God Feasts

There's a parable of a wedding feast in which God invites a bunch of folks to come and celebrate with Him. They all, apparently, agree - that sounds like fun. But when the day actually arrives, everyone has an excuse not to come. One dude even says he has to go check on this new field he bought. 

Yup, he turned down a feast for some dirt. 

So the character of God in the story tells His servants to go out and find anyone who is willing to come. Wherever you find them. In the streets. In the shelters. Homeless. Who cares? Anyone who wants to feast can come.

And here's what strikes me about this: the feast is already ready (Matthew 22:3).

The tables are set. The food is hot. The waiters have on their best cummerbunds. There's a ladle in the punch bowl. The tablecloths have been ironed. The music is playing. There's already a feast - the host just needs some folks to show up to it. 

It's no fun without them. 

Now, remember - this is a parable about God and His Kingdom. So when we read it, we have to think of the dynamics of the day. Most of us read this parable and think that the invited guests who decide not to show up are the Pharisees, the religious elite, the ones so busy sitting on their high horses that they don't see the droppings they're trailing behind them. 

But it's not that. Or maybe it's not just that. 

This parable is the vision of Judaism vs. Christianity. Since roughly the beginning of time, God has had His people. For thousands of years, He narrowed His people down to the Israelites, the Hebrews...the Jews. For four hundred years, they had been waiting in silence on this Messiah. They had all the stories. They had all the promises. They had all the prophecies. These were the folks holding the "save the date" cards. 

The Messiah is coming. 

Now, here's Jesus, and He's getting a lot of pushback from...the very folks who are holding those cards. The ones who claim they're waiting on Him. The ones who have spent their lives saying yes, when the Messiah is ready, we're ready. When the feast is laid out, we're coming. 

Now, the Messiah is right in front of them, and they all have a reason why this can't be Him. Why this isn't the One. Why the promises are still not fulfilled. And they're hemming and hawing about what to do now. 

Someone just got married - they have a new thing, a new angle to take on life, and they can't waste time on these old commitments. Someone bought a new field - they have invested in the world, and they're going to see where that takes them. Someone has to bury someone - they've lost something, there's a hole in their heart, and they're grieving. They don't have time for a Messiah right now. 

So God opens His Kingdom to those who seem to be outside of it. Go out, get anyone...go get the Gentiles. The riff-raff, the ragtag, the outcast, whoever. Go get the folks who don't think they'd ever be allowed to set foot in a feast like this and tell them not only that they're welcome here, but that it's ready. It's ready now. 

The promises are fulfilled. The prophecies are coming true. The stories come to life. After all these years of all these stories, the time is now. There's already a feast - God just needs some folks to show up for it. 

It's no fun without you. 

So are you in?