Luke 14:15-24 Common English Bible
When one of the dinner guests heard Jesus’ remarks, he said to Jesus, “Happy are those who will feast in God’s kingdom.”
Jesus replied, “A certain man hosted a large dinner and invited many people. When it was time for the dinner to begin, he sent his servant to tell the invited guests, ‘Come! The dinner is now ready.’ One by one, they all began to make excuses. The first one told him, ‘I bought a farm and must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I bought five teams of oxen, and I’m going to check on them. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’ When he returned, the servant reported these excuses to his master. The master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go quickly to the city’s streets, the busy ones and the side streets, and bring the poor, crippled, blind, and lame.’ The servant said, ‘Master, your instructions have been followed and there is still room.’ The master said to the servant, ‘Go to the highways and back alleys and urge people to come in so that my house will be filled. I tell you, not one of those who were invited will taste my dinner.’”
The quote at the top of your bulletin from Martin Searcy is fascinating --- especially if we believe there is any truth to it.
He writes:
Not one person who comes through your door comes haphazardly. By sending that guest to you, God is giving you the privilege of cooperating with Him (God) to move someone forward in their journey toward Jesus.
Now before we argue over if God is indeed sending EVERY person in through the door with intentionality --- the bigger question is the second half.
Do we believe we have a responsibility for everyone who walks into our lives?
And I am not asking if we have a responsibility to “do” everything or provide everything for them --- No what I am asking is --- do we have a responsibility to be Jesus to them?
And the second question --- Do we have a responsibility to fill God’s table?
Over the past month we have talked about the importance of table fellowship
In my life --- I have witnessed to the power of the table over and over again, and I have shared a number of those stories.
Even yesterday I saw it once again
The Gathering of Men had their monthly meeting
What I love about the Gathering is that it is a diverse group ---
made up of men of different ages --- OK mostly older guys
but of different political and theological bends
What brings this group together
To learn and grow about God and the world --- and each other
We don’t aways agree --- but we leave respecting and caring for one another
And seeking BETTER solutions
As we sat around the table yesterday I was reminded of the stories about Ronald Regan, when he was President, and Tip O’Neil (democratic speaker of the House)
They didn’t see eye to eye on many things
But they often got together and shared a meal to LISTEN to each other and seek to find compromise
Compromise once wasn’t a dirty word
Or the heresy that it is today
Why did it work?
Because there was respect and integrity
They SAW each other
And that rarely happens today
We neither see nor listen to the other ---
IF we see them at all --- we tend to put people into preconceived boxes
When we started this series, we were looking at the story right before our story this week --- do you remember?
It was the story in which Jesus encourages us not to just invite those who can “repay us” by reciprocating the invitation.
Jesus said:
“The next time you put on a dinner, don’t just invite your friends and family and rich neighbors, the kind of people who will return the favor. Invite some people who never get invited out, the misfits from the wrong side of the tracks. You’ll be—and experience—a blessing. They won’t be able to return the favor, but the favor will be returned—oh, how it will be returned!—at the resurrection of God’s people.” (The Message)
And then, in our story today Jesus tells us a parable and I believe we are left with a quandary.
The story seems pretty simple that Jesus tells.
A person arranges a wonderful dinner party and invites the usually suspects.
There isn’t anything out of the social norm of what he is doing.
But they all have excuses why they can’t come.
They’re too busy, wrapped up in all the usual concerns that make us not just pre-occupied but self-occupied.
I mean --- the excuses are pretty lame
Since none are going to show up --- the host --- clearly angered with his invitees --- sends out invitations to others. And we are told the host says:
‘Quickly, get out into the city streets and alleys. Collect all who look like they need a square meal, all the misfits and homeless and down-and-out you can lay your hands on, and bring them here.’
All those who NEVER get invited to parties.
And the crazy thing is --- they come!
The host says there is still room --- so he sends his servant back out with the instructions:
“Then go to the country roads. Whoever you find, drag them in. I want my house full!”
It is a perplexing story!
The most common way this text is dealt with is to shame people
--- QUIT MAKING EXCUSES
Excuses will get you excluded from the kingdom
“Let me tell you, not one of those originally invited is going to get so much as a bite at my dinner party.” (The Message)
So is this a message of EXCLUSION?
I don’t think so
I think it is an invitation that God’s table is big enough
If we have the courage to say YES
I may have told this story before --- and if I have I apologize, but I think it says what I want to say better than anything I can think of.
I heard Tony Campolo share this story probably close to forty years ago.
It’s about a trip that he made to Honolulu.
Now for those of you who have traveled any distance, you know that sometimes it takes a few days for you to get acclimated to a new time zone.
Tony woke up his first morning in Hawaii, his body telling him it was time to get up, but the clock showing 3:30 in the morning.
Since he was wide awake he went out looking for someplace to get some breakfast.
As you can imagine, the only place that he could find open could safely be called a “greasy spoon.”
The cook/waiter came up to him and said: “What d’ya want?”
Deciding that the safest bet was a donut, Tony asked for one and a cup of coffee.
While he was sipping his coffee and eating his donut, the door swung open and in marched a group of provocative and boisterous prostitutes.
They sat down a short distance from Tony and he heard one of the women say:
“Tomorrow’s my birthday. I am going to be thirty-nine.”
Her “friend” said, in a rather nasty tone:
“So what do you want from me? A birthday party? What do you want? You want me to get you a cake and sing ‘Happy Birthday’?”
“Come on!” the woman said. “Why do you have to be so mean? I was just telling you, that’s all. Why do you have to put me down? I was just telling you that it was my birthday. I don’t want anything from you. I mean, why should you give me a birthday party? I’ve never had a birthday party in my whole life. Why should I have one now?”
After a while the women left.
Tony said to the guy behind the counter: “Do they come in here every night?”
“Yeah!” He said.
“The one that was sitting right here, does she come in every night?”
“Yeah, that’s Agnes. Yeah, she comes in here every night. Why d’ya want to know?”
“Because I heard her say that tomorrow is her birthday. What do you say that you and I do something about that? What do you think about us throwing a birthday party for her – right here – tomorrow night?”
The guy said sure.
“Look, if it is OK with you, I’ll get back here tomorrow morning about 2:30 and decorate the place. I’ll even get a birthday cake!”
“No way,” said Harry (that was his name), “The Birthday cake’s my thing. I’ll make the cake.”
At 2:30 the next morning Tony returned to the diner and began setting up decorations, including a sign made out of cardboard that read: “HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AGNES!”
At 3:15 every prostitute in Honolulu was in the place.
And at 3:30 on the dot, the door of the diner swung open and in came Agnes and her friend and everyone in the place shouted HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Campolo says:
Never have I seen a person so flabbergasted . . . so stunned . . . so shaken. Her mouth fell open. Her legs seemed to buckle a bit. Her friend grabbed her arm to steady her. As she was led to sit on one of the stools along the counter we all sang “Happy Birthday” to her. As we came to the end of our singing with “happy birthday dear Agnes, Happy Birthday to you,” her eyes moistened. Then, when the birthday cake with all the candles on it was carried out, she lost it and just openly cried.
Harry mumbled, “Blow out the candles, Agnes! Come on! Blow out the Candles! If you don’t blow out the candles, I’m gonna hafta blow out the candles.”
After a few moments --- he did!
Then he handed her a knife and told her, “Cut the cake, Agnes. Yo, Agnes, we all want some cake.”
Agnes looked down at the cake. Then without taking her eyes off it, she slowly said, “Look, Harry, is it all right with you if I . . . I mean is it OK if I kind of . . . what I want to ask you is . . . is it OK if I keep the cake a little while? I mean is it all right if we don’t eat it right away?”
Harry shrugged and answered, “Sure! It’s OK if you want to keep the cake, keep the cake. Take it home if you want to.”
“Can I?” she asked. Then, looking at me she said, “I just live down the street a couple of doors. I want to take the cake home, OK? I'll be right back. Honest!”
She got off the stool, picked up the cake, and, carrying it like it was the Holy Grail, walked slowly toward the door. As we all stood motionless, she left.
Tony said: Not knowing what else to do, I broke the silence by saying, ‘What do you say we pray?’”
When Tony finished, Harry leaned over the counter and with a trace of hostility in his voice, said: “Hey! You never told me that you were a preacher. What kind of church do you belong to?”
“I belong to a church that throws birthday parties for prostitutes at 3:30 in the morning.”
Harry sneered as he answered, “No you don’t! There’s no church like that. If there was, I’d join it. I’d join a church like that.”
That, to me, is GRACE.
Unmerited assistance --- unmerited love
That’s the kind of table that the Christ sets for the world
And he wants to know --- are you coming?
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