Tag: invitation

The Invite

Read Romans 10:9-13

It is always exciting when you go to your mailbox and find an invitation in the stack of mail which you received that day. For some reason, receiving an invitation creates joy in one’s life. Maybe it is because being the recipient communicates that you have value to the sender. An invitation tells you that you are thought of and included. There is also excitement which accompanies an invitation since usually it is connected with some joyful celebration.

The passage today presents an invitation. Particularly, this invitation is to be saved from a sinful life and the consequences of such a life. Instead of making an RSVP like other invitations request, this one makes the request to declare and believe. The believing is done with the heart, or the core of one’s being. The declaring is done with the lips, an outward acknowledgment. What we are asked to declare and believe is “Jesus is Lord.” By fulfilling this request, a guarantee is given that the one doing so will be saved.

Each day, we are invited to call upon the Lord for this guarantee. We have received our invitation to redeem the promise. Each day, we have the opportunity to declare and believe, whether for the first time or as a renewal.

The Big House

Read John 14:1-3

There are many varieties of houses in this world. Some people live in small, one-room homes while others have places to live which have over twenty rooms. The materials used to build houses may depend on factors  such as location, climate, resource availability, financial resources, and/or the owner’s needs. Some houses are single-storied, while others have two or more stories. Just as individuals vary, so do the houses in which each person lives.

In an attempt to reduce the anxiety of his disciples, Jesus tells them about a house with plenty of room which he is going to prepare for them and others. Prior to this passage, Jesus had told his disciples that he would not be with them much longer. After having followed Jesus around for almost three years, the disciples want to follow him wherever he is going next. They are afraid of being left on their own. So Jesus assured them that he is going to prepare their place where the Father dwells. He also tells them that there is plenty of room for them and he will return to take them to the place.

During Advent, part of our focus was on this promise of Jesus’s return. In today’s passage we hear of this promised return. The promise speaks of a big house where all are welcomed. Through other passages in Scripture, we gain an understanding that there will be abundance at this place. Sadness, pain, and suffering will be replaced with joy and uninhibited life. The place of Jesus’s promise is clearly a place we all would desire to experience. This place is also a home to which we should want to invite others.

Audio Adrenaline captured the promise of Jesus and created images to which we can relate today in their song, Big House. I invite you to consider the promise, the invitation, and the images which form in your mind as you listen to this song today.

Big House

Today I was thinking about the inclusivity of the Lord’s love. From what we see in Jesus’s ministry and the ministry of the Apostle Paul, we learn that God’s love extends beyond all social and geographical boundaries. The limitations which we may have witnessed are human boundaries, not boundaries established by God. Over and over in the Gospel accounts, we observe Jesus shattering any and all boundaries to the love of God. A main component of Paul’s ministry as recorded in Acts and the letters is the message of God’s love to those outside the Hebrew people. This understanding reminded me of the song, Big House, by Audio Adrenaline. I share it with you now in hopes that you can imagine what God intends and that you might offer an invitation to others.

Water and Food

“Come, all you who are thirsty,
    come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
    without money and without cost.
2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
    and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
    and you will delight in the richest of fare.
3 Give ear and come to me;
    listen, that you may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
    my faithful love promised to David.
4 See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
    a ruler and commander of the peoples.

Isaiah 55:1-4 (NIV)

Many of us have not experienced what it means to not have food when hungry, or something to drink when thirsty. We may have had short periods of time when we have been unable to access food or drink but it never has become a life-threatening situation. There are people in our communities who have, and do, experience food and drink insecurities. Even today in the United States there are children and adults who are malnourished and facing life-threatening inadequacies. This is true in every nation on earth. For most of us, this situation is so far removed from us that hunger and thirst is only a hypothetical experience. Only if we open our eyes to those who society wishes to hide, or we are confronted by images on the television, are we able to acknowledge such a physical need.

The writer of Isaiah takes hunger and thirst beyond a physical experience to a spiritual one. In our passage today, the prophet speaks on behalf of God. God invites all to come to God to be satisfied. The thirsty will find water that quenches the thirst indefinitely. The hungry will be filled completely. No payment is required for what God offers. God offers all which is necessary for life within an experience of great love.

While the physical hunger and thirst may be a them-not-me experience for us, the spiritual hunger and thirst is often very familiar. We are born with a desire and need to be spiritually fed. When this need is going unmet, we search for spiritual food and drink just as our human bodies instinctively do the same. God created us in a way that both these forms of need and searching are part of who we are as beings. Only God can meet the needs of our spiritual being in a way which is long-lasting and completely satisfying. All others are temporary and eventually unfulfilling.

God extends an ongoing invitation, “Come all you who are thirty…” This is an invitation which Jesus repeats as well.  The invitation is for you.

An Invitation

6 On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare
    a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
    the best of meats and the finest of wines.
7 On this mountain he will destroy
    the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
8     he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears
    from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace
    from all the earth.
The Lord has spoken.

9 In that day they will say,

“Surely this is our God;
    we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the Lord, we trusted in him;
    let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”

Isaiah 25:6-9 (NIV)

Imagine receiving an invitation to attend a banquet. This banquet is being hosted by a very important and powerful person. The individual is known to have access to the finest food, wines and drinks known to humanity. You are also aware that the location of the banquet has been described as having unparalleled views, amazing furnishings and ideal weather. You are not required to bring anything or pay any sort of fee to attend. What you wear to the banquet does not matter because a special robe, exactly your size, has been prepared for you to wear once you arrive. Would you even consider turning down the invitation?

The passage which we have read today from Isaiah is part of a song of praise. The song speaks of God’s faithfulness to Israel. God’s protection of Israel from foreign enemies and the destruction of those foreign cities is lifted up. Then the words of the song switch to the telling of the Lord preparing a great banquet for all people. This is where our reading begins. The song moves from speaking about a great feast to God’s work in destroying death and its power over humanity. The Lord will remove the tears and disgrace of all people. The celebration then begins.

You have received an invitation to a banquet. The Lord has invited you to come to a celebration where death, tears and shame no longer exist. You know the host and the host’s abilities. The location has been described throughout Scripture.  There will even be people who you have previously known there. The price of admission has been provided. A special robe to cover all the dirty parts of your life has been made especially for you. Only one thing remains to be done, accepting the invitation. Will you?

A Celebration

Lord, you are my God;
    I will exalt you and praise your name,
for in perfect faithfulness
    you have done wonderful things,
    things planned long ago.
2 You have made the city a heap of rubble,
    the fortified town a ruin,
the foreigners’ stronghold a city no more;
    it will never be rebuilt.
3 Therefore strong peoples will honor you;
    cities of ruthless nations will revere you.
4 You have been a refuge for the poor,
    a refuge for the needy in their distress,
a shelter from the storm
    and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless
    is like a storm driving against a wall
5     and like the heat of the desert.
You silence the uproar of foreigners;
    as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud,
    so the song of the ruthless is stilled.

6 On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare
    a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
    the best of meats and the finest of wines.
7 On this mountain he will destroy
    the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
8     he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears
    from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace
    from all the earth.
The Lord has spoken.

9 In that day they will say,

“Surely this is our God;
    we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the Lord, we trusted in him;
    let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”

Isaiah 25:1-9 (NIV)

This is the time of year when we are engaged in a lot of celebrating with a lot of food. The year in which we are in  has seen a lot more modification to our celebrations due to the pandemic. Still, many reports indicate that people are making a lot of food at home this year. Celebrations have moved from public venues to more intimate and private gatherings in homes. Either way, the celebrations continue.

Isaiah speaks of the greatest celebration yet to come. He shares how the Lord has broken down the ruthless powers of the world. The manner in which God has looked out for the disadvantaged is recalled. All of this leads up to the time when the Lord will prepare a massive celebration. Isaiah tells us that at this banquet, the best food and drink possible will be set before us. The party favors include the destruction of death and the end of sorrow. All will be honored and lifted up. He tells us that at this celebration the Lord’s saving actions will lead to great rejoicing.

Many of us long for an end of the pandemic. I am sure that when the virus finally is under control, there will be celebrations to the magnitude which have not been seen since the day World War II ended. Yet, even as large and impressive as our celebrating might be on that day, there is no comparison to the celebration of which Isaiah foretells. Try to envision singing and dancing of all people together without any conflict or animosity.  Let your mind taste the richness of the food and drinks of which you will partake. Imagine never having to fear illness, grief or death ever again. These are the promises of the Lord. Your invitation to the party is waiting.

The Invitation

12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”

16 Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’

18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’

19 “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’

20 “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’

21 “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’

22 “‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’

23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”

Luke 14:12-24 (NIV)

Most brides, grooms, and their families struggle with the daunting task of creating an invitation list for their wedding service and reception. During our current pandemic, this task has become even more complex. Imagine engaging in this effort and sending out the invitations, only to have all the guests give excuses why they cannot attend. What an extremely disappointing experience this would be. Not to mention the wasted expense of food costs and rental fees. While this scenario is very unlikely, you can imagine the feelings of hurt, disappointment, sadness, and anger which would exist.

This type of scene is exactly what Jesus conveys in the story which he tells in today’s passage. Jesus indicates that the host of a banquet responds to the guests not accepting his invitation by making guests of the people of the streets and country side. His new guests are not capable of repaying the invitation in any way.

Reading Jesus’s story and exhortation causes are to consider an invitation and the response to the innviation. We have been invited by Jesus to come and join him in a heavenly banquet which the Father has prepared. An opportunity to sit around a table filled with goodness, love, forgiveness, and great joy. All of us are undeserving of the invitation. None of us are ever able to repay the invitation. Yet those are exactly the qualifications necessary to receive the invitation. Our response is all that matters. Will we come in acceptance of the invitation, or will we make excuses why we must decline? Will we let our activities of life and other priorities lead us to miss out? The invitation is always before us, the choice is our own.