“A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. And at the time for the banquet, he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ So, the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’”
This is a parable given by Jesus while he was eating at the home of a religious leader. Jesus had just been speaking about the necessity of humility, pointing out how those in prominence often neglect those in need, while at the same time becoming blind to their blessings around them. In the parable, we see that those who are initially invited find some excuse not to attend the amazing banquet that had been prepared. Their selfish desires so consume them that they completely disregard the honored invitation of their friend. So, what does the man do? He takes the invitation to the entire community (and beyond). Essentially, he goes out and finds those who are willing to attend and appreciate the banquet! He parties with those who want to party, not beg those who are hesitant to attend.
So, what can we learn from this? Many Christians fall into the trap of those invited who ignore the invite. We find excuses throughout our lives to put off or neglect our relationship with God. Sometimes it is simply the idea that now that we are Christians, we only have to do the bare minimum in our faith. Such an attitude is a full-blown rejection of Christ’s banquet invitation. Jesus invites us to sit with him in fellowship and constantly grow in our knowledge of his love and grace. How often have we received an invitation from the Holy Spirit and simply said, “Not now, I’ll get to it later.” We put off reading our Bible, attending small groups, worshiping in church, Sunday school, or youth groups.” Each one of these is an invitation to the banquet, each one an opportunity to fellowship with God. And yet it is sometimes Christ so-called “followers” that are the most hesitant to accept the invitation.
Christ’s invitation extends to all persons everywhere, but it will ring most assuredly louder in the lives of those who appreciate and accept that invitation. We “good Christians” should learn from this parable that we are in danger of missing God’s invitation because we have become complacent in our faith.
If we find ourselves being available to the invitations of the world, shouldn’t we also be even more accommodating to the invitations of God?
Just a thought.
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Pastor Mike McVey
Minister – First United Methodist Church, Fairfield TX
ACS Chaplain – United States Coast Guard, Station Galveston TX
