Turning down a free banquet

Luke 14:15-24 and Rom 12:5-16ab

I have to admit I got a little chuckle out of today’s Gospel reading because I applied it to the modern mindset. 

Jesus is using something very primal to describe the invitation to Him, the Father, and Heaven.  It’s not something we even have to put into historical context, we can wrap our minds around it in completely modern understanding.  A rich man throws a feast and then invites everyone to come for free food.  Let’s pause for a moment.  Free. Food.  Literally a banquet.  Food all prepped up, probably some entertainment, wine…an absolutely free party.  All you have to do is come.  So, what happens….

Well, we see as the gospel unfolds, that the people invited give a list of excuses.  They purchased property, they got oxen, they got married.  All of which, if the person who had been invited had been truly committed and dedicated to going to the party, could have gone and tended to the other things later.  The newly married man could have brought his new wife to meet the host and dine with them.  The other two excuses, well, the property and oxen would still be there after the banquet had they truly wanted to come.  The rich man knows this and that is what/why enrages him.  He sees that these friends disregard the sacrifice and effort he put into the gift of his hospitality and he sees that none of that matters to the people he has invited.  It’s insult and injury, they wounded the master’s heart.

What happens next is allegory for how the goy (gentiles) were invited to share in the Kingdom.  The master calls for the lame, poor, sick, feeble, and stranger so that his house may be filled.  While this is/can be a picture of the evangelization of the pagan nations, we can also apply this to our own personal holiness and walk with the Almighty Father.  We are all called to his Kingdom, because it’s an individual invitation, not a corporate movement. When we do feel that call to follow and obey- how many of us have used some of those very lame justifications to excuse ourselves from going?  Too busy to pray? Too busy for church? Too busy to help your neighbor? Too busy, toobusy,tobizzy,cantdietoobusy.  So, we end up doing our will, and what we think can’t wait, and we miss out on the blessing of the free banquet.  That takes many forms too, not just the eternal.  How many blessings have we missed here on this earth because we were too busy to be obedient?   That’s why it made me chuckle.  We’ll break our necks to get to the breakroom for some store-bought cupcakes, but when the Maker of all things calls us to the eternal banquet suddenly we have to get our “to do list” done right this second.  As a people, we have not changed from that time to this. 

Now, what happens and how should we be if we do accept the Master’s invitation? Glad you asked, because our reading today in Romans helps us with that. 

We accept the invitation to the party and we get the image that there is one party and many partiers.  The party is the body of Christ, the Church, and within the church there are many parts.  (Hint, we are those parts.)  Each part, for coming to the party, has been given gifts by grace. Here is the catch, yes there is a catch, we are supposed to actually use these gifts at the party to make the party better. 

Romans talks about the Church body and gives us, once again, the charge to love and take care of each other, not by our own power, but using the gifts of the Almighty. 

Romans 12: 5-16

Brothers and sisters:

We, though many, are one Body in Christ

and individually parts of one another.

Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us,

let us exercise them:

if prophecy, in proportion to the faith;

if ministry, in ministering;

if one is a teacher, in teaching;

if one exhorts, in exhortation;

if one contributes, in generosity;

if one is over others, with diligence;

if one does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Let love be sincere;

hate what is evil,

hold on to what is good;

love one another with mutual affection;

anticipate one another in showing honor.

Do not grow slack in zeal,

be fervent in spirit,

serve the Lord.

Rejoice in hope,

endure in affliction,

persevere in prayer.

Contribute to the needs of the holy ones,

exercise hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you,

bless and do not curse them.

Rejoice with those who rejoice,

weep with those who weep.

Have the same regard for one another;

do not be haughty but associate with the lowly.

Boiling that down to the most basic understanding here is what we are to do and be:  Obedience, love, blessings, serving, equality.  If your gift is to teach, then teach, and don’t see yourself as superior or more important than those whose gifts are different.  Instead, find a way to teach them so they can learn to use their gift more effectively.  Be who you are, who God made you to be, in his Kingdom and that edifies those who need to be who they are as well and trust that their gifts and service will lift you up too. 

We are one.  Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.  This is the party we are called to attend and the favor we are given. 

Just some food for thought and prayer…

Heavenly Father, I have heard the invitation of your call and I am coming to you!  Show me who I am in the body of your Church and guide me to use these gifts to glorify You and edify your people. Let me not be haughty, but always humbly obedient to your will.  In Jesus name, AMEN!

Here I am, Lord, send me!

Lisa Brandel