All Are Welcome: Jesus’ Banquet

Rev. Madeline opens with prayer and situates the sermon in the season after Pentecost and the lectionary’s journey through Matthew, where Jesus teaches the Kingdom of God through stories and metaphors. She imagines the Kingdom as a banquet or rowdy party already underway: after the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus welcomes the poor, mournful, hungry, persecuted, and others through healings that restore both bodies and social belonging. In Matthew 9, Jesus calls Matthew the tax collector to the table, heals a woman who has hemorrhaged for 12 years and been cast out as unclean, and risks becoming unclean to bring life to a synagogue leader’s dead daughter—“risks marginalization for resurrection.” The sermon emphasizes mercy, inclusion, and a holy banquet with a vast guest list where all are welcome.00:00 Opening Prayer00:20 Season After Pentecost01:37 Kingdom Party Image02:25 Healings Before Matthew03:12 Matthew Joins Table03:57 Hemorrhaging Woman Healed04:56 Raising The Daughter05:52 Healing And Inclusion06:45 We Are Invited Too07:33 All Are Welcome