November 28
Matthew 22.1-14
1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
4 “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
5 “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.
13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
The first time we held the “Parking Lot Event”, the garage sale on the church lot, we were having some of the neighbours approach us with some questions. “Why aren’t you charging for tables? You have to charge us for a table.” Everything was free. When they saw the hot dogs, they asked us, “How much?” Those are also free. We aren’t charging for anything.
People struggle to understand that there are things in life that are free. We spend $50 dollars on gas to save a few dollars on some products, but when someone offers u free we become skeptical.
Jesus shows us the struggle with people receiving the greatest gift of all, life of abundance in his eternal kingdom. It plays out like this parable over and over. We are invited, but we struggle with the concept of free. We try to make it cost something. We have others who never come in because there must be something odd about free gifts. It is too good to be true.
The simple answer is that it is too good for us to comprehend how it could be. And at the same time it is completely true. We have been given life and a place at the table of the king. We are invited. We can refuse, as many do out of pride and ignorance, out of thinking we are already good enough as we are. We can refuse, as the guest without wedding clothes, refusing to receive the cleansing gift of grace and hoping to just slip in because of our state of need.
The entrance is free. The change in us, as the ones being dressed for the wedding, is a gift that comes to us in grace as well. Enter God’s grace and be changed. Come to the gathering of the ones called to celebrate the loving grace of God.
Song – Revelation Song
Prayer
God of eternal grace, whose will is for all to be restored and welcomed in the new life of your Son, Jesus Christ. Reunite your people who are now divided by sin. Free us and bring us together under your gentle rule. Remind us that we are all made in your image and all are invited to enter your kingdom. Hold us always in your gracious hands. In the name of Christ alone we pray, Amen.