The first image in my mind is of invitations being sent out by the king on behalf of his son, his beloved child, to the wedding feast of his son and his new bride. Most people know what wedding invitations look like. They arrive in special thick envelopes with beautiful embossed fonts. The envelope is made from high grade paper, it's thick and heavy, rich with texture. There's no plastic window like on the phone or electric bill so that your name and address peek through. Your name is often hand written in fine calligraphy on the outside of the envelope. When you open up the outer envelope you find a special inner envelope to pull out. As you open up the inner envelope you might notice that the invitation is printed on even fancier paper than the envelopes. You might even notice a third enveloped with an RSVP card inside so that you can respond to the invitation. Once you finally get to the actual invitation you might find an extra little sheet of tissue paper meant to help keep the words clear and un-smudged.
Couples who send invitations out for their weddings expect some of the people they invited to come. But in Jesus' parable no one came when the king invited them to his son's wedding feast. The king sent servants out reminding the guests of the feast. But the servants weren't received. Some of the king's servants were ignored as some of the invited guests went back to their business or to their farms. Others were received rudely, some were brutally mistreated. Some of the Kings servants were killed. And the King responded with rage. He sent soldiers in to the city to wipe out the murders.
The king sent out his servants into the streets again with new instructions.
Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ 10 Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests. Matthew 22:9-10 NRSV
Many people just came invited in, by surprise, to the wedding feast by the king's servants.
Imagine being invited into a banquet you didn't ever expect you'd ever be invited too. This was a royal party and now everyone, both good and bad had a place at the table, whether they were ready or not. For some reason the king singled out one man who wasn't prepared. Maybe you'd ask, “how could he be ready.” After all this man was out on the street and the kings servants invited him to come. Some people say that this point is where Jesus' story breaks down; but this may very well be the moment in the story that is the most poignant. The King's invitations went first to invited guest who didn't come. Then the invitations to the feast went out to both the good and the bad. The King saw the man at the feast and asked him, “Friend how did you get in here without a wedding robe?” The king ordered his servants to kick the man out of the feast and put him in the the place where people gnashed their teeth and wept.
One fellow told me that he and his wife were driving on the interstate in Montana and that they'd run out of gas. He could see an overpass and he knew there was a town up ahead and he told his wife he was going to get some gas. His wife was in the middle of a good book and didn't seem too worried. So he started walking. After walking for a while an old car pulled up along side. A couple of young men were inside. They asked him if he needed a hand. He got in, unsure if it was the best idea. Turns out the bridge he saw ahead wasn't as close as it appeared. He was miles away. And there was no gas at that exit. The nearest filling station was a few miles further down the road. They had no gas cans so the men in the car took him to the Wal-Mart on down the road to get a gas can. The man said he was grateful for the help. When he got back to the car his wife looked up from her book and said, “glad you're back” not realizing how far he'd gone to get gas.
Every person has had this kind of experience. We've all found ourselves entirely unprepared and unready. Maybe as a kid you came to class and the teacher passed out a test, as you walked in the door, that you weren't expecting or that you'd forgotten was coming. Maybe as a parent you got a call that your child had just gotten sick and that you needed to come right away. This man met the king and he wasn't prepared. He was ushered out of the party into the darkness.
There's an uncomfortable truth here. We'd like to believe that we are always ready to meet God. Real crosses work this way. But maybe we aren't ready to meet the Lord. But Jesus tells us to pick up our cross and follow him. God call to follow in the way of the cross comes into our lives often at unexpected hours. God asks us to get into ministry now.
I've spoken with people who thought they were ready for everything until the past few weeks financial news. One man told me that he'd lost $300,000 in a few days time. There's uncertainty around the coffee tables where seniors, who depend on investments and dividends, visit. There's anxiety in the homes of parent's worried about their mortgages, kids, student loan debt, and jobs. We've been caught, as a global consumer culture, unprepared for this moment. Nobody was ready. We don't have the right plan or the right garment. People know this experience first hand today. In time some may just view today's struggles as a blip; but for many others this is no blip. Maybe your house is on the line. I've spoken to a few who fear their jobs are on the line. It feels, for many, like its the end of the world as they know it.
Maybe we aren't ready. Or maybe we just have to be ready whether we think its the right time or not. You see today's been set aside by our Stewardship Team, to invite people to make pledges in support of ours ministry for the next year. I asked Frank earlier this week if this was the right weekend and he just smiled.
Talking with other Lutheran preachers in the neighborhood this week I know that we aren't alone. October's the month when we Lutheran's often talk about money and budgets and future ministry. Part of me says this isn't the time; but part of me says this exactly the moment to talk about money and ministry. Maybe we don't think we're prepared today and that's why we should think about it.
Over the past 4 and a half years here I've been reminded that we have a mission to Invite, Nurture, Serve, and Send so that all may know Jesus Christ. People in two different generations, the baby-boomers and their kids, are wondering out loud if a church like ours is still relevant. We have a mission right now. We have families in our area who aren't connected to Christ. And if we meet people in the world as it is, not as we think it should be, we will be relevant. Let's stay focused on mission when everything distracts us from serving Christ.
We are the church who co-hosts the food-shelf. We are the church who visits and leads worship in the nursing home. We are the church who's pastors visit in the hospital. We are the church who a few years ago had 8 to 12 5th and 6th graders come for Sunday School in a week and now have 50 or more coming on Wednesday evenings for Club 56. We are the church we over 100 students in Sunday School and Bible School. We can be the ones who have hope when everything else on the cultural landscape looks bleak. We are the church who can reach two missing generations.
There's real ministry happening in this congregation that you won't hear about on CNN, NPR, or FOXNews. There is real ministry happening, and much of it goes unnoticed and uncelebrated. Ministry happens when any of us bring Christ's greatest gifts, faith, hope, and love into the world. People who've been caught unprepared need to hear the Good News. Paul said it beautifully in Philipians 4:5. “The Lord is near.” Paul's advice isn't pie in the sky. It's an honest word for us. Jesus is close enough to hear your prayers. He's near enough to meet you in the Word of God. He's close enough to touch you in worship and to inspire you as you read the Word. Its a very good time for all of us to be the church.
The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philipians 4:5-7 NRSV
We are living in an anxious time. Young families with kids are struggling to balance student debt, careers, mortgages, and the responsibilities of parenthood. These struggles aren't new; but the wave of foreclosures is evidence that many are being hit hard right now. Seniors who depend on investment income are worried too about dividends and keeping everything together. As we think about pledging to plan for the budget for next year it's vital that we name this often unspoken reality of fear and anxiety. Our ministries, all at some level, use money. Still its time to preach Christ. It's time to be church together.
AMEN.
