Bible Text:

“At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is ready now.’ But they all alike began to make excuses.”             (Luke 14:17-18)                                 

You are invited to a great banquet! Lots of food, lots of laughter, lots of good conversation. “Kingdom living is like that,” says Jesus. “It is a feast like no other.”

 This past summer Elaine and I were on a cruise to mark our 40^th wedding anniversary. This was actually our first ocean cruise. I’m not familiar with all styles, but this particular ship seemed a bit unusual. Instead of one or two main restaurants where passengers eat at assigned times, there were nine restaurants from which you could choose to eat at almost any time. Four restaurants were open 3-5 hours at every meal of the day. Five restaurants were open only for dinner from 5:00 p.m. until midnight. One of the restaurants was a buffet at every meal. You could pile your plate as high as you wanted, as many times as you wanted. One restaurant was open 24 hours every day. You could have a complete meal at 4:00 PM or 4:00 AM. In other words, you could feast any time you wanted, and all the time.

 Jesus says Kingdom living is sort of like that. It’s a great feast of invitation like no other. It is a party to end all parties.

 That has a bit of a strange sound to many of us. We don’t actually see the Christian life that way. For some of us the Christian life is more of a duty, a serious discipleship, maybe even a dark struggle. The Christian life is more of a somber walk with the Lord. A party? Never. That’s far too frivolous.

In a few moments we will sing Charles Wesley’s hymn, “Come, Sinners, to the Gospel Feast.” That hymn seems to parallel our text for today. The tune may not be very festive, but the message is there.

 Even if Jesus is pointing to end time in this parable, it is still a party. T. S. Eliot once wrote, “This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but with a whimper.” Jesus implies that the end will be a cosmic-sized party, with God and humanity feasting together.

Now, parties are expensive. They cost—big time. Someone has pointed out that the cost of a wedding is officially out of control in the United States today. The average cost is now $95 per guest. But Jesus would say that God’s extravagance is far greater. 

THE INVITATION HAS GONE OUT

 The thrust of this parable is that the invitation has gone out. You are invited. Come to the banquet.

 Not all of the parables are original with Jesus. Some were familiar stories, borrowed by Jesus and re-told in his own way. This is probably one of those parables. There are some significant differences between Matthew and Luke with regard to this story. I chose Luke’s reading because it is probably closer to the way Jesus originally told it.

 The invitation goes out. The host invites the guests. “Everyone come.” If he had been from the South, he might have said, “Y’all come.” If he had been from Pittsburgh, he might have even said, “Yunz all come.” You are invited.

 Then Jesus says that the guests begin to make excuses. He gives three specific examples. One man said, “I have just bought some land, and I have to go check on it.” That is a patently stupid answer. No one checks on land after they buy it. Here was a lame excuse, perhaps even a lie.

 The second man says, “I have bought a team of oxen, and I’ve got to go check them out.” Again, that is a silly answer. Who among you would call up a used car dealer and buy a used car over the phone and then say to someone, “Well, I’ve got to go down and see whether or not this car that I just bought will start.” The third man says, “I just got married and I can’t come to the party.” In fact, that is a crude and insulting response to the host—in New Testament terminology. The fact is that all of the responses are basically lies. At the very best, they are all lame excuses.

But even if your excuses for not coming to the party are honest ones, Jesus says, don’t let them stand between you and the Kingdom. Don’t get your priorities confused. Don’t let the invitation gather dust. Don’t let God’s RSVP go unnoticed. Don’t say to God, “I want to dictate my own schedule, thank you very much. I want to make my own plans, set my own agenda.”

GOD WILL FIND OTHERS

 “Because,” God says, “I will find others who are ready for the party, and I will invite them.” The host goes out and invites in the motorcycle crowd. He invites in the frail elderly, and the recovering alcoholics. He invites in all the children from Bethany House in Northview Heights. He invites the folks from the “shout and holler” church down the road whom most of the people think are rather strange. He invites the people that you and I find disorderly, unkempt, objectionable. Can you imagine what the neighbors thought, watching this rag-tag group of people arriving at the house next door for an all out party?

 And Jesus said they came. All of them came. Matthew says they came, “good and bad alike.” No reference checks are made. No placement tests are offered. No ID is checked at the door. 

A little girl found out about a party for handicapped children that one of her friends was hosting. She began to cry. “I can’t go to the party,” she said. “There’s nothing wrong with me.” 

There is, of course, something wrong with all of us, somewhere! But Jesus says, “Come.” Come if you’re rich or poor. Come if you’re employed or unemployed or underemployed. Come if you’re gay or straight. Come if you’re married or divorced. Come if you’re a Phi Beta Kappa or of average intelligence or mentally handicapped. Come if you’re emotionally stable or emotionally weak. No matter who you are, you are invited.

 AN IMMEDIATE RESPONSE

 God seems to want an immediate response. There can be no excuses, no delays.

 Some years ago a drama group published a musical revue entitled “For Heaven’s Sake.” It has one particular act in it that has always fascinated me. It is entitled simply, “Use me, O Lord.” The song or chant goes something like this.

    Use me, O Lord.

Use me, O Lord, but NOT just now.

 As soon as I’m out of college,

And pay all the debts I’ve carried,

As soon as I’ve done my army stint,

As soon as I’ve gotten married. 

I want you to use me, O Lord,

Use me, O Lord, but NOT just now. 

As soon as I get promoted,

As soon as the house is built,

As soon as my psychiatrist

Says that I’m free of guilt. 

I want you to use me, O Lord,

Use me, O Lord, but NOT just now. 

As soon as I’ve paid the mortgage,

As soon as the kids are grown,

As soon as they finish college,

As soon as they’re on their own. 

I want you to use me, O Lord,

Use me, O Lord, but NOT just now. 

As soon as I’ve reached retirement,

As soon as they’re getting ahead,

Just as soon as I draw my pension,

Just as soon as I’m dead[i]. 

God wants a response now. Come on in. Come to the party. The table is ready. The feast is prepared. 

I like to think that the invitation to worship at Christ Church is in this spirit. That was certainly the thrust of the 20,000 colorful cards that were mailed out into the community two weeks ago. This is the reason why we work hard on our worship services here. Let there be no excuses, no phony reasons for staying out. Just come.

 Yet we still say, “I’m sorry, but I don’t have enough time for a party.”

 A few years ago there was a family in New York City who set their apartment with as many tables and chairs as they possibly could, every Thanksgiving. Then they went out into the street and invited people off the street to come to Thanksgiving dinner. Some people looked askance at them. Some ran away. But most people came. The table in that home at Thanksgiving was always full.

 God will see to it that the table of the Kingdom is full, with us or without us.

 A STRANGE ADDENDUM

 here is a strange addendum in Matthew’s version of the story which deserves comment. It’s a puzzling addition. All the people have come in off the street. The host looks at one man and says to him, “What’s the matter with you? Why don’t you have a coat on? Why aren’t you wearing a tie? Why are you wearing those blue jeans with a hole in the knees? Your face is not washed, your hair is not neatly combed. You’re not dressed for a banquet. How did you get here? How did you get in without proper attire?” And Matthew says he was thrown out of the party.

 What in the world does that mean? It means that when you accept the invitation of Jesus, your life changes. You have a new attitude. You have a new “look.” Is this possibly the legacy behind dressing up for church? There was a day when many people worked hard all week in the fields and the farms and in the mines. Saturday night came, and they laid out their best clothes, and when they went to church on Sunday morning they dressed up. It was the one time in the week when they got fully presentable. 

You make some changes when you hear God’s call. You start to match God’s unlimited generosity. You want to respond with mercy to needs around you. You become a new person. You change from the inside out. 

There is a story of a television contest winner of a few years ago. She won a week at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel—all expenses paid. Upon hearing the news she burst into tears and cried, “I’ve got to get everything new!” 

God sends out an invitation we know we don’t deserve. So, yes, we want to dress up in our best. 

CONCLUDING WORD 

I have always thought of the Christian life as an adventure—full of mystery, promptings, and dimensions beyond my understanding. And I had perhaps thought of eternity as a kind of grand banquet. 

Now maybe I think of both in the latter sense. God calls you and me right now to the only feast life really affords, and the only feast that finally matters. 

So I clean up my act, I put as much of my life in order as I can, and I participate to the fullest extent possible. And that becomes the adventure worth pursuing, and it becomes cause for great thanksgiving. 

Have you sent in your RSVP yet? Maybe it’s time. God is calling you to his party. It’s probably wise to show up.