The Kingdom of Heaven is like...

Did you read the lectionary readings for last week?  One of them was the troublesome passage from Matthew (22:1-14).  It is a parable about a wedding feast.  The King has prepared the wedding feast and sends out his slaves to call those who have been invited.

Some who have been invited kind of blow it off, others went about their business, and some of them killed the king's slaves.

The king was enraged, and he sends out his troops to deal with "the murderers."  "The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy."  Not one to waste a party, the king then invites people from the streets to come and enjoy.

The wedding was filled with guests. 

And then comes the part that is the reason I call it a "troublesome" passage:

But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not waring a wedding robe, and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in there without a wedding robe?'  And he was speechless.  Then the king said to the attendants, "Bind him hand an foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." For many are called, but few are chosen.

So, what does that mean?  It doesn't sound like Christ to me, and it doesn't sound like a kingdom that would be very inviting. 

So, I did some reading today.
First of all, William Barclay says that this is actually two parables, with verses 11-14 (that I quoted above) being a second parable.  Read the first ten verses of this passage, and they can stand alone, and they teach a lesson we've heard from other parables of Jesus.

One blogger suggests, in a sermon she posted, that:

What we don’t know, because of the distance of time and culture, is that the people listening then would have known that the white robe was waiting for you when you got to the banquet. It would have been as easy to get as the bulletins we hand out every Sunday.

Pair that with what Barclay's explanation that this is a parable of an open door.  Everyone is invited to come in, "but when peopole come they must bring a life which seeks to fit the love which has been given them.  Grace is not only a gift; it is a grave responsiblity."

It's not a story about what the person was wearing.  It's a parable about picking up the life of grace.  I wonder if God says, "Come in the door.  It is open to all of my children.  I want you to come to the kingdom.  Here is grace -- freely offered." 

What is the result when we don't pick up the white robe at the door?  When we don't accept the gift, freely given?  We aren't really in the kingdom at all.  We're back outside, in the darkness, where we are not free.