Everyone's Invited!

When my kids were young, each time they got an invitation to a birthday party, they'd be soooo excited! Sometimes the excitement was genuinely for their friend, but sometimes the location was the huge draw - parties at trampoline businesses were especially exciting. They were ready for cake, fun, and friends!

Sometimes, when I receive an invitation, I have that same level of anticipation: I just know that hanging out with good friends will be a blast. But there are other invitations that seem more of a chore...and if I'm lucky, I'll have a legitimate excuse to decline the invite and stay home on my comfy couch.

This Sunday's Gospel story is one of just this type of invitation: a parable about God's invitation to the Kingdom. Jesus tells a story about a king who throws a wedding feast - and none of those who were invited want to come. The king looks into the banquet hall - tables crammed with delicious food and wine - and every chair is empty. So the king sends his servants out into the city to bring in every person they can find to join in the feasting and dancing.

This is a remarkable story about invitation, generosity, response, and the kind of life that grows out of God's grace. At the heart is God's abundance, an abundance that is meant to be shared with everyone. God's deepest wish is that we come to the feast, and enjoy all the gifts God blesses us with. But the feast isn't just for us alone - parties are meant for community, heaping plates of food are meant to be shared with everyone. God hopes that we'll mirror back God's own whole-hearted generosity: that we will pass along the blessings we've receive, share our time, talent, and treasure.

And God wants us to invite others to be a part of the feast! In the parable, the servants go out into the city to invite more folks to come to the wedding party...and it's not too far of a leap to say that we are God's servants. Loving God, following Jesus should fill us with such joy that we want every chair (or pew) filled to capacity! Because there's room for everyone at God's table, but the chairs will be empty if we don't extend the invitation to others to come to our place where we experience the fullness of God's generous heart, here at Saint John's.

The party is ready, the Table is set...but no one will come unless you invite them.

Blessings,

Rev Jill

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In Case You Missed It:

here is Rev. Jill's sermon from September 20