Thoughts for the Day

Jesus said, ‘Someone gave a great dinner and invited many. At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, “Come; for everything is ready now.” But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, “I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my apologies.” Another said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please accept my apologies.” Another said, “I have just been married, and therefore I cannot come.” So the slave returned and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, “Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.” And the slave said, “Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.” Then the master said to the slave, “Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those who were invited will taste my dinner.”’

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Our life can be punctuated by great feasts - celebrations of all kind. We can have feasts to celebrate significant birthdays, from coming of age at 18 years old to 100+ years, and some of these will be memorable not least because of the people who were present - our closest friends and family. We also celebrate weddings, baptisms, and confirmations with food, and even funerals are times to gather people together for a meal. Each of us will have been invited to join those we know for special events and will have memories of what we wore and what happened.

It's important to note that Jesus saw the Kingdom of God in terms of a celebration, a party, or shall we say a banquet.
The Kingdom of God reflects the happiest of times in our life. So as Christians who have accepted Christ's invitation to join the Kingdom (which is partially here already), we are called to be happy.

Perhaps we can we learn from these quotes:

• 'The minister went out onto the pavement and invited passing men and women into the church service. In a mournful tone he spoke to several passers-by, but each one glanced at him and went on his way. However he learned his lesson when one man cynically looked at his solemn face and said “No thanks, I've troubles enough of my own!” '
• Robert Louis Stevenson once wrote in his diary: “I have been to church today, and I am not depressed!”

Lord Jesus Christ,
You called us into Your Kingdom,
and we have responded.
Help us to be joyful at Your offer
and to celebrate with others
all that is on offer.
May we learn to share the good news
of the Kingdom with those around us
and show in our lives
what it means to us.
Amen.