I speak to you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The theme of this Sunday is cheerful obedience and service to God. Think about that for a moment; to serve God and be cheerful I think many of us here today would find that very difficult under the strain of stress in our daily lives. With how busy we get it is quite easy to forget that all of our blessings stem from God, but also to be cheerful in this remembrance? Very difficult. But it is exactly this that we called to do, and what the propers for today help to re-enforce. As we heard last Sunday: Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.”

The Christian life is not one of downcast eyes but of cheerfulness The Epistle for today exhorts us to spiritual joyfulness:

          Be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs;    
          singing and asking melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto
          God and the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; submitting yourselves one to another
          in the fear of God.

This happiness is a thing commanded it is our duty to “be filled with the Spirit” and not to be “drunk with wine.” Many people get this point backwards. Cheerfulness is not a privilege, or reward given to us for being “good Christians.” We are all called to be Saints; we are all saved by the redeeming sacrifice upon the cross paid for us by our Lord. . .that is the privilege of accepting Christ. To be cheerful is something we do out of thanks for this reward because that is what he wants us to do, what he commanded us to do. Please think about this point as you interact amongst your peers, friends and families this week.

On the surface, the Epistle contrast two apparently opposite views of religion; the seriousness of religion, and the happiness of religion. On the one hand the Christian life demands intense caution and active diligence, and on the other we note the source, expression, thankfulness, and self-restraint that the Christian life develops. And so we see the connection between this Epistle and the Collect very clearly; the petition of the Collect echoes the teaching of the Epistle. As an aside, I am always amazed at the intelligence and foresight that the framers of the Prayer Book had as they put this wonderful work together. In fact, many other Christian traditions envy our Prayer Book, its Collects, its language, and its prose.

We pray to be kept from all hurtful things which hinder us from cheerful service, and especially as taught by the Epistle, from the carelessness and indulgence which leads to excess. We pray for the preparation of our bodies that we may avoid all temptations to excess, and for preparation of the soul that we may understand what the will of the Lord is. We also pray that, having been thus guarded and guided, we may cheerfully accomplish the things which God would have us do, whether they be pleasing or trying, in the joyful spirit described in the Epistle. We are not to be like so many other figures found in the Bible, Jonah, or Moses, but like Jesus who was ever about His Father’s work.

The Collect also takes its meaning from the Gospel reading which is the parable of the Marriage Feast of the King’s Son. This parable sets forth the privileges to which we are invited, and the danger of being too much absorbed in the cares and anxieties of the world. We pray in the Collect that we will not be like the invited guests who went their own separate ways and refused the invitation to the marriage, but rather that we will accept the invitation of Jesus Christ to cone and receive His salvation; “that we, being ready in body and soul, may cheerfully accomplish those things that thou wouldest have done.”

The second part of the Gospel reading, that which finds the man without a wedding-garment being thrown out of the feast, is often mis-interpreted. It is not that this man should be pitied for not having sufficient means by which to buy appropriate clothing and he is being shunned for this; the teaching is that no man without holiness shall see the Lord. Do not get thrown out of the feast that is Holy Communion by falling short in holiness. Our Prayer Book (page 90 to be precise) teaches us that we must prepare ourselves to come to the Communion with our hearts clothed with holiness, love, and spiritual joyfulness.

Read, mark, and inwardly digest the teachings of today’s propers for “Many are called, but few chosen.”

     In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.