Proper 23, Yr A (2026) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield
Proper 23, Yr A (STA 2026) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield
Isaiah 25:1-9 St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
Psalm 23
Philippians 4:1-9
Matthew 22:1-14
In the name of the one, holy, and loving God:
Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifying Spirit. Amen.
I spent my Junior year abroad at St. Andrew’s University in Scotland.
One day a friend invited me to see a most beautiful place there.
I invite you to journey there with me now…in your mind and Spirit.
This place was off the beaten path, as it were…
a place I never would have come across on my own.
We began by walking from one of the residence halls toward the edge of town.
The paved road, which I had walked before,
took a turn and went down by a lush green field I had never seen.
As we passed the field,
the road became a dirt path.
We walked through some woods with sun-dappled shade
and a bit of cool air surrounding us.
As we emerged from the woods,
there stood before us a vast green hill to the left…
and over to the right was an old mill’s waterwheel with a stream running through.
I walked over to the grassy hill
and lay down on my back
and closed my eyes.
I could still feel the coolness of the air around me,
but the warmth of the sun enfolded me.
As I lay there,
I could hear the creaking of the waterwheel,
the babbling water of the stream,
the honking of the geese who wandered about
and the laughter and squeals of children playing in the distance.
I have no idea how long I lay there,
but when the sun’s heat began to diminish,
I decided to get up and walk back,
wrapped in my newly found Peace.
Following that day,
any time I needed to get away by myself,
it is to this place that I would go.
For many years,
and apparently even now…40 years later,
I go there in my heart and mind and Spirit when I need to rest with God.
When I read today’s Scriptures,
particularly Psalm 23,
I remembered this place of refreshment on the hillside by the stream…
the place where God’s presence was so very palpable.
And then I realized that this is what all of today’s scriptures are about:
living in God’s presence in the midst of God’s abundance,
even when life is difficult.
In today’s gospel Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven
to a king who gives a wedding banquet.
The king sends servants out to issue invitations to the banquet.
But, folks are too busy tending to other things.
I wondered:
Why would folks refuse an invitation to a free feast?!
I reckon there are all kinds of reasons.
At face value it seems like a no-brainer to show up for a free banquet,
but when we get down to it,
our lives are all full to overwhelming most of the time.
It is all too easy for our attention to turn to the most urgent need at the moment,
and that is not unnecessary or un-called for.
However, I think our scriptures today remind us that God is always present with us…
and that we are called to be aware of God’s presence.
Where we focus our attention
is important to what form our lives take.
In Paul’s letter to his beloved church at Philippi,
there is apparently a disagreement between two disciples:
Euodia and Syntyche.
He urges them to be of the same mind in the Lord…
and for the wider community to help them.
Paul understands that where people place their attention matters
for their spiritual, physical, emotional, and communal well-being.
“Think about these things,” Paul says…
“Whatever is true,
whatever is honorable,
whatever is just,
whatever is pure,
whatever is pleasing,
whatever is commendable…
“If there is any excellence
and if there is anything worthy of praise.”
Focus your mind and heart and energy on these things,
and follow in the footsteps of Jesus’ love and grace and forgiveness,
and then the God of peace will be with you.
When I compare Paul’s list of things to think about
to many of the things that occupy my brain and heart…
like the daily news or my own worries or concerns,
few correlate to his list, if I am honest.
“Rejoice in the Lord always,” Paul says.
Rejoice…
and let your gentleness be known to everyone.
Joy, gentleness, and peace are shaped by our habits of attention.
Paul’s undergirding reality is this:
God is near.
God is near…
as near as our very breath!
We have struggles,
we have heartache,
we have pain – physical and emotional,
we have worry and concern for ourselves, our families, our world…
Paul urges us to offer all of this to God,
in prayer and supplication,
with thanksgiving.
With thanksgiving, because we know that God is near.
God is here.
When we do this,
then God’s Peace will fill our hearts and minds.
When we hand over to God our whole lives,
we can live into our hope that God will fulfill God’s promises to us,
as did the prophet Isaiah:
“On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines,
of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.
“And God will destroy on this mountain
the shroud that is cast over all peoples,
the sheet that is spread over all nations;
God will swallow up death forever.
“Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces,
and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth,
for the Lord has spoken.
“It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God;
We have waited for him, so that he might heal us.
This is the Lord for whom we have waited;
Let us be glad and rejoice in God’s healing.”
My friends, all are invited to the banquet.
Let us get up and go!
Amen.
