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A Sermon by The Reverend Yvonne McLean tssf
Nelson Cathedral
Sunday, 22 June 2008
Readings for God Invites Us:
1 Samuel 24:1 – 17
Luke 14:12 – 24
May I speak in the name of God, Creator Redeemer and Giver of Life.
Amen
When I first saw our readings for tonight I thought, “What have these two passages got in common?”
David has the opportunity to kill Saul and spares his life, and Jesus tells the parable of the banquet, where people are invited to attend but refuse.
The banquet represents the kingdom of God. We accept God′s invitation to us and enter the kingdom through faith in Christ and when we
enter God’s kingdom our lives are preserved for all eternity. Saul’s life was also preserved. He had been chosen by God to be
Israel’s King.Of course we know at the end of Saul’s story God removes his anointing due to Saul’s disobedience. David is
obedient to God’s call and saves Saul’s life. The people invited to the banquet decline, they are not obedient to God’s call
and miss out on the Kingdom of God.
So to me there are two main themes here.
Being obedient to God’s call, his invitation
and
lives saved as a result of that obedience.
Let’s take a closer look at the parable of the Banquet.
First of all it was a great dinner and many people were invited. There is nothing small about this banquet. It is normal in Eastern tradition to send
out the invitations ahead of time, just as we do. But then the host follows up the invitation with the announcement that the banquet is now
ready – a sort of last minute reminder. The banquet has been catered based on the number of acceptances received, the right amount
of food prepared and appropriate quantity of wine purchased. Not to come to a banquet where you had previously indicated acceptance was a
grave breach of social etiquette, it was an insult to the host.
For a whole series of guests to reject the final summons appears to be a conspiracy to discredit the host. We are told "all alike" have rejected their
summons – everyone. Let’s look at some of the excuses that they have given:
The first has bought a field and must go and see it.No one buys a field unseen.
The second excuse was very similar. Someone had bought 5 pairs of oxen and has to try them out. People don’t buy pairs of oxen without
testing them out!
The third has just got married. When the invitation was first received he would have know that it was too close to the wedding date to accept. These
are obviously lame excuses, which makes them even more of an insult.
Presumably these are the social peers of the hosts, those who would be able to return the invitations, the obvious people to invite. So next the host
invites the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame. It is an act that says, "I′ll show them!"
The host will NOT have an empty house at his feast. He will have guests! This list of guests to be invited is identical to the list Jesus had suggested to
his Pharisee host in verse 13 -- those who could not repay him by inviting him in return -- the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame. This invitation
is truly a free gift with no strings attached. But there is still room at the banquet so the master says, “Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel
people to come in, so that my house may be filled." So we have the poor and beggars who lived inside the town and vagabonds and travelers from the
highways and byways.
Finally the host says: “For I tell you, none of those who were invited will taste my dinner.” Can’t you hear the hurt and anger in the
hosts voice? None of those he would expect to come have turned up. It′s the same hurt and anger that the Father feels when we reject his call
to come and dine in the kingdom of God.
So what does all this mean?
Well in its original context the host is God the Father, inviting his people Israel to the messianic banquet in the Kingdom of God. The rich and socially
elite who reject at the last minute the host′s invitation are the Pharisees and Jewish religious establishment who begin to plot against Jesus and
eventually render the ultimate insult of having Jesus executed as a common criminal. The poor and downtrodden are the common people, considered
unclean by the Pharisees. They would not have eaten with them! Perhaps those inside the town are the Jews while those in the outlying areas are the
Gentiles. In Jesus′ day it was the established Jewish church that had rejected God′s invitation.
So what does it mean for us today?
First of all many people today have rejected God. Even so called believers make excuses. Excuses at to why we can’t come to church, take the
time to read our bibles or give generously to God’s kingdom work. We reject membership of the Kingdom and these rejections are an insult to God
too. Secondly we can infer that those of us who decline God′s invitation are being disobedient to God’s call and as such will not enter the
kingdom of God. Next we can see the extent of God’s grace and mercy. Just like the invitation to the poor, the sick and the penniless in the
parable God reaches out to the unlovely and the unworthy. His love and mercy are available to all, even if they haven’t deserved it, or been one
of the chosen ones. As gentiles, non-Jews, we are now included in God’s kingdom as the everyday people of Nelson we are included
in God′s Kingdom.
It’s also good to note that God seeks us; by invitation at first and then by going into the towns and countryside. God searches for us so that we
can respond to his invitation. When we respond we receive life, life now in all its fullness and life everlasting.
Just like Saul’s life was spared through David’s’ grace and mercy, so our lives are spared when we respond to God’s grace
and mercy. If we in turn communicate that invitation to others we are inviting them as well to a great banquet. Inviting people to the banquet is nothing to
be ashamed of! It is a feast, a time of celebration, joy and laughter. There is wonderful food and fellowship with the other grateful recipients of God’s
love and mercy. We have gathered here tonight, because we have been obedient to God’s call. Some of us may not have taken the full step
into belief Or maybe we have, but we have allowed the cares of this world to prevent us from becoming true servants of God. As servants we too will be
sent out in the town and the countryside to extend that invitation to others. Many of us still seem to make excuses as to why we don’t invite others
to faith. Our excuses sadden God’s heart just like the excuses of those who refused to come to the banquet. Perhaps we don′t invite others
because we have not appreciated the good things of being part of God’s kingdom? Maybe we haven’t felt the benefits? Perhaps we are hedging
our bets and keeping one foot in the church and one in the ways of the world?
Food for thought.
Our silence can be misinterpreted too.
Once there was a renowned solicitor who was about to argue a defense case in court. He stood up before the jury and said:" This case is so perfectly
obvious that I won′t insult your intelligence by arguing it," and sat down again. The jury retired and after only a short time returned with a plea
of guilty. The solicitor was astonished and asked why? The foreman explained "We all agreed that if anything could be said for the case you would have
said it, and as you didn′t say anything, we concluded that there was nothing worth saying. So we found for the prosecution.
How often is an effective witness for Christ lost, because the one who should give it thinks that there is no need for it, while the one who would
hear it, because of the silence, concludes that the matter is not important enough to speak about?
David could have killed Saul in the cave, he could have used worldly ways to deal with his problem. Of course there were 3000 troops waiting outside
the entrance. So it took great courage to face King Saul, to offer his allegiance to God’s anointed one, and plead his case. It takes courage for
us to do the right thing too. Just like David there are people near to us saying, " Go on, now’s your chance to get rid of that problem". But our ways
are not God’s ways. Obedience to God means making the hard choices, speaking up and sticking up for what we know in our heart is right, making a stand.
There is a story of a man who could not decide which side of a war to fight on.
So he got the jacket from one army and the trousers from the other. All went well until he became caught up in the heat of the battle. He was shot in the
trousers by one side and in the jacket by the opposing side! Which just goes to show that it′s best not to compromise, but to stand up and be counted!
So what can we take for ourselves this evening?
God invites us into his Kingdom based on his love and mercy, not our merits.
God calls us to respond, to be obedient to his call. God asks that as his servants we reach out to others. We do this with our words and actions
and by living lives that are in step with God’s kingdom values.
Are you willing to make a stand for God?
In Jesus′ name. Amen.
The Reverend Yvonne McLean tssf
This sermon was written and delivered by The Reverend Yvonne McLean tssf at Nelson Cathedral, 22 June 2008
