Luke 14:15-24; 1 John 3:13-18; Proverbs 9:1-10
In the Name of the Father and of the
+ Son and of the Holy Spirit.
The social
dynamics of the dinner party invitation are a fascinating case study in human behavior.
As it goes, we inherently feel more comfortable being the inviter than the
invitee. But, why is this? Is it not because the inviter is in control and
independent, whereas the invitee is obligated to respond to the inviter and,
supposing he accepts the invitation, dependent upon the inviter to some degree?
We have a deep-seated aversion to this arrangement, for we do not like to be
beholden to others or dependent upon them. Therefore, if we accept the
invitation, what do we do but shuffle and scramble to ask, “What can I bring?”
We feel obligated to bring something, and that makes us uncomfortable. We feel
dependent, thus we are desperate to satisfy our debt and make ourselves
independent once again. Truly, we’d rather not go at all, but, it is rude to
decline without a good reason, and we are loath to reveal our true feelings and
motivations. So, what do we do? Simple, we make excuses.
What are
excuses, but attempts to justify ourselves, to alleviate our guilt, and to deny
or push off our obligation and debt upon another. Such was the tactic of our
First Parents in the Garden when the LORD came a calling after them. Adam
blamed his wife, whom the LORD had given him. Eve blamed the serpent and the
LORD who had made it. And, that was but three chapters into the Holy Scriptures
that started our perfect, righteous, and holy! Truly, the desire to be
independent and in control of our lives and our situation is deeply ingrained
in us. Truly, this desire is the fruit of the Original Sin that is deeply
ingrained in us – Original Sin that is truly sin, and truly our sin, sin that
truly hates God and hates our dependence upon Him, because what we truly desire
is to be gods ourselves, to be independent and in control, beholden and accountable
to no one at anytime.
Yes, this is
why we make excuses. This is why, though we would never admit it, the worst
thing in our estimation is grace. The very idea that we cannot contribute anything
at all to our justification, to satisfy our debt to the LORD, or to gain
independence, rattles and infuriates us at the very core of our being. And, so,
we run and we hide, we make excuses to cover ourselves, to justify ourselves,
but the LORD sees through it all. And, so, we have two choices: Keep running
from the LORD in fear and hate. Or, let the LORD’s righteousness have its way
with us and kill us, that He might raise us up to new and eternal life in Him.
“Blessed is
everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” This is most certainly
true! Eating bread in the kingdom of God is blessedness, what it means to be
blessed. Apart from this, nothing is blessed. Who could possibly not desire
such blessedness? Who, indeed? Those who are not interested in being blessed by
someone or something external to themselves. You see, Jesus told the Parable of
the Great Banquet to the host and guests at a dinner party at the house of a
ruler of the Pharisees. Jesus observed that the guests the inviter invited were
other scribes, lawyers, and Pharisees, men of great wealth and repute. Jesus
also observed how they each vied for seats of honor in relation to their
inviter and host. He taught them saying, “When you give a dinner or a banquet,
do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich
neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you
give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will
be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection
of the Just.”
Blessing goes
both ways, but not in the ways our flesh desires. Those who confess that they
have need and that they are dependent are blessed by those who have. Likewise,
those who have are blessed in blessing those who have not. Further, as Jesus
teaches in the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount, there is blessing in
poverty, hunger, thirst, reviling, and persecution, for those who suffer such
are in the best position to receive blessing and grace. However, the flesh
desires, truly, not to be blessed at all! To be blessed implies that one has
need and is dependent, and that is something that the flesh denies, detests,
and abhors. Therefore, those who believe that they are independent and
self-sufficient invite those who are most likely to benefit them in some way –
with their reputation, with their wealth, or with the likelihood of a
reciprocal invitation. But, this is not an invitation of grace, but of
selfishness and manipulation. The invitees are not guests to be blessed, but they
are resources to be used to build up one’s own appearance of independence,
reputation, and wealth. Thus, Jesus teaches that true blessing is in giving to
those who cannot pay back, for that blessing comes, not from man or mammon, but
from the LORD who gives all things to those who can in no way pay Him back.
Those who
were first invited each made excuses and refused to come to the banquet. They
dishonored the inviter and refused to be in his debt. They considered
themselves independent and free. They were concerned only with meeting their
own needs and tending to their own affairs. They thought themselves the
originators of their own success and prosperity. They had no need for blessing,
but that they were a blessing unto themselves. And so, the invitation went out
to those who confessed their dependence and need. “Go out quickly to the
streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and
lame.” “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.”
“The fear of
the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is
insight.” This is First Commandment stuff folks! “You shall have no other gods
before me.” What does this mean? “You shall fear, love, and trust in the LORD
above all things.” There is only one Inviter, only one gracious Host, and that
One is the LORD. To refuse Him, to reject Him for any reason at all is to fear,
love, and trust in something or someone other than Him. That is why fearing Him
is wisdom. That is why knowledge of the Holy One is insight. To deny Him is
foolishness. To reject Him is death. Your excuses do not cover your sin any
better than did the fig leaves Adam and Eve wove together to cover their
nakedness. God can see right through them. Moreover, all those things you deem
more important than the LORD, more important than His invitation, His banquet,
they are even now perishing. Their end is death, and sooner than you think! The
field bears weeds and thorns and poisonous herbs. It is depleted and bears
fruit no more. Your oxen age and die of disease or predators. Even your spouse
you cannot keep forever, but they perish and are no more.
But, Wisdom
has built her house. She has hewn her pillars, slaughtered her beasts, mixed
her wine and set her table. It is finished. The feast is prepared, for you and
for all. Come, eat and be satisfied. Come, drink and be sated. “Blessed is
everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” But, will you come? Will
you eat and drink? Will you be blessed by the LORD? Or, will you make excuses? Will
you deny that you have need? Will you refuse to submit yourself, to indebt
yourself to Him? The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, because fear,
love, and trust in the LORD confesses the truth about yourself, what the LORD
has said about you: You are a sinner in need of forgiveness. You are dead and
in need of life. And, you are invited by the LORD to the feast that He has
prepared for His Son – a feast at which He is both Host and Meal. Come, eat the
Bread of Life and live. Come, drink the life-giving blood of Life Incarnate for
the forgiveness of your sins, the strengthening of your faith, and for life
everlasting. You are invited, but do not attempt to bring anything besides your
wretched self. And, do not try to buy or merit your way in. This feast is by
invitation only, without cost, and with expectation of reciprocation. However,
do know this: If you eat and drink of the LORD’s banquet, you will not return
home the same as you came. You will be changed. You will be filled. And, you
will be blessed. You will be blessed to be a blessing to all who will not
refuse the LORD’s gracious invitation. You will be His servants and His
messengers. You will be His hands, and His heart, and His voice, loving, not in
word and talk, but in deed and in truth, to the glory of the Father, in the
Name of the Son, and through His Most Holy Spirit.
In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.
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