I once had a friend who would turn down invitations to do things with me, sometimes even after we’d made plans, because she’d received other offers she preferred. While I admired her honesty, it bothered me that I didn’t rate very high on her list. Not that I was about to burn down her village or anything…
The invited guests in Jesus’ parable of the wedding banquet have no qualms about turning down the King’s invitation to his feast – in fact, they seem to have no respect whatsoever for this king. The first group just say, “No.” Then the king sends other servants out and says, “Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.” But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, maltreated them, and killed them.
One to his farm, another to his business. In Luke’s version the excuses are more creative – one just got married and didn’t want to leave his new wife just yet. Who are these people who put God's invitations last?
Well, on any given day, it can be you or me or anyone we know. There is no end to other priorities, it seems, when it comes to engaging the spiritual. It has to be on our schedule, and not when there’s anything else we’d rather do, or when the coach has called a soccer practice or the boss a new deadline. Just think of all the reasons people give for not coming to church.
Yet, if you’re reading this today, chances are you have put engaging with God-Life above quite a few other demands on your time. Spending time and energy in the presence of God or God’s people, in praise and worship, in acts of mercy and justice, has been compelling enough that you’ve actually said yes to this invitation to the banquet, not once but many times.
What made the difference for you? If we can zero in on that, maybe we can issue the invitation in a way that more people in our lives can respond to it. That doesn’t have to mean lowest-common-denominator consumer Christianity – some of the highest-commitment faith communities are the most robust. But what we offer does have to be lively, full of life, real, true life. That’s what people are hungry for. What is it about the way we practice our faith that sometimes obscures the life at its heart?
Make a list today of all the reasons you’ve said yes to God’s invitation, and why you stay at God’s table. And if there is a list of excuses you’ve made or continue to make, list those too. Look at both lists and see what common threads become apparent. Where in these gifts and obstacles might you find the seeds of an invitation to a friend or acquaintance?
God’s banquet is waiting. In this life, we only experience the feast in parts – but oh, how rich even those morsels can be. Who is God sending you out to invite?
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