Verse for the week of October 9th:
Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.
(Matthew 22:9)
This verse comes from the parable of the wedding feast—where the king throws a huge party for his son’s wedding. The understanding is that this would have a big deal. This would have been an event that people would have wanted to be invited to—the event of the year. This was not just an invitation to a wedding—but an invitation to a royal wedding. The understanding that people who heard Jesus tell this story to would have been that this was not something that one would say no to. Think about an event if you got invited you would go to great lengths in order to attend.
Jesus then builds the parable by having people do exactly the opposite of the expected behavior. And it is not like those invited had great excuses. It is not like one had a death in the family, or some other engagement that is more important than a royal wedding. One went to his farm another to his business—in many ways implying that they were just going on with their daily lives. They just did not seem interested in being a part of this celebration.
Then the parable takes another turn—the king being frustrated about the lack of enthusiasm for the wedding orders his servants to go out into the streets and invite everyone that they find. The king is opening up the celebration to any who want to come. Imagine, the President of the U.S. having a State Dinner and some people did not show up and so, they open the doors and invite whoever is standing around on Pennsylvania Avenue to come in and eat, party and celebrate. Most of us could not imagine such a thing happening, but this is Jesus’ point. The kingdom of God is not open for just some who have been previously invited, but is open to all who seek to come to the party. Jesus is sending a radical message—the kingdom is for all and not just some.
The implications of this are great for the church. It calls us to a position of welcoming. Within the church, we are not here for some people or those who are already here, but rather what we have to offer (the good news of Jesus Christ) is here for all people and we should invite any and all to come and hear and celebrate.