\u201cYou Are Cordially Invited\u201d<\/p>\n
Luke 14:12-24<\/p>\n
Rev. Armen Hanjian<\/p>\n
Chilmark Community Church<\/p>\n
November 1, 2015<\/p>\n
This will be a good sermon because I am dealing with an area in which I am quite an expert \u2013 that of making excuses. It would have been a great<\/u> sermon – – but I was pretty busy this week.<\/p>\n
The Bible is a great book in many ways, particularly so in describing life. In Genesis, old Adam says, \u201cEve made me do it.\u201d Eve says \u201cThe serpent made me do it.\u201d And millions say \u201cThe devil made me do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Recall the rich young ruler who was invited to follow Jesus. He could have been a part of the greatest adventure in history, but he made an excuse and went away sorrowful.<\/p>\n
Once Jesus asked aloud:\u201d\u2026to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places and calling to their playmates, \u2018We piped to you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here, Jesus describes John the Baptist\u2019s ministry and his own in vivid contrast. \u201cFor John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say \u2018he has a demon\u2019; the Son of Man came eating and drinking and they say, \u2018Behold, a glutton and a drunkard.\u2019\u201d John\u2019s ministry was stern like a funeral; Jesus\u2019 ministry was joyous, like a wedding. The people Jesus was addressing didn\u2019t follow either one. They were playing the game of religion in their own way and like irritable children, refused to play any game but the one they knew best: \u201cI\u2019m doing my religious thing so don\u2019t mix me up with what God expects of me!\u201d<\/p>\n
The place in the Bible that makes most clear our inclination to excuse ourselves from God\u2019s service is today\u2019s parable of the rejected invitation.<\/p>\n
A great banquet is planned. Matthew\u2019s gospel refers in this parable to a king throwing a sumptuous wedding reception for his son – – not sandwiches and punch as we had at our reception, but the whole works. Lo and behold, the people who were invited chose not to come to the joyous feast.<\/p>\n
Jesus was always drawing parallels. If there was a fishing boat around, he would say \u201cI will make you fishers of people.\u201d If someone pointed to the harvests, he would say \u201cThe fields are white with harvest but the laborers are few.\u201d In Luke\u2019s parable our vision is raised from this banquet and human hospitality to God\u2019s hospitality with the implied question \u201cWill you be there at God\u2019s home?\u201d<\/p>\n
This invitation went to the most likely, the so-called \u201cfriends of the family.\u201d This likely refers to \u201creligious people.\u201d How nice. Mr. and Mrs. So and So request the honor of your company. Mr. and Mrs. Thus and thus regret that they will be unable to be present.<\/p>\n
Sometimes we invite because we have to. Sometimes we don\u2019t go because we don\u2019t want to. But certainly no one would decline an invitation to God\u2019s banquet in heaven. Yet the folly is in this story: \u201cPlease present my regrets to the Lord of Heaven and Earth. I can\u2019t come.\u201d<\/p>\n
Why did the guests refuse the summons to the feast? Why do people refuse Jesus\u2019 summons to the joyful life? It is not because people are outright wicked. Rather it is because they are absorbed – – -absorbed in their own things.<\/p>\n
All three men in the parable who sent their regrets probably repeated their excuses so many times that they thought their reasons were valid. The banquet might be dull and my own affairs seem to promise more happiness. Things are finally going better for me so don\u2019t distract me with other affairs.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s look at the specific excuses they give. They symbolize the successful secular society. \u201cI have bought a piece of land and I must go and look it over.\u201d This can represent our possessions and investments. Certainly we need land to live on and homes to live in and so on, but is that reason enough to ignore the God who made us when God calls us to God\u2019s priorities?<\/p>\n
The second excuse avoids the invitation by saying: \u201cI have bought five yoke of oxen and I am on my way to try them out.\u201d This can represent our attempts at maintaining our self-esteem. \u201cWorld, look at my car, my house, my creations, my crafts, the power I wield.\u201d God know, we need to build up our reserves of self esteem, but these<\/u> are dead ends that lead to idolatry rather than life when leaned upon.<\/p>\n
The third avoids the invitation by announcing, \u201cI have just gotten married and for that reason I cannot come.\u201d At best, the spouse and family represent our human centered comfort and at worst our cult of exploitive sex. God knows that we need to give attention to family and that sexual realtionships can be among the most beautiful channels of love. But even good things, when over emphasized, can lead to an unbalanced life which can lead to death.<\/p>\n
Perhaps these are not our<\/u> excuses for being slow in responding or for not responding at all to God, but our excuses are not so very different. Do any of these sound familiar? \u201cWe unfortunately had parents who were too strict – -or too lax – -or too distant \u2014 or too affectionate. Our parents conditioned us. \u201c \u201cWe were born during a difficult period that emphasized materialism and drugs and fear of war.\u201d \u201cWe were too rich – – or too poor\u201d \u201cWhat we are is simply a product of our environment and our heredity.\u201d \u201cGod made us this way.\u201d \u201cWhat ever will be will be.\u201d \u201cI don\u2019t pretend to be religious.\u201d<\/p>\n
Our excuses are endless. The one that bugs me the most is when someone puts a label on something and thinks he or she has thereby dealt with the matter: \u201cmaladjusted and introverted\u201d instead of dishonest and self-centered; \u201ca spasm of re-adolescence\u201d instead of adultery and so on.<\/p>\n
One need only listen to conversations on the boat or in line at the post office to know what has absorbed our minds and hearts. The concerns are with boats and houses and sports and vacations. Any one who talks about human destiny or the claims of Jesus is thought of as odd; it makes others shuffle with discomfort. When death or sickness comes, we are tongue-tied because we are used to more trivial topics like the weather or the traffic. When a crisis has passed we return to casual speech with great relief.<\/p>\n
Our misguided emphasis on the things that absorb us is not harmless. That way of life can lead to tragedy. That way can lead to broken relationships.<\/p>\n
The parable insists that God\u2019s plan will not be thwarted. God graciously invites, but God does not force. If you will not come, God will invite others. When \u201cnice\u201d people beg off, then God goes to those who are considered to be the wreckage of society <\/b>And if the church becomes too comfortable and self-righteous and deaf to God\u2019s invitation, then God may well take up some secular movement and use it to fulfill God\u2019s glad purpose.<\/p>\n
What then must we do? Can we respond to the invitation? Can we change? We keep thinking we are pretty much set, now that we are the age that we are. But don\u2019t be fooled. Each of us is still growing \u2013or slipping. We move subtly, often quietly. The slopes are gentle and easy. We compare ourselves with others rather than with Jesus. It is like riding in a car at 55 miles per hour and being oblivious to the fact that we are pat of a larger system in which the earth rotates at the equator \u00bc mile per second while revolving around the sun at some 20 miles per second. At the same time the sun with its planetary companions including the earth orbits the center of the Milky Way galaxy at an estimated speed of 200 miles per second. The sooner we realize that this is God\u2019s world and that it is God\u2019s will that is primary, the better it will be for all of us.<\/p>\n
Yes, heredity and environment do affect us all, but they are never the final word. There is our free choice. The boy from a broken family does well. The family that has every right to produce criminals creates leading citizens. If there is a secret, it seems to be that if a person sees someone she wants to be like, she can break away from the powers that mold her. This is why the church holds before the people the person of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n
There is a proverb that the furniture store favors: \u201cHome comes first.\u201d It is nearly true and thus tragically false. For a home trying to feed itself is like a man trying to feed on his own body. It is a cannibalism that succeeds at first but finally yields to the law of diminishing returns. How can we be loyal to family and do our duty to God? How can we be loyal to our nation and differ with it when it is going astray? There are conflicting loyalties wherever we turn.<\/p>\n
The only answer I have found is to have one over arching loyalty to the hierarchy of our loyalties. Jesus alone is worthy of such a place. He who said, \u201cHe who loves father or mother, son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me\u201d knew that putting Christ and his kingdom first would be the way one could best love his family.<\/p>\n
When we look to Christ, then we love as he loved. Our love does not depend on how others behave. Thus, we put a stop to our \u201cthere are hypocrites in the church\u201d excuse.<\/p>\n
Once Christ is made primary in our lives, then we must get busy prioritizing. There is no end to our responsibilities – – so many people to help by our visits, so many causes that would benefit from our time and talent and resources. What is one to do? We can write down and then pick out the priorities. Which will do the most good for the most people for the longest amount of time? We can keep testing our actions by the fruit they produce. Not that we always have to be successful; we need primarily to be concerned with being obedient to God. Through the years, God has proved the abundant fruit-bearing capabilities of those who have trusted in their God.<\/p>\n
When we prioritize, this will put an end to our excuses that we do not have enough money or we do not have enough time.<\/p>\n
We should look to Christ, we should prioritize, and finally, we should relate to Christ\u2019s people. That will speak to our excuse that we are tired. Every person gets tired while depending on his or her own strength alone. But where Christ\u2019s people are gathered, Christ is present with the resources of God.<\/p>\n
It isn\u2019t often verbalized, but many are paralyzed with the excuse of being afraid: fear of what people will say about us; they might hurt us or reject us. We don\u2019t need more of that. Keeping close to Christ\u2019s people can help overcome fear \u2013 Christ\u2018s love casts out fear.<\/p>\n
To those who are not 100% sure about Jesus Christ and the Christian way, I say: relate to Christ\u2019s people. The faith of others will encourage us to act on whatever faith we do have.<\/p>\n
Look to Christ. Prioritize. Relate to Christ\u2019s people.<\/p>\n
THE WEDDING BANQUET<\/p>\n
A certain man held a feast on his fine estate in town.<\/p>\n
He laid a festive table, he wore a wedding gown.<\/p>\n
He sent invitations to his neighbors far and wide,<\/p>\n
But when the meal was ready, each of them replied:<\/p>\n
I cannot come to the banquet, don\u2019t trouble me now,<\/p>\n
I have married a wife, I have bought me a cow.<\/p>\n
I have fields and commitments that cost a pretty sum;<\/p>\n
Pray hold me excused, I cannot come.<\/p>\n
The Master rose up in anger, called his servants by name,<\/p>\n
Said go into the town, fetch the blind and the lame.<\/p>\n
Fetch the peasant and the pauper for this I have willed.<\/p>\n
My table must be crowded, my table must be filled.<\/p>\n
When all the poor had assembled, there was still room to spare,<\/p>\n
So the master demanded: Go search everywhere,<\/p>\n
To the highways and byways and force them to come in;<\/p>\n
My table must be filled before the banquet can begin.<\/p>\n
Now God has written a lesson for the rest of humankind;<\/p>\n
If we\u2019re slow in responding God may leave us behind.<\/p>\n
God\u2019s preparing a banquet for that great and glorious day.<\/p>\n
When the Lord and Master calls, be certain not to say:<\/p>\n
I cannot come to the banquet, don\u2019t trouble me now,<\/p>\n
I have married a wife, I have bought me a cow.<\/p>\n
I have fields and commitments that cost a pretty sum;<\/p>\n
Pray hold me excused, I cannot come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cYou Are Cordially Invited\u201d Luke 14:12-24 Rev. Armen Hanjian Chilmark Community Church November 1, 2015 This will be a good sermon because I am dealing with an area in which I am quite an expert \u2013 that of making excuses. It would have been a great sermon – – but I was pretty busy this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-worship-and-teaching"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4709"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4709\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4710,"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4709\/revisions\/4710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}