Going to the Party

A friend of mine loves to give parties. He delights in putting together all the particulars from decorations, to menus, to flower arrangements. Most of all, he just enjoys sharing his gift of hospitality. As a guest at his home I have been treated to beautiful surroundings, great food and a warm loving atmosphere. But I am also treated to some very fine company in the variety of guests who are welcomed to his table. Although many of us do not travel in the same social circle, we are a part of his circle. Because of this one connection, we have come to know each other, and look forward to seeing each other once or twice a year at our friend's home. It is a place we love to be, and it is another reminder of how much we touch each other lives.

It is rather confusing to me, then, this parable of the Great Supper Jesus tells while dining with a group of lawyers and Pharisees one evening. Jesus had just finished speaking about hospitality and humility when, "One of the dinner guests, on hearing this, said to him, 'Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God.' Then Jesus said to him, 'Someone gave a great dinner and invited many. At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, 'Come; for everything is ready now.' But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a piece of land and I must go out and see it; please accept my regrets.' Another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen and I am going to try them out; please accept my regrets.' Another said, 'I have just been married and therefore I cannot come.' So the slave returned and reported this to his master. Then the owner of this house became angry and said to his slave, 'Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.' And the slave said, 'Sir, what you have ordered has been done, and there is still room.' Then the master said to the slave, 'Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those who were invited will taste my dinner (Luke 14:15-24)."

Now, that is a very unhappy host. And why shouldn't he be? Dinner parties take a large amount of preparation, and the care in the details extends to those invited. It is with the quests in mind that the gathering was prepared in the first place.

But, back up for a moment and reconsider that last telling comment from our Biblical host. Is he still upset, or simply stating a fact? "For I tell you, none of those who were invited will taste my dinner," has always seemed to me to be an angry admonishment, almost a threat, to put the people who didn't attend the gathering firmly in their place. basically, these folks who didn't show up better wake up, smell the coffee and realize what fools they were because now they weren't going to be invited to any dinner, ever again.

But what if that wasn't the intention of the parable's closing line at all? What if Jesus was simply saying that those who didn't come to the dinner didn't have the opportunity to enjoy the feast, really taste the richness of what their host had to offer? That is a very different perspective, one of sadness and regret for a guest who would have savored a meal had they welcomed the invitation and attended the dinner. Rather than bitter feelings and anger from the host toward his no-show guests, feelings that would surely result in these people never being offered an invitation again, there is some sense of bewilderment that leaves room for reflection by an open heart and spirit as to why the snub occurred. The host may not like what happened, but he also has not pushed these guests out of his life forever. And, in fact, he has welcomed more people to his table, desiring to always fully extend his warmth and generosity, desiring a full table at every meal.

Perhaps God's response to our excuses for not coming to the table for the Great Dinner is one of equal bewilderment to the host in Jesus' parable. I know that my friend who loves to give parties would not be angry for long if I didn't attend one of his gatherings, but he would be disappointed and sad. I have been invited to sit at his table because I am loved and cherished as a friend, and that wouldn't change because one invitation had been rejected. I can't imagine that God who loves and cherishes me, God who created me, would treat me any differently.

The Great Dinner is ready, and we are all welcome. We may let other situations in our lives deter us from attending, maybe even on more than one occasion. But God never stops extending the invitation to us to sit down with our dinner companions to share in and savor the taste of all God has to offer.