Dinner with the Distracted

So in today’s meal Jesus tells a story about a feast while attending a feast. He has been with them eat and teaching, and Jesus has just finished up teaching about holding a dinner for the poor, and one poor man I would imagine he is sitting really close exclaims “Blessed it everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” Seems innocent enough, but obviously it has never crossed that man that there is any possibility that he will not be one of those people. Remember what we talked about self-reflection last week? This man shows none whatsoever and automatically concludes that he is the example Jesus is setting before those in attendance. Obviously his arrogance and narcissism get to Jesus, so Jesus tells another parable about a great banquet.

He tells of a man that is having a great banquet so invites many of his friends. Now, this is a little different than how we do our inviting today, because in this time people used what we might call a 2 invitation system. Because time functioned so much differently in their culture and they did not have many of the modern conveniences we have to prepare large meals like we do it was hard to nail down a specific date and time that a meal would take place. The remedy to this was a 2 invitation system. First, a host would send out an initial invitation to potential guests informing them of a time-frame that they were planning to host a meal, and ask for their response- we see this in v16.

Then, once the dinner or feast was ready to eat within the time-frame the host would send a servant to the guests who had accepted an invitation to tell them that the dinner was ready to go- we see this in v17. Now, we must remember it was extremely rude and disrespectful to not come to a feast that you had a accepted a first invitation to attend. In fact, it was a good way to find yourself an outcast in society.

In this story, Jesus tells of three people who had each accepted an invitation to a man’s feast, but when the time of the dinner came they each had an excuse on why they could not come.

The first guest bases his excuse on Real Estate- I bought a field and I need to go see it.... I am not sure who buys a field and does not see it first, or why he had to go that day if he had already secured the purchase, but he did, so off he went...

The second guest bases his excuse on business- I bought some oxen I need to examine them....again, I am not sure who buys oxen without examining them first, or why he needed to go examine them right then if he had already bought them, but he did, so off he went....

The third guest bases his excuse on relationship- I got married so I cannot come....this might be the most legitimate excuse of all of the guests. There was common practice that a man was expected to stay home for 1 year after getting married, but this was in regards to military service and commerce, not because of a social engagement.

3 guests, 3 accepted invitations, and 3 excuses to skip....

What if I told you this parable was a great example of how salvation works? Because it is. The call to follow Jesus is not a one time decision, and never allow anyone to tell you it is.

Many of us have been part of church services with an invitation- a time when the pastor or preacher gives a chance for anyone who wants to accept Jesus to say a prayer and make Jesus the Lord of their lives. It normally begins with the phrase “with every head bowed and every eye closed” and ends with a prayer asking Jesus into your heart...

This, my friends, is invitation #1. Many of us, if not most of us have said yes to this invitation at some point in our lives. This preliminary invitation is not the end of our story of faith...

The question is…what will your response be to the second invitation? Because the second invitation comes many times, everyday, for the rest of your life.

The second invitation comes every Sunday morning when it is time for church- you have other things you could be doing…what will your response be?

The second invitation comes every Sunday when the offering plate is passed- you could spend that money on something else....what will your response be?

It comes when its time for Bible Study, when its time for Sunday School, for discipleship…what will your response be?

There are only 2 options, right? Yes or no. The men in this story made excuses, maybe relevant to the eyes of the world, but not to the host of the dinner. They had made a commitment and he expected them to follow through. Here’s the thing, friends, I think we take God’s grace for granted a little too often. God wont mind if I skip church this week, or if I do not do Bible study today. God is understanding and knows how busy I am.

But, do you know who suffers at these excuses? You do. It is not God’s spirituality that is affected, it is not God who loses an opportunity to grow- it is you. A wise man once said “Excuses are the nails used to build a house of failure.”

The host of the dinner did not force the people to come, and he did not postpone the dinner on their account. No, the dinner went on as planned, the master just sent out to find those who were willing to come to eat with him. Friends, the Kingdom of God does not pause for you- it keeps going. If God needs you to be the hands and feet of Jesus to someone in need, he will accomplish what he wants- he will find a way to meet the need, the only person who misses out is you- you miss the blessing. The dinner went on, the only people that missed out were the people that made the excuses.

I know this is going to sound harsh, but I am just going to say it: Cheap Spirituality costs you nothing. If you want real transformation in your life, it will cost you something.

We should pay attention to the passage that comes right after this parable- Jesus teaches about counting the cost. After all, the second invitation is harder to accept than the first.

It was just a few chapters before this in that Jesus talked about taking up our crosses and following Jesus. Carrying crosses is hard work, it is going to cost you something, and at times it is going to be hard and painful.

Carlyle Saylor once wrote this reflection:

Well, here I am, Lord. You said, "Take up your cross," and I'm here to do it. It's not easy, You know, this self-denial thing. I mean to go through with it, through...yes, 'll bet you wish more people were willing to be disciples like me. I've counted the cost and surrendered my life, and it's not an easy road.

You mind if I look around over the crosses? I'd kind of like a new one. I'm not fussy, You understand, but a disciple has to be relevant these days.

I was wondering -- are there any that are vinyl padded? I am thinking of attracting others -- see? And if I could show them a comfortable one I'm sure I could win a lot more.

And I need something durable so I can treasure it always. Oh, is there one that's sort of flat so it would fit under my coat? One shouldn't be too obvious.

Funny there doesn't seem to be much, choice here -- just that coarse rough wool one I mean, that would hurt. Don't You have something more distinctive, Lord I can tell You right now, none of my friends are going to be impressed by this shoddy workmanship. They'll think I'm a nut or something. And my family will be just mortified. What's that? It's either one of these or forget the whole thing? But, Lord, I want to be your disciple. I mean, just being with You, that's all that counts; but life has to have a balance, too. But You don't understand -- nobody lives that way today! Who's going to be attracted by this self--denial bit? I mean, I want to, but let's not over do it. Start getting radical like this, and they'll have me off to the funny farm, know what mean?

I mean, being a disciple is challenging and exciting and I want to do it; but I have some rights, You know. Now let's see -- no blood, okay? I just can't stand the thought of that, Lord ... Lord? Jesus? Now, where do you suppose He went?

So, what about you? Have you been following through with your second invitation?