever we do should be done with the next person in mind and for the good of the other person. This is however easier said than done especially in our contemporary society which is driven by profits, selfishness, greed and all that accompanies these vices. If every single person who call themselves Christian in America today were to practice the recommendations of Philippians 4 verse 8, we would have a model of a just Christian society, a paradise on earth. However, our sense of entitlement that emanates from capitalism gone wild, and distorted interpretation of scripture where wealth is confused with blessings and its lack a curse; leaves us dangerously unprepared for life here and now and for eternal life for it robs us of joy.
The mark of true Christianity is joy that comes not from material things but from knowing and being in relationship with God through others. Paul therefore urges those of us who are true followers of Jesus Christ this morning in Philippians verse 4-7 to rejoice in the Lord always and to let our gentleness be known to everyone for the Lord is near. He urges us to worry about nothing but in everything through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving to let our requests be known to God. When we do so, the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
My dear brothers and sisters, are you experiencing joy and peace?, are you able to rejoice in the Lord always despite the circumstances you find yourself in? If so thanks be to God! If not, the message in today's readings is encouraging us to take a step towards our loving savior who is forever inviting us to experience joy and peace here and now and to eternity… and as Paul reminded, there is no better time than now because the Lord is near...
Come to the Savior make no delay,Here in his word He's shown us the way;Here in our midst He's standing today,Tenderly saying "come!"Joyful, joyful will the meeting be,When from sin our hearts are pure and free,And we shall gather, Savior with TheeIn our eternal home.
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