Fellow Followers of Jesus:
The last birthday party i remember, as a kid, came in the sixth grade. Grade school, first through fifth, brought many great birthday parties, and i often had many friends attend. Little did i know what would happen when we all got to the sixth grade. I had a skate party, and i did that because i figured, why not? I had had a huge fifth grade birthday party, invited all my friends, and most of them came.
But in sixth grade, very few came. Some were busy. Others had family gatherings. And as painful as it is to admit, in the sixth grade friendship disappear. We rented the skate rink. We ordered all the food. We had a huge birthday cake. But we were missing attendees. Sure there were some, but we were left with more food than we knew waht to do with. The feelings of rejection were rather signficant.
I should have been thankful for the people that came, but when we go to a lot of trouble to open our doors, expecting huge numbers, and only a few enter, well its natural for us to be disappointed, when we should be thanking those who did come. And it is not only birthday parties where this happens, is it?
Jesus tells the parable of the wedding banquet, and it would have been a festive event too. Why? Because the king was throwing it, and he would have wanted to host all the important people, catering to them, celebrating with them. This was a chance for the king to spoil people and garner their support and love from then on. The king wanted to show his thanks, but he also wanted to build stronger ties to his 'colleagues.'
But the important people were too busy to come. Everything was ready. The best cow roasting on the stick. The best wine pouring from the vats. And the best music flowing from the banquet halls. This was the party to end all parties. The chosen ones were too busy. Too focused on their own lives to be bothered going out of their way to celebrate with the king. And too selfish to come, and in fact when the king sent out reminders; the chosen people, probably not wanting to deal with their own guilt, acted on in violent ways against the messengers.
So the king kicked them out of his kingdom. The chosen would have to face life/eternity in another realm. The party, though, was still ready to go. What should the king do with all that party stuff?
Throw a party.
And he did. But he invited people that would appreciate the party. He opened the doors to people who were hungry, homeless, forgotten, and never invited to any kind of Hollywood red carpet affair. With his new group of invitees, something amazing happens: they show up. They show up with such a fervor that the king must have been humbled by their appreciation to the invitation. Funny thing about taking God/Jesus/the Church for granted, God will find someone who appreciates Him.
The church, as the king's party, was never meant to be a place for the elite only. Jesus built the church as a place for those who need Him to show their appreciation at His invitation to life, freedom, and healing. However for some reason, all too often, those who are used to being there mirror more of the first group in Jesus' parable. We appreciate the invite, but we are too busy to really come. We find other things to do. We prefer our own cliques and entertainment. Or we simply don't like whats being offered. I dont know. But invitation after invitation to come to the throne of God goes out, and time and time again, Jesus followers say, "We cannot come."
So God will, eventually, open the doors to others. And then where will we be?
Many of us have felt the sting of throwing a party for others only to have a small few show up, so why don't we come running to God's invitation? God's still throwing a party, He just needs people to show up and enjoy. Will we come running? Or will we make excuses? The party happens with or without us, why not accept the invite and go drink His wine? Amen.
Shalom,
jerry
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