Sometime ago I read a story about minister who had just started a little church in this town. Because the congregation was very small, he understood that he needed to increase Church membership in order to survive. After all, more congregants means more income and more income means more ministries and continued growth.
Well, he met with his small core group of people and told them that they were to go out and invite people to the Church. But he told them to go to the west side of town because that is where the upper middle class people lived. He believed that it was these people who really needed to be in his parish if it was to survive and prosper. Well, an older couple who didn’t know east from west made a wrong turn and went into the ghetto part of town. There they went door to door inviting everyone to their Church. The next Sunday, the minister was shocked to see all these poor people sitting in the pews of the Church. They were all there, dressed in their work clothes with crying children and putting very little money in the collection. He was angry about the way his plans had been ruined by the couple who didn’t know east from west. He kept saying to himself, “This is all wrong. This is all wrong.”
Is it possible to invite the wrong people to Church? Are there people who are too high class or too low class, too rich or too poor, the wrong color or the wrong race? Can you invite the wrong person to Church? Are there people who are too conservative or too liberal, too spiritual or too secular, wrong job, no job? Can you bring the wrong person to Church?
No. At least not in the Church that believes in Jesus. You can’t bring the wrong people to Jesus’ church. Time and time again, by word and by example, Jesus makes it clear that nobody is out of bounds in the family of faith. There is no person too crazy or too lazy or too promiscuous or too stubborn or too sinful or too unclean or too righteous or too uneducated or too rich or too poor to invite to Church. This is one of the main messages of the Gospel— no one is left out; everyone is invited.
The real question is: how do those who are invited respond? You might be surprised to read the Gospels to see that it is usually the “wrong” kinds of people who respond favorably to the invitation to follow Jesus. Did the religious leaders respond favorably? No. Did the irreligious respond favorably? Yes. Did the upper crust of society respond favorably? No. Did the poor respond favorably? Yes. Did the educated respond favorably? No. Did the uneducated respond favorably? Yes. Consistently, in the Scriptures we learn that those who we would not believe to be worthy of the banquet feast were precisely the ones who followed through on the invitation.
Several months ago, Oprah Winfrey threw a party in honor of all the people she considered to be her heroes. It was a lavish party complete with wonderful gifts that she purchased for her guests. As you might imagine, it was the most coveted invitation in town. And, to no one’s surprise, everyone on the list showed up. These were among the busiest people in the entertainment industry, the political arena, the world of sports and the elite people of society. Somehow, everyone of them were able to free up their calendars to be in attendance at Oprah’s party. Who would refuse such an invitation? And they all were instructed to wear white which they all did. Except for Oprah who was in a fabulous red dress.
Contrast that with the story that Jesus tells in the Gospel. A king throws a great wedding banquet for his son. He invites, as would be the case, the most powerful people in the kingdom: the nobility, the clergy, the influential and the rich. But they all refused to come. For whatever reason, they all had things to do and gave lame excuses for not being there for the King’s wedding banquet. They even mistreated some of the king’s messengers.
Angered by this, the king sent his troops to kill these people and burn their cities.
Then the king said to his messengers, “I want people here at my son’s wedding feast.” So they went out and invited everyone they could find from the street corners and alleys. These were among the poorest in the kingdom— good and bad alike. They were not those who were on the short list of guests. But these were the ones who filled the banquet hall.
This story reveals the great paradox of God’s Kingdom. While God’s kingdom is filled with the promise of every good thing, those who already have every good thing going aren’t always interested. Somehow, being a part of a faith family just isn’t that interesting or flattering to many people in our society. Even so, the invitation is rightfully extended to them.
But the invitation is also extended to those who we may not see as being very worthy: the poor, the forgotten, the sick, the unemployed, the powerless., the sinner. These are the ones who usually do respond. Why? Because they realize a wonderful gift when they see it. What they do not already have is being promised to them by a generous and compassionate God. These are the ones who respond positively and gratefully to the invitation. These are the ones who make the effort to come. It is a banquet they do not want to miss.
But the story has another paradoxical twist. Among those who do respond, there is one individual who is not appropriately attired. The king notices this and questions the person. When the guest does not have an answer to respond, the king orders him thrown out of the banquet into the darkness.
Thus we have another lesson about God’s Kingdom. All are invited. Some respond. Few are chosen. What it means is that it is one thing to accept the invitation but it is quite another thing to do what is necessary to cooperate with that invitation. Salvation is a universal gift. But it requires an effort of will on our part to make the gift work as it should. We are invited and encouraged to say “yes” to God’s gracious offer of salvation. But once the invitation is accepted, we are required to do what is necessary to fully take hold of the gift. We are to put on the mind of Christ. We are to conform ourselves to God’s will. We are to change the way we think and conduct ourselves. Perhaps that why some don’t respond favorably in the first place! But with that invitation in hand comes the responsibility to live according to God’s will: to put on the garment of love, compassion, justice and peace. As St. Paul says, “We are to clothe ourselves with Christ. The life of Christ is the appropriate dress—to use the metaphor of the parable. We accept the invitation— wonderful. Now we have time to present ourselves in the most appropriate way.
So, what this parable reveals is that you can’t bring the wrong person to God’s party. The heavenly banquet is about inclusion not exclusion. But as one who accepts the invite, you must become the right person for the party. You must become the person that Jesus wants you to be.