Invited to a party
One Sunday afternoon, two church members were going door to door to invite people to visit their services. When they knocked on one door, it was clear the woman who answered was not happy to see them.
She told them that she did not want to hear their message, and before they could say anything more, she slammed the door in their faces.
To her surprise, however, the door did not close; in fact, it bounced back open. She tried again, really putting her back into it, and slammed it again with the same result - the door bounced back open.
Convinced these rude young people were sticking their foot in her door, she reared back to give it a slam that would teach them a lesson. Just then, one of them said quietly: "Before you do that again, you really need to move your cat."
Many people assume that is the sort of reaction we might get if we invite people into a relationship with Jesus… And, sometimes it may even be true. But I wonder what is wrong with the message that we are giving in our invitation if that is how people react to the church ?
Because there’s no doubt that the invitation Jesus offers is not one that will get the door shut in his face… In our gospel reading today (Matt.22:1-14) we heard about a big party being thrown by royalty to celebrate a wedding, but the people who are invited first don’t want to come.
They’re obviously too busy, or they’ve done it all before, or they’ve somewhere better to go. And so they turn down this invitation to the party where there would no doubt be great food, lots of drink and good entertainment.
Upset, the king tells his staff to go out and invite anyone and everyone to the wedding feast, and so they went out and offered invitations to everyone they could find, good and bad, and eventually the wedding hall was filled with guests. People who wouldn’t usually be invited to anything much were invited to join the lavish feast prepared for them.
It’s a great parable as it reminds us of the incredible riches that God has prepared for each one of us as we are invited to join his family, but we’re also reminded that so many don’t bother to respond. And 2000 years after Jesus told this story it still rings true. Today throughout the world Jesus is still issuing an invitation to all of us to receive his abundant love, to receive his mercy, to come into the kingdom he has prepared for us all - a lavish kingdom, an eternal party. But today people are still failing to respond.
Some are too comfortable – perhaps like those in the gospel reading who were invited first. They didn’t think they needed to attend the king’s banquet, and often those who are most comfortable today are the most apathetic as they are challenged to think about their faith. Some are too busy to attend, some are perhaps scared of making the decision to attend, some just think they’ll get another invitation at a more convenient time for them.
As we think of God’s invitation to us, we can perhaps see the parallels, maybe even in our own lives... Some people are listening, some are responding, but some are still finding excuses to put a decision off until another day, or even reject God’s love altogether.
Last week we celebrated harvest and we thought about the many gifts that God gives to each one of us and we thought of how we respond to Him… Today we are here in a comfortable church, in a country where our faith can be pretty comfortable too – and it’s very easy when we’re in that position to forget about how incredible God’s love is…
It’s easy to worry about the peripheries of church life or worry about petty issues and forget that our priority is and must always be serving God and sharing his good news with those outside. We do that through our building, we do that through our worship, but we do it most importantly through our lives.
An impoverished old man applied for membership in a wealthy church. The minister tried to put him off with all kinds of excuses. The old man became aware that he was not welcome there and finally told the Minister that he would go away and pray about it.
After several days he returned. "Well," asked the Minister, "Did the Lord give you a message?" "Yes Sir, He did" was the old man's answer. "He told me it wasn't any use trying to be a member here. He said, "I've been trying to get in that same church myself for ten years and they won't let me in either."
And it sounds like a joke and that was of course, but really we’re challenged to ask ourselves how good our invitation is for people not just to come to our church, but to come and meet God here… When we issue invitations to our church we’re inviting people on behalf of God…
The last story was a joke but I heard about a church in New Orleans that was incredibly generous to some of the poorest people who had suffered in Hurricane Katrina some years ago. They helped to rebuild homes and lives following the devastation.
And the church was so generous that it actually drew some of those people to attend – they felt that they had been so well cared for that this was a church they wanted to go to – what a wonderful image to have – being a church that draws people in by love and compassion and care and generosity…
But sadly that wasn’t the end of that story – the people who went didn’t get a great welcome in this wealthy church, far from it. The people there had been happy to throw money at the problem but they didn’t want to see the people – their help was willingly given but at a distance !
How different that story is from our gospel – and from the message of Jesus who invites everyone to be part of his kingdom…
And so the parable offers us so many messages. Firstly it is to say ‘Yes’ to God. It is to really open up our lives to Him so that our lives can be changed. It is to know the incredible gifts that he offers and live lives which show others those gifts that God promises his people – gifts of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, genetleness and self control.
When people see us and when people see our church, they are often looking at their vision of God. It is scary, but God trusts us and God supports us and strengthens us if we let him.
Secondly the parable teaches us to recognise that the message of Jesus is for everyone. Our Churches are not to be elite clubs, but are to be places where all are welcomed – good or bad, rich or poor – all means all…. When we invite people to come along we are inviting them to get closer to God... I hate coffee, really hate it - I don't like the smell, I don't like the taste, but when someone comes to visit me I don't say they can't have coffee - if that's what they want then part of welcoming them is to give them coffee. Too often in church we invite people in to do just what we're used to doing and what we like doing.
Our welcome must be for all just as Jesus welcomed all.
Thirdly a response to Jesus can never be half hearted. Those who were invited in the first place to this party but didn’t bother attending were presumably the king’s friends – they were the people he expected would turn up, but for whatever reason, they didn’t do it. When God calls us and we respond, we respond to an incredible privilege. Being part of a church isn’t just another club. It’s not a place where we worry about the petty things in life, it’s not a place where we talk about others behind their back, it’s not a place where we gossip or where we come because we like the music or the building – church isn’t a place we come to at all – it is a family we belong to.
It is a family where we are to care for one another, encourage one another, support one another and love one another…
Christ has big plans for us all. He wants us to accept His invitation to enter the kingdom of God and he wants to change us – not into Christian robots all looking and sounding the same, but into a family of different shapes and sizes and backgrounds and ideas – a family where all are welcome and all are loved, and a family where those qualities I mentioned earlier of love, joy, peace and so on are clearly visible for all to see !
When we worry about inviting people to know Jesus, just remember that what we’re offering is not something to hurt them, or a commitment that will damage their lives or burden them excessively, but a relationship that will change their lives for good for ever.
A few weeks ago we heard that famous verse from John’s gospel – ‘For God so loved that he gave his only Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life’, and the following verse goes on ‘For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world but that the world might be saved through him’.
The gospel message really is good news for all people - and we need to make it look like it is ! The invitation of God is good – it is generous, it is loving, it is for all. AMEN
She told them that she did not want to hear their message, and before they could say anything more, she slammed the door in their faces.
To her surprise, however, the door did not close; in fact, it bounced back open. She tried again, really putting her back into it, and slammed it again with the same result - the door bounced back open.
Convinced these rude young people were sticking their foot in her door, she reared back to give it a slam that would teach them a lesson. Just then, one of them said quietly: "Before you do that again, you really need to move your cat."
Many people assume that is the sort of reaction we might get if we invite people into a relationship with Jesus… And, sometimes it may even be true. But I wonder what is wrong with the message that we are giving in our invitation if that is how people react to the church ?
Because there’s no doubt that the invitation Jesus offers is not one that will get the door shut in his face… In our gospel reading today (Matt.22:1-14) we heard about a big party being thrown by royalty to celebrate a wedding, but the people who are invited first don’t want to come.
They’re obviously too busy, or they’ve done it all before, or they’ve somewhere better to go. And so they turn down this invitation to the party where there would no doubt be great food, lots of drink and good entertainment.
Upset, the king tells his staff to go out and invite anyone and everyone to the wedding feast, and so they went out and offered invitations to everyone they could find, good and bad, and eventually the wedding hall was filled with guests. People who wouldn’t usually be invited to anything much were invited to join the lavish feast prepared for them.
It’s a great parable as it reminds us of the incredible riches that God has prepared for each one of us as we are invited to join his family, but we’re also reminded that so many don’t bother to respond. And 2000 years after Jesus told this story it still rings true. Today throughout the world Jesus is still issuing an invitation to all of us to receive his abundant love, to receive his mercy, to come into the kingdom he has prepared for us all - a lavish kingdom, an eternal party. But today people are still failing to respond.
Some are too comfortable – perhaps like those in the gospel reading who were invited first. They didn’t think they needed to attend the king’s banquet, and often those who are most comfortable today are the most apathetic as they are challenged to think about their faith. Some are too busy to attend, some are perhaps scared of making the decision to attend, some just think they’ll get another invitation at a more convenient time for them.
As we think of God’s invitation to us, we can perhaps see the parallels, maybe even in our own lives... Some people are listening, some are responding, but some are still finding excuses to put a decision off until another day, or even reject God’s love altogether.
Last week we celebrated harvest and we thought about the many gifts that God gives to each one of us and we thought of how we respond to Him… Today we are here in a comfortable church, in a country where our faith can be pretty comfortable too – and it’s very easy when we’re in that position to forget about how incredible God’s love is…
It’s easy to worry about the peripheries of church life or worry about petty issues and forget that our priority is and must always be serving God and sharing his good news with those outside. We do that through our building, we do that through our worship, but we do it most importantly through our lives.
An impoverished old man applied for membership in a wealthy church. The minister tried to put him off with all kinds of excuses. The old man became aware that he was not welcome there and finally told the Minister that he would go away and pray about it.
After several days he returned. "Well," asked the Minister, "Did the Lord give you a message?" "Yes Sir, He did" was the old man's answer. "He told me it wasn't any use trying to be a member here. He said, "I've been trying to get in that same church myself for ten years and they won't let me in either."
And it sounds like a joke and that was of course, but really we’re challenged to ask ourselves how good our invitation is for people not just to come to our church, but to come and meet God here… When we issue invitations to our church we’re inviting people on behalf of God…
The last story was a joke but I heard about a church in New Orleans that was incredibly generous to some of the poorest people who had suffered in Hurricane Katrina some years ago. They helped to rebuild homes and lives following the devastation.
And the church was so generous that it actually drew some of those people to attend – they felt that they had been so well cared for that this was a church they wanted to go to – what a wonderful image to have – being a church that draws people in by love and compassion and care and generosity…
But sadly that wasn’t the end of that story – the people who went didn’t get a great welcome in this wealthy church, far from it. The people there had been happy to throw money at the problem but they didn’t want to see the people – their help was willingly given but at a distance !
How different that story is from our gospel – and from the message of Jesus who invites everyone to be part of his kingdom…
And so the parable offers us so many messages. Firstly it is to say ‘Yes’ to God. It is to really open up our lives to Him so that our lives can be changed. It is to know the incredible gifts that he offers and live lives which show others those gifts that God promises his people – gifts of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, genetleness and self control.
When people see us and when people see our church, they are often looking at their vision of God. It is scary, but God trusts us and God supports us and strengthens us if we let him.
Secondly the parable teaches us to recognise that the message of Jesus is for everyone. Our Churches are not to be elite clubs, but are to be places where all are welcomed – good or bad, rich or poor – all means all…. When we invite people to come along we are inviting them to get closer to God... I hate coffee, really hate it - I don't like the smell, I don't like the taste, but when someone comes to visit me I don't say they can't have coffee - if that's what they want then part of welcoming them is to give them coffee. Too often in church we invite people in to do just what we're used to doing and what we like doing.
Our welcome must be for all just as Jesus welcomed all.
Thirdly a response to Jesus can never be half hearted. Those who were invited in the first place to this party but didn’t bother attending were presumably the king’s friends – they were the people he expected would turn up, but for whatever reason, they didn’t do it. When God calls us and we respond, we respond to an incredible privilege. Being part of a church isn’t just another club. It’s not a place where we worry about the petty things in life, it’s not a place where we talk about others behind their back, it’s not a place where we gossip or where we come because we like the music or the building – church isn’t a place we come to at all – it is a family we belong to.
It is a family where we are to care for one another, encourage one another, support one another and love one another…
Christ has big plans for us all. He wants us to accept His invitation to enter the kingdom of God and he wants to change us – not into Christian robots all looking and sounding the same, but into a family of different shapes and sizes and backgrounds and ideas – a family where all are welcome and all are loved, and a family where those qualities I mentioned earlier of love, joy, peace and so on are clearly visible for all to see !
When we worry about inviting people to know Jesus, just remember that what we’re offering is not something to hurt them, or a commitment that will damage their lives or burden them excessively, but a relationship that will change their lives for good for ever.
A few weeks ago we heard that famous verse from John’s gospel – ‘For God so loved that he gave his only Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life’, and the following verse goes on ‘For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world but that the world might be saved through him’.
The gospel message really is good news for all people - and we need to make it look like it is ! The invitation of God is good – it is generous, it is loving, it is for all. AMEN
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