"Who Would Refuse Grace? (Pentecost 17)"

“Who Would Refuse Grace?”

Pentecost 17 (L28/Pr 23) - 10/09/11 – Matthew 22:1-14/A

 

A few weeks ago we kicked off our Confirmation session with a gathering of six area churches to hear speaker Wayne Simien.  The 7^th and 8^th grade boys were all impressed by this 6’ 6” former KU and NBA basketball player, while most of the 6^th grade girls whispered together “Who is he, again?”  But Simien is now leading a campus ministry at KU, and he has a powerful message, especially for youth.  He was given the theme “Where is God?” for his talk, but decided to switched it up and instead of focusing on“Where is God?” he asked the question, “Where are YOU?”  What followed was his testimony about what is truly important – and how having himself, and even having basketball at the center of his universe was, in the end, not enough to satisfy his life. 

I got to thinking about that phrase “Where are you?” which appears in the very beginning of the Bible in Genesis.  And I wondered some things for myself and for you:

-  Are you hiding from God - while God walks in the Garden of the evening

calling your name and looking for you?”    

- Are you claiming to love God but not committing to a real relationship?

- Are you rejecting the invitations God sends you over and over again to come and be part of

 God’s family celebration?

Then, I began to read today’s story and the question haunted me in a different form.  The question became not simply who are you, but Who would refuse Grace?

There are a number of characters today who are prime suspects.  The first invitation went to the peerage, nobility, stars & celebs – the ones the King played golf with.  But they were not interested (maybe they don’t like the King, anyway.)  And some were so bored they commit the mayhem of violence.  After the King’s wrath subsides, a new invitation is sent out to anybody who is left - good, bad or indifferent – and since they have nothing at all to get themselves into a royal celebration, the King probably provided not only the party, but the appropriate garments as well.  But there was one guy who wouldn’t put on the tux.  And when the King comes in to survey the banquet, the feast and the magnificent guests in all their borrowed splendor, the only guy he sees is sticking out like a sore thumb. “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?”  No response when the King speaks.  This guy is simply not interested in participating in any way, shape or form.  He was in it for whatever he could get out of it, and so the King assisted him in his return to the outer darkness he was in before the invitation came.

But WHY would anyone refuse the generosity and undeserved mercy of the king?  Well here are two ideas:  Perhaps some people feel that they are “perfectly capable.”  They don’t need anything from anyone at anytime.  They are completely self-sufficient and responsible.  But that takes a lot of energy to carry on long-term. So it must be something else.  This past week I read a review of  the FX channel’s new series American Horror Story.  “…edgy enough to fail… a hit or a crashing disaster…”  FX President John Landgraf says he likes being in that position.  “(What if) you weren’t afraid of failure.  Say your primary goal was not to avoid failure but to sail your ship into uncharted waters and live to tell the tale.  Then you start to make different decisions.”  Maybe the real American Horror Story is that we don’t allow failure!  We just end up sailing our ship into the same shark-infested waters over and over, too afraid to change course, too perfectly capable to ask for a hand up.

Or maybe, those who refuse grace do so because they let others decide their life for them.  They

are the ones who must spend their time “keeping up with the Joneses,” just like the runaway train in the movie – UNSTOPPABLE.   Jesus knows what that is like.  He, too, was on an unstoppable train when he told this story.  He had come to Jerusalem, and he was directly on track to be betrayed, arrested and crucified on the cross.  And you?  You, too are on a train – the train of your life.  Busy-ness grows and grows, the need to accumulate expands and the track to success is full of other people’s expectations.  We are not intentional about living our lives, and we end up on a runaway train on a track we let someone else choose for us.

After Thursday night’s worship, a member called and said he had just heard Steve Jobs’ 2005 Commencement Address at Stanford University.  Apparently, with Jobs’ death, the speech has gone viral on YouTube, and he told me there were some remarkable parallels with the two types I imagined just now.  Jobs gave two pieces of advice to the graduates that day:

#1 - Don’t worry about failing – (Jobs cited as an example that in 1985, he, himself had been fired from Apple, the company he founded.  It simply served to clarify his goals.)

#2 - Do what you love, and by so doing, you will steer your own life course

Maybe those who refuse grace are the ones who are just “living in fear.” Fear of NOT being perfectly capable or able to keep up with the Joneses’ standards and expectations.  Fear of aging and becoming weak, fragile, and dependent; Fear of losing control and even of death.  But, what if we trusted God enough to surrender our fear?  What if we trusted God enough to believe that God wants to be our ardent suitor, our life-long companion, our loving parent, our amazing soul-mate?  What if we trusted God enough to come to the Banquet?

There’s (pointing to the cross) your invitation;

Here (pointing to the font) is where you put on the garment

and the table (pointing to the altar) is already prepared.

So where are you?  Can you find yourself in the story? 

An original invitee, unwilling to attend, so bored you’d commit mayhem? 

A refugee from the devastated city who receives the King’s generosity and comes with joy and thanksgiving;

or the one who slips in for the goodies without any intention of participating in anything other than consuming;

Are you the slave who bears the original invitation and is sacrificed for doing the King’s work with your hands? 

Or are you the slave who brings the good news to the poor and needy? 

Where do you fit?  Where have you fit?  And who will you be tomorrow? 

 

Because as far as God is concerned, you have never had a need to be invited, because you are the reason for the celebration!  YOU are the beloved child in whom God takes delight.  Now, who would refuse that?  AMEN.