Reformation Lutheran Church A Congregation of the ELCA

Sunday, March 18

Read Matthew 22:1-14

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. (vv 8-10)

GOD INVITES

The splendidly engraved invitation invites me to an audience with the king. Me? An audience with the king! Me? There must be some mistake. But there it is, unmistakably addressed to me and to anyone else I might want to bring. What a thrill! Unbelievable! An awesome privilege!

But after the initial excitement wanes, troubling thoughts intrude. What am I going to wear? My clothes are threadbare. And even if I buy a brand-new outfit - the best I can afford - I'll still look shabby compared with the king's rich robes and the elegant atmosphere of the royal court.

And what can I bring as a hostess gift to show my appreciation for the hospitality? I can't afford to buy a truly appropriate gift. I do have that collection of treasures I prize so dearly. Maybe something there would make a fitting gift. But when I look in my bag of baubles, I am appalled and embarrassed. There is nothing there to impress the king. Nothing! The king is wealthy beyond imagination. There isn't a thing I can offer that he doesn't already have in abundance. Alas! I am on the verge of despair.

Then I look again at the invitation and notice a sentence at the bottom near the request for RSVP. Can it be? Surely not. But there it is, in plain language: "Come as you are. No gifts, please. Bring a friend." Wow! What a party the king is planning. I'd be foolish to pass it up!

Isn't this a parable of God's astonishing invitation to all sinners? God does mark iniquities, but then God offers a robe of Jesus' righteousness to cover those iniquities.

As for the hostess gift, our Lord Jesus has already taken care of it. So I come empty-handed, just as I am.

RSVP: Yes, Lord. Yes! Just as I am, I come.

Wil Johnson
In memoriam
Originally published in 2007


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