Writings: The Invitation to a Party

By: Dr. Gregory S. Neal

“The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.” Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.” (Matthew 22:8-10)

Quite a few years ago one of the large church-survey groups asked pastors to give them a list of “wedding disaster stories.” It was a really impressive list, among which were the following doozies:

The classic story of the groom disappearing just minutes before the wedding topped the list in frequency, but the bride disappearing before it was time to walk down the aisle was also on the list!

One bride decided to go swimming in the hotel pool the night before the wedding. Earlier that day her hair had been dyed blond so ... yes, you guessed it ... the chlorine in the pool water turned her hair green.

There was the wedding where the rings disappeared! They had been given to a young child to bring down the aisle on a pillow. Just prior to the processional, however, the little boy decided that they looked like candy to him, so he ate them.

There was one wedding in which the ceremony went off without a hitch, but during the middle of the banquet the hotel’s fire alarm went off! To add insult to injury, during the middle of that horribly disruptive noise the fire suppression system activated, drenching the entire wedding reception – cake, food, decorations, presents, and participants – in water.

These were all great stories, but when I read the article I was pleased to see that my own wedding disaster story had also made their list!

I once did a wedding where the wedding party was going to be on horseback: the groom and his groomsmen, the bride and her bridesmaids, and I, the minister, were all going to be sitting on horses for the ceremony (yes, an outdoor ceremony). What fun that was! No, it was a nightmare. While most of the wedding party was experienced in handling horses, I was not. However, getting the horses to process down the aisle the way they were supposed to and stand where they were supposed to stand, and me being comfortable enough in the saddle to actually perform the ceremony, were the least of my concerns. You see, during the middle of the ceremony, just as the groom was saying his vows to his bride, his horse decided to pee. Yes, right there in front of everybody. And, of course, the bride’s horse immediately did the same!

Wedding disasters. We have a real doozy in the Gospel reading today. The King’s son is getting married, and the King is throwing a great big wedding banquet to celebrate the nuptials. The only problem was that those who had been invited didn’t want to come.

“[The King] sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.’ But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them.” (Matthew 22:3-5)

Not good. Making light of the wedding banquet for the King’s son is not a good idea, and neither is killing the King’s servants. And, yes, the King is understandably angry! He orders those who had refused to come, and who had killed his servants, to be put to death and their town destroyed. And, then, since all the rich and powerful people who had been expected to come to the wedding banquet of the King’s son had refused to come and were, now, .... well, dead ... the King changes his plans: he invites everybody from the streets, “both good and bad” to come to the wedding!

Yes, the invitation went to everybody. It wasn’t limited to just the rich and the powerful; it wasn’t limited to just those were “in the know”; it wasn’t limited to just the good people ... the “good and bad” were invited. The Invitation went to everybody.

This is a Parable of the Kingdom of Heaven. In other words, Jesus is saying that this is what the Kingdom of Heaven is going to be like. Everybody is invited; all are welcome to come. The Invitation to Christ’s banquet – what the church calls the “marriage supper of the lamb” – is issued to everybody, without exception, without limit, without consideration for how good one may be, or how bad, or how rich, or how poor, or how powerful, or how beautiful, or how knowledgeable .... everybody receives the invitation. Everybody.

I don’t think that can be over-emphasized. Some Christians would like to limit the invitation to just those people that look
like them, act like them, think like them, talk like them, love like them, smell like them, or come from the same places as them. But that’s not the case.

‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ (Matthew 22:8-9)

Those who were not worthy had already de-selected themselves by not responding to the first invitation! And, you know something, that happens a lot. The banquet is set, the Feast of the Lord is made ready, Church is happening ... but ... you know how it goes ... we’ll say: “I’ve got other things to do and better places to be.” And, yes, when we do that we, too, run the risk of de-selecting ourselves. Thank God that God is gracious and kind ... far more-so than this King in the Jesus’ parable! And, thank God that God has sent messengers into the streets, inviting everyone they find to the wedding banquet, because that’s us, too. We’ve been invited. We’ve received the Sovereign’s Invitation to the banquet. Will we show up?

The very end of the parable has always been perplexing:

“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:11-14)

I’ve had some people say to me that this proves there’s a dress- code for church: men, suits and ties; women, dresses only! Sorry, but that’s not what this is saying. As with the rest of the parable, the various elements — as in matters of clothing, or robes — shouldn't be taken literally. It’s not so much the guy’s clothing that was the problem, it was that he wasn’t ready to participate in the celebration! When we enter the Kingdom of Heaven – and even that foretaste of the Kingdom here on Earth that we call Church – we must be ready to participate. We must be ready to take part in the celebration. We can’t just sit in church, like lumps on a log, and do nothing! We must be part of the celebration because, yes, we’re part of the wedding party! So, my friends, let’s party!

© 2020, Dr. Gregory S. Neal
All Rights Reserved