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.
Sometimes I wish Jesus hadn't used so many parables! If he had spoken directly to the people in front of him, his teaching would have been addressed only to their situation and we could have stood apart from the pain of the truth spoken in love. As it is, though, the parables speak powerfully across thousands of years and meeet me as I sit here on my porch in the early morning autumn splendor of a day in 2011.
So here's the message: Jesus proclaims that we are invited to God's main event. It is a life and a relationship that has been prepared for all. It includes a sumptuous never-ending meal and a celebration of a abundant living. In a mystical marriage between the creator and all creation there is a union of all that is right now with everything that ever was or ever will be. There is no longer any painful separation between "us"! In this amazing celebration we are gathered around a feast where there is more than enough for everyone.
We dance together on a floor with just the right amount of space with a rhythm and a beat that is perfect for each of us. (As a dancer, that's a dream come true!) And the host of the celebration is there with us... meandering about, guiding us, even dancing with us.
How sad it is that we so often find something better to do. We set the invitation aside. Or we ignore or rudely slam the door of our heart in the face of the messenger extending the invitation on the Lord's behalf.
R.S.V.P. stands for a French phrase, "répondez, s'il vous plaît," which means "please reply." God's invitation spoken through Christ is spoken to us all even now... what shall we say? How shall we respond?
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