Bible reading: Matthew 22:1-14.

The first church I served, back in the late 1980s, had a thriving Scout Group – the 221^st North London. Apart from the traditional activities such as camps and the Scout Supper (fun, games, potato and mash for all), one big event in 221’s calendar was its annual Dinner Dance for leaders, supporters and friends. It was held in a hotel or wedding venue..The food varied – we’ll never forget the year of the half-done chicken – and music was provided by a Cub leader who had his own band. To be honest, it wasn’t my kind of event, partly because the noise level made it difficult to chat with people. I usually made my excuses and left by midnight, wondering how many would be in church the next morning, and in what state!

But Moira and I couldn’t complain, as we were given free tickets. And, every year, two words printed on those tickets made me smile. For, as well as giving the time, date and location of the Dinner Dance, they would include the enigmatic and ambiguous phrase: “Dress optional”. What might that mean, I would wonder? As I’m not a drag artist, I never contemplated turning up in a full-length ballgown (it’s so not “me”); but the wording did suggest that I could have attended in a state of complete undress if I’d so desired – which would have probably brought my ministerial career to an early and abrupt end. In the end I was sensible and went to the ball in “smart casual” clothes, while Moira put on her “glad rags”.

Today’s curious story tells of a man who sneaks into a royal wedding wearing the wrong clothes: you can almost imagine him doing it for a dare, just to see if it’s possible. At first he mingles with the crowd without being detected – but not for long. For he is spotted by the bridegroom’s father, the king no less, who says, “Have you no shame? How dare you insult me by turning up on such a special day in those shabby street clothes!” There is no time for explanations or apologies: one can visualise grim-faced guards being summoned, marching the man to the door, and booting him out. (That reminds me of the author Paul Theroux, visiting Aberdeen at the height of the 1980s oil boom. With time to kill he decided to go to a club there on a Country and Western night but was refused entry – for wearing jeans!)

The astute among you might be thinking, “Hang on a minute! You’ve come in at the very end of the story – what about the rest of it?” Well, we all know that bit very well: it’s the tale of the king who invites the barons and bigwigs to his son’s wedding. They enthusiastically accept the invitation to what’s obviously the biggest social event of the year but, when the king’s heralds and slaves come to tell them that the time has come, they not only refuse to go with those emissaries but treat them with extreme and unwarranted cruelty. The king, not wanting the marriage to go uncelebrated nor the food to be wasted, sends out more servants to invite anyone, from anywhere, who might want to come. They respond with amazed enthusiasm and soon the festivities are in full swing. It’s only then that we hear about the man who is dressed incorrectly and gets ejected from the festivities.

As I’ve said time and time again, context is everything when it comes to interpreting the Bible. That’s particularly true here, and it’s why I’ve ignored the rest of this story. For we’re in the final week of Jesus’ life. He has provoked controversy by entering Jerusalem in a parody of a royal parade, then stormed through the Temple upsetting (in the most literal sense) its traders. After being given the third degree by the Jewish religious leaders who question his authority to teach, Jesus “ups the ante” by telling four parables, including this one, which all have a similar message: “You lot think you’re going to heaven because you’re members of God’s elect. Don’t be so sure about that: God is more willing (shock! horror!) to welcome into his kingdom tax-collectors, the people you call ‘sinners’, even Gentiles”. It’s a stinging critique of the Jewish Establishment’s smug religion, and it also lays the ground for the Church which will include every member on equal terms – a message which Matthew’s Jewish Christian readers needed to hear and heed.

So let’s get back to the man who’s thrown out of the party because he’s wearing the wrong clothes. This does seem harsh, until we remember that the setting of Matthew’s version of the tale is a royal event (Luke tells the story too, but mentions neither king nor wedding, just a rich man who throws a banquet; it wouldn’t surprise me if Jesus repeated his stories but told them slightly differently each time). Well, you’d dress properly for any occasion, but I’m sure you’d take extra care if you knew you were going to meet the king. To dress casually wouldn’t just be slovenly or rude; it would be seen as a snub to his authority and a political statement. We know that the British press was outraged by Mahatma Gandhi visiting King George V wearing only his loincloth; what I don’t think we know is what the King thought of his action.

One question we must answer is the nature of the ‘wedding garments’ that everyone else was wearing. Several commentators suggest that it was customary for Jewish bridegrooms to provide special clothes for their guests, but this appears to be nothing more than a supposition made, centuries later, by St Augustine. However it was expected that guests would wear freshly laundered robes which were probably white and longer than those worn for daily work; it also seems likely that poorer people, who might only own one tatty tunic or cloak, would borrow clothes for occasions such as weddings or religious festivals. (Obviously they wouldn’t be able to hire them from Moss Bros). Turning up in ordinary, soiled working garb could not be tolerated at any wedding, least of all that of a king’s son. Doing so would be more than a mistake or a faux pas: it would indicate massive contempt.

So that’s the physical wedding garment sorted – it sounds more comfortable than a three-piece suit (just don’t drop food on it!) But why does Jesus mention it? What is its significance? Here I think we first need to go back to Isaiah in the Old Testament who, at the start of ch.52 cries, “Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion! Put on your beautiful garments” and goes on to say in ch.61: “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my whole being shall exult in my God. For he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland”.

We can also look forward to the book of Revelation, written of course years after Jesus told this story (and notoriously tricky to interpret!). In ch.3 John speaks of an angel who says, “You have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life”. Later, and after other mentions of people “robed in white”, John gives further details of his vision in ch.19: “I heard what sounded like a great multitude, shouting: ‘Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear”.

A consistent picture seems to be emerging, especially when we set these verses alongside another in Isaiah ch.64 which says, “All our righteous acts are like filthy rags” and take note of a bracketed note in the Revelation passage which states, “Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people”. Jesus has said, in the main part of the story, that salvation isn’t just (as many had supposed) for Jews: it’s something that God desires for people of all races. However here he adds something more: that you can’t just say you’re a believer and continue living with no moral compass: that would make you an impostor. No; faith must be accompanied by righteous living, belief and action have to go together. As James says in his letter, “Some say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith without works, and I by my works will show you my faith. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe – and shudder”.

It’s at this point that we must return to our first reading and Paul’s command to change (in purely spiritual terms) the clothes we’re wearing. As the reading said (and Paul repeats this in several of his letters), Christians must “fling off the dirty clothes of their old way of living, which were rotted through and through with lust’s illusions” and “put on the clean fresh clothes of the new life”, a life of holiness. If we don’t allow the Holy Spirit to change us from the inside, if we continue living self-centredly or even spurning common justice, then any profession of faith we make will be phoney and sham. We may use the right words, but our faith will be seen to be shallow or non-existent. People will look at us and say, “If that’s what Christianity does for people, I want nothing of it”. Our lives won’t make people respect God’s name but drag it through the mud. Genuine Christians will be seen to have put on God’s garments of holy living: Paul gives us a long list of do’s and don’ts which tell us what this looks like.

Everyone, whatever their religious, racial or national background, is invited to Christ’s wedding party (and we remember that the Church is sometimes called the Bride of Christ). Entry is free and unlimited. But there is a paradox involved in accepting God’s invitation: it comes with no strings attached yet requires us to “put on” something appropriate to that calling; it asks us to lead lives that live up to what we say we believe. We’ll never quite manage to do that of course, but that’s OK. What’s important is that we truly seek to model our lives on Christ’s.

A story to finish: it’s one you may remember. Back in 2010 Tesco in St Mellons banned people coming into store wearing pyjamas and slippers. They said, “We ask that our customers are appropriately dressed when visiting our store: footwear must be worn at all times and no nightwear is permitted”. Some folk welcomed the decision, others called it ‘snobbish”. One lady couldn’t understand why security guards told her to abandon her trolley and leave the store. “It’s just when I’m in a rush or busy with the kids. I haven’t got time to get myself all dolled up. I’ve got lovely pairs of pyjamas, with bears and penguins on them. I’ve worn my best ones today, just so I look tidy”.

Well, you may agree or disagree with Tesco’s policy or with that young mum. We may also have a variety of views on what we should wear when we come to worship (and why). But one thing is clear: we are charged to “put on” the clean spiritual clothes of Christ. It would be rude to do otherwise, for we are guests of the King of Kings.