B.C.P. Trinity 2    Luke 14:16-24

16 Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: 17 And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. 18 And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. 19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. 20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. 21 So that servant came, and showed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. 22 And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. 23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out unto the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

PRAY

Last weekend Aaron Barschak gatecrashed Prince William's 21st birthday party. Barschak, 36, a native Londoner and self-described "comedy terrorist" who is well-known on the comedy club circuit, acknowledged his amazement at how easy it was for him to crash the bash.

"The security was just non-existent," he told the Daily Mail. "I was carrying a bag which could have had a bomb in it. I was just yards away from the queen and Prince Charles. If I had been a real terrorist the entire royal family would have been wiped out." Barschak said he gate-crashed the "Out of Africa" costume ball by scrambling over a five-meter (15-foot) wall, then acting like a tipsy guest to fool a palace contractor into leading him to the festivities.

Jesus had been invited for a meal at the home of a Pharisee. He had told the guests that they should not help themselves to the best places. He had told his host that he should not invite friends, relatives and neighbours and hope to get an invite in return. Instead he should invite the disadvantaged.

One of the guests then says to Jesus in a smug way "Blessed is the man who will eat of the feast of the kingdom of God." The Jews believed that being with God would be like a sumptuous banquet. They thought that if they stuck to their religion their rules and regulations then they would be with God. Jesus blows this assumption apart with this parable.

There are no gatecrashers in God's banquet! Those who are invited first are the Jews. In this culture there would be an initial invitation that would have been accepted, then messengers sent out to tell the guests when the feast was ready. No watches or microwaves then !

All of them refused to come verse 18. All used lame excuse. Would have examined a field and ox before. Would have known he was going to get married when replying to the invitation. Insult to the host. Harboured contempt, deceit, indifference.
Material and relational things are put first. Each is important, but must not become the most important thing.

Host is angry. Widens invite to anyone. Not just those whom he had initially chosen.
Invites the outcasts, the poor, crippled. lame and blind. Insistent hospitality verse 23b. Go out unto the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. Starts with the town, then goes into the countryside.

Those who snubbed the invitation are replaced by outcasts. They will not have a second chance. Read verse 24. 24 For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

The invitation of God in the O.T. is principally to the Jews. In the N.T. it includes the Gentiles or non-Jews.

From this we can see:-

We have a God who reaches out to people. Who invites them into his presence through Jesus. No-one can get to a banquet without an invite. No-one can come into God's presence without responding to Jesus' invitation.

An invitation demands a response. The invited guests rejected their invitation, they put other things first. cf today - material & relational pleasures are put before God. The Jews put their religion before their God. They crucified Jesus because he challenged the religion that they held so dear.

We cannot save ourselves, only Jesus can do that for us. We cannot gatecrash God's kingdom, invite ourselves or earn an invitation. But we can damn ourselves by rejecting the invitation of God.

The master said to the servant that he must compel people to come. The outcasts probably thought that the invitation was too good to be true, that they were not worthy to be invited to a banquet, that they were not ready. The servant says "Come quickly, the food will get cold!" He describes to the outcasts the food that awaits them, the gorgeous smells wafting through the banqueting room.

Jesus calls us to share with others what it is like to enjoy his banquet. To persuade people who are spiritually starving to come and taste and see and to share in the riches that God has for them.

Once we have accepted the invitation of Jesus we can know the comfort, presence and hope of knowing him as our friend and our boss.
We can know that our sins are forgiven, an inner peace, and a power to live for God. We can also look forward to being with God in glory forever.

If we saw a starving man and knew there was a soup kitchen round the corner we would tell him. We are surrounded by people who are starving spiritually. We must direct them to the banquet that God has for them, through Jesus.

PRAY