“For there was once a man who threw a great dinner party and invited many. When it was time for dinner, he sent out his servant to the invited guests, saying, ‘Come on in; the food’s on the table.’ “Then they all began to beg off, one after another making excuses.”

(Luke 14:16-18, MSG)

This week we continue our series the Short Stories by Jesus.  Our story is not a very familiar one, but it is one packed with lessons for us to ponder.  It is the story about a dinner party and a radical welcome!  You can read it for yourself in Luke 14:15-24.

Have you ever been invited to a dinner party, RSVP’d, and later when it came time for dinner you called in your regrets?  I have…a few times that I can think of.  Once I was sick and another time I had a conflict with a work event that came up suddenly.  The truth is it happens…we make plans and life gets in the way. 

Sometimes our excuses come too quickly and too easily.  We might say no, hoping something better comes along (FOMO is real!)  We might say yes but later we have to say no because of a family emergency or work event come up that we can’t get out of.  The people in Jesus’ story were invited to the dinner party…they all had legitimate excuses!  But, it was their heart’s response when other “things” took precedence.

There is a radical welcome that happens.  The giver of the banquet, God, extended an invitation to some guests, the Israelites, who declined when it came time to dine.  The invitation then went out to “the others,” the crippled, the blind, the outcasts…those who aren’t usually invited to such feasts. I think this short story causes us to think not only about how we respond to God’s invitation but also to whom we extend that invitation. 

Blessings,
Pastor Jenni

‘Then go to the country roads. Whoever you find, drag them in. I want my house full!
Let me tell you, not one of those originally invited is going to get so much as a
bite at my dinner party.’  (Luke 14:23-24, MSG)