Everyone relishes a good meal especially when it’s with people whose company we enjoy. And if it’s free, who can turn it down unless we have a better offer or a prior commitment. Of course, there is another consideration here, namely, that if a very special or very important person invites us, we may even break prior commitments to attend their function. Well, Jesus has extended a “banquet invitation” to anyone who cares enough to attend. While Jesus is not the “godfather,” he just happens to be the ONE whose offer we can’t refuse.
Actually, you can pass on Jesus’ invitation but that depends on where you wish to spend eternity. This is so because Jesus was prone to compare eternal life in the Kingdom of God to a great banquet with all its delectable delights. The people of Jesus’ day especially the poor and disenfranchised could relate to that because real good “eats” were hard to come by. There were some, of course, who seemed to have “better” things to do. For example, in Luke 14:15-24, Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a wealthy man (implied) who invites many people to his “big bash.” This story is actually a parable that typically begins with the mundane but soon takes on connotations that have ultimate implications for those who don’t “sleep walk” though life but are open to the Truth wherever they encounter it. In this parable, early invitations are sent out by live messengers (verse 16) and this is followed up (implied) by a final invite (verse 17) on the day of the banquet. There are those, however, who frivolously turn it down even after they had initially accepted. They add insult to injury by giving poor excuses.
One says he has to check out some property he bought, another needs to try out some beasts of burden recently purchased and a third rather spend his time with his new bride. The last one may have had some merit in declining but even he knew what was coming up in his date book and could have properly declined the first time he was contacted. But the Master of the feast is not to be thwarted; he will give the meal of all meals to a capacity crowd and so he invites whoever will come whether rich or poor, sick or whole, crippled, blind, outcast or not. In telling us all this, Jesus is saying that we too must not miss the “big one” because we may not get another chance (the fate of those who declined in our parable, verse 24).
There is much more that I can say about this parable but suffice it to say here, church is a preview to that celestial banquet of all banquets. We must be serious about our desire to “break bread” with our “Eternal Host” and his other guests now. Church is not just one of many options on a Sunday morning and we need to be careful about why we decide to skip church ( As a Pastor, I have heard some rather poor excuses along with the legitimate ones). We know that church attendance doesn’t save us (a whole generation heard Billy Graham preach that for decades) but a careless attitude towards godly assembly (see Hebrews 10:25) may be symptomatic of a more fundamental spiritual condition that needs our immediate attention. And we haven’t even mentioned tithing. The Celestial Banquet itself is free (“Jesus Paid It All”), but sustaining the earthly “banquet hall” is good for everyone.
No comments:
Post a Comment