SolLuna, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

12/3

You Are Invited to Be Chosen!

Matthew 22:1-14
Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He 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. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.

Then he said to his slaves, '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.

"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."

κλητοὶ or ἐκλεκτοί, Invited or Selected

It is a party.

The host is the father and the guest of honor is the son. It is his wedding.

Invitations have been sent far and wide. The whole community is encouraged to come. Food has been prepared. Tables have beenb set. All that is necessary is to dress in the appropriate clothing, accept the invitation, and show up.

Some heard and ignored in Jesus' story. They were certainly and thoroughly inivted, wanted, and encouraged, but they were not among the select because they did not elect to accept.

Others were more hostile in their refusal to show up.

Still others came, but did not appreciate the importance and majesty of the invitation, the privilege of being welcomed, or the need to dress for the occasion. They were expelled and felt more than just left out. They anguished as if they had missed the event of their lives. They had been invited, but in their own way, had not really accepted the invitation for what it was.

The rest celebrated and it was a joyful time.

Jesus is talking about those who reject his invitation to the the great feast of his kingdom of love, righteousness, peace, andjoy. They were called, but in that they chose to reject the call, they were not chosen.

There is a rule of thumb among those who invite people to various sorts of meetings:

"A 'no' is a 'no' all of the time.
A 'maybe' is a 'no' 95% of the time.
A 'yes is a 'no' half of the time."

And there are the 'yes' folks who show up late or half-heartedly..

You have all heard of the professors who locked the classrooms after the time of class start. latecomers were not welcome.

Jesus is saying that God is a welcoming and inviting Father, but God will not coerce or compell people to come. He is calling all, but only choosing those who choose to show up dressed for the party. He loves all, desires all, and invites all, but leaves the ball in our courts.

Do we prefer to live on the outside of the banquet hall or might we consider walking inside?

This is also the message of Advent.