11-28-2013

Good Morning All, 

    Matthew 22: 9-10; “Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.   And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.”

    It was to be the wedding feast of all times.  The king’s only son was getting married and it was going to be a party to end all parties.  All the really important people were invited, the date was set and the preparations were under way.  There was to be all kinds of special food, only the choicest cuts of meat, the finest wines, the most delectable desserts, wonderful music; absolutely the greatest event of a lifetime.  People would talk about this for ages to come.

    Then some cracks started to form.  Some of the nobles, who thought they should have been the king anyway, decided that they “had a prior engagement” or that they “would be unable to attend”.  The banquet hall would not be full.  It was rapidly becoming obvious that the hall would probably be more empty than full.  Eventually, it would be almost entirely empty.  Those who were invited thought that the king was of no importance and they really did not want to bother with going to a reception for his son regardless of how good the food was.  They assumed that the king would crawl to them, begging them to come to the party.

    The king had a different idea.  He still wanted this celebration to go on.  So he had his servants go out into the city and into the countryside and invite anyone they met.  They invited the lepers and the homeless.  They invited the sick and the lame.  They invited everyone to fill the banquet hall.  The feast went on and on; the invited guests were excited because they never expected to be invited to such a wonderful party and those who were invited but stayed home; they missed it all.

    Jesus told his disciples this story to show them how great God’s love for us truly is.  We are the outcasts.  Our sin puts us in that position.  Our sin also causes us to feel the pain of this separation.  When we struggle, we are all alone.  When life goes down a hard or difficult path, we are lost.  The pain of sin is like being a leper; we are left on the outside looking in.  Yet God has a better way.  He comes to you and he comes to me and he invites us in.  We are taken in, we are cleaned up, given new clothes and then fed a most wonderful meal, the best ever. 

    That meal, our heavenly meal, awaits us.  The king’s messengers invites us in.  We are being cleansed even as we wait for the wonderful feast.  God loves us, cares for us, comforts us, defends us and gives us hope.  We are no longer on the outside looking in; we are in the banquet hall.  We are waiting for our table to open up.  When it does, the feast will be beyond anything we can ever imagine here on earth.

Father of love, you bring us to your feast by the Spirit.  You fill us with your splendor.  Renew us by your grace and keep us in the certainty of your tender mercy.  Guard us and guide us.  We ask that you especially be with those who feel excluded from life’s joy.  Give them the comfort of your loving arms and lead them to know your loving will.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’ Peace    

Pastor Bret