October 12 - Invitations to a Party
In the Old Testament reading, Isaiah wrote: On
this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food,
a feast of well-aged wines…
In the gospel, Jesus told a parable about a king who
was giving a great wedding party for his son.
In between those party images, our 2nd lesson says:
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I
will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. Philippians 4:4
Notice that Paul says nothing about winning or losing,
whether you’re having a bad day or a good day.
Instead his focus is on the Lord.
Rejoice in the Lord always in the certainty that Jesus is with
us in good and bad. Its the assurance that the Lord will somehow, and in some way, get us
through.
It’s the promise
that we are in God’s hands,
that he is always working for our
good, and because of that we can view life positively - seeing reality from His perspective.
Do not worry about anything, but in
everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be
made known to God. 6:6,7
"Do not worry about anything?" How can a
person not worry when so many things can go wrong in our lives today: our
health can deteriorate, our jobs can close down, our financial situation can
worsen, and then there’s global warming and the state of the American economy.
How can a person not
worry?
Anxiety
is produced by the feeling that
we’re alone and helpless. But we are not alone. The Lord is near, and He has pledged Himself to help us.
Paul says that instead of worrying we should talk
with the Lord about whatever it is that's troubling us. When you start to
worry, instead pray.
Thus by prayer, discussing our concerns with our Lord; by supplication, asking
our Lord for help; and by thanksgiving ,thanking our Lord for all that he has
done, and will do, for us -- by doing these three things - prayer,
supplication, thanksgiving we can free ourselves from constantly worrying.
Because prayer keeps us focused on Jesus, freeing us from ruminating on the adversity.
As we set our minds on Christ,
and His power, as we share with Him our joys and sorrows, we can develop a new mind set, a positive attitude.
“Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer make your
requests known to God.”
Prayer not
only enables us to ask God for help, but
it reminds us that God is at work in ways that we can not understand. It gives us a new perspective. Perhaps
our loss, our failure, can somehow
be used by the Lord to take us in an entirely new direction. It inspires optimism in us, for we know that
God can take what others intended for evil, and turn it around, transform
it, so that it works for our good.
We make our
requests known to God, but to realize that God will not always give us what we
want - but he will give us what we need - give us what God calls the peace of
God.
And the peace of God, which surpasses
all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 4:7
If we rely on the Lord, we will know the peace of
God, which passes all understanding.- a total sense of
well-being that comes from the Lord, and links our hearts and minds to Jesus.
That’s a
great gift, even when we things aren’t going your way - and especially when
you’re losing. It’s a great gift when
you are struggling in school, or feeling miserable at work - when you’re
dealing with anxiety and depression - or mourning the loss of a loved one. The peace of God which surpasses understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ
Jesus.
Whatever is true, whatever is
honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever
is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of
praise, think about these things. 4:8
A young man and woman are seated at a
restaurant. They’ve been dating for some
time and she ask: “I want you to share with me your hopes and dreams, your joys
and passions.”
“Okay, but be forewarned. My hopes and dreams all concern my passion
for the Dallas Cowboys.”
Instead of the Dallas Cowboys, focus on the
positive. Think about the many ways you
have been blessed.
If we see ourselves as the
recipients of God’s blessings, it undermines negative thoughts.
We can focus on what we have, not on what we’ve lost. If
we keep our eyes open to the good
things God has done for us, we can be optimists rather than
pessimists.
If the Lord has brought you thus far,
He’s not going to let you down now.
And even now he continues to bless you, so be positive, the Lord
can turn this situation around -
just be open to His guidance.
Did you all watch the presidential debate on Tuesday
evening?
Me neither.
We’re in the midst of the presidential campaign. The church can be a neutral, meeting ground -
a community where people of diverse opinions and perspectives can gather and
talk. Pastor Rick Warren, who hosted the first televised discussion by Obama
and McCain said “I’m not left wing, and I’m not
right wing.” Then what are you? “I’m the whole bird.”
Maybe that the describes the
church. It’s not left or right wing, but
the whole bird. Within the church, both
conservative and liberal perspectives should be accepted as parts of a fully
formed Christian view.
Paul wrote to
two members of that church in
We can’t
agree about every issue - and we don’t have to if we are of the same mind in
the Lord - serving and praising the same Lord.
The challenge for the Christian community is to take both liberals and
conservatives seriously, and not disparage the beliefs of either the left or
right.
We can celebrate whatever is pure and pleasing and
commendable - whether it’s liberal or conservative in origin. We can praise
in whatever is excellent or worthy of praise whatever party proposes
it. For finally we are
of the same mind in the Lord, and stand firm in the Lord.
A woman arrived late for a wedding.
As she came rushing up to the door, an usher asked her for her
invitation. "I have none," she snapped.
"Are you a friend of the groom?" he asked.
"Certainly not!" the woman replied,
"I'm the bride's mother."
The kingdom of heaven may be
compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. Matthew 22:2
This is big:
regal and opulent, joyful and abundant. The invitation is free.
When those on the original guest list can’t make it,
the king says;
“Go to the street corners and invite
anyone you can find.” And the wedding
hall was filled. Matthew 22:9,10
Often in the Bible, God’s kingdom is compared to a
great and wonderful party - a place of rejoicing and joy. And the Lord would invite everyone.
Who delivers those invitations to the celebration?
In the parable, it’s His servants, which translates
into you and I. We are His messengers. Jesus said “Go, invite others, so that my
house will be full.” Luke 14:23
We are to offer others the opportunity to Rejoice in
the Lord always, and thus to experience the peace of God that surpasses human
understanding.
But there is a disturbing conclusion to the parable:
The king noticed a man who was not wearing a
wedding robe, and said; “How did you get in here without a wedding robe?” Then
he threw him out. Matthew 22:11,12
The wedding garment would have been provided by the
host, for the guests, since they were brought in directly from the
streets. The failure to wear the garment
provided by the host was an insult.
What does that mean?
God, the gracious host, invited all to the great
feast of salvation - the good and the bad.
God issues an un-merited invitation to undeserving people - and in
addition offers His grace, a covering of righteousness.
But the response is left to the individual. Some ignore his invitation entirely. Others accept the invitation to the feast,
but don’t accept his grace, symbolized by the wedding garment.
At Mary Ranney’s funeral on
Tuesday night there we acted out the symbolism of that “wedding robe”. As I read from the book of Romans about the
promise of baptism, the assisting ministers took a large white cloth, the
wedding robe, and placed it over the casket so it was completely covered. That symbolized Mary being covered by the
righteousness of Christ.
For that is the promise: that Almighty God does not
look at me and my sin, but rather at Christ’s righteousness which covers my
sin. I am acceptable to God because I
belong to Christ the savior.