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“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come. Matthew 22:2-3 NIV
The Toronto Star invited teachers to submit excuses they had received from their students. They received these examples:
- A student explaining why he was late: "I was kidnapped by aliens and interrogated for three hours."
- Another student, telling why he had failed to turn in his essay: "The bus driver read it and liked it so much he kept it to show to his passengers."
- Another: "I got mugged on the way to school. I offered him my money, my watch, and my phone, but all he wanted was my essay."
- Mike, a 14-year old, came up with a "watertight" excuse for arriving at school an hour late with his pants soaked to the knees: "I was just about to board the bus when I found I'd lost my ticket. Since it would take too long to walk to school, I hopped a fence onto a golf course. I headed for a creek that crisscrossed several fairways until I found a likely spot for lost balls.Retrieving three balls from their watery graves, I then made for the clubhouse where I sold the balls for bus fare! And that's why I'm late."
Mike's entry won.
The obvious meaning behind Jesus' parable of the wedding banquet in Matthew 22 is that the righteous people had rejected the Messiah. They all had excuses. Because of this, the King opened the invitation to his banquet to anyone who would come, good or bad. Those who rejected the invitation don't get a second chance. But to anyone who will come, the door is wide open!
Have you ever looked for a good excuse not to go to a wedding or party? Probably so. If it is something you really want to go to, you would clear your calendar and make it happen. If not, you find an excuse!
This parable is being reenacted every day in the lives of people and inside and outside the church. A great enemy of faith and salvation is preoccupation; God is simply crowded out. We do not disbelieve in him, nor do we despise Him, we simply don’t have time for Him. We are not irreligious. We’re just busy. We’re tired. Other matters are pressing! Heaven can always wait.
Does that ring true for you? Or for those around you? Do you have time for God? What are the excuses you are using and why? The Good News is that God has time for you and me, and is inviting us to take part in His wedding banquet for eternity. The door is open, ready, wide open. Come!
In the name of Jesus;
Pastor Dan
ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Join us this Sunday for worship with First Evangelical and Holy Cross churches. We pray you experience God’s love and grace in worship. Stay for fellowship and a delicious lunch following worship.
- Help us make a joyful noise unto the LORD! Join the Church Choir in rehearsing following worship on Sunday, October 18th, and will singing in worship on November 1st.
- Help us build a safety and security fence for the new playground! We will have a “Noisy Offering” today and October 25th during worship. Drop your loose change in the buckets as they pass by and make a lot of noise! Your loose change and paper donations will go to help protect the equipment and keep the kids safe from the cars in the parking lot for years to come.
- Join us on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 p.m. in the chapel for our new Bible Study, “See Through the Scriptures”. We will go step-by-step through the biblical narrative from Genesis to Revelation, putting everything in clear context. This week we will talk about the role of the prophets.
- You are invited to a celebration worship service honoring Pastor Alva and First Lady Elaine Donaldson on Saturday, October 11th at 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. They have served the Church of God 7th Day for over 50 years.
- The Light WPB is hosting a Job Fair with Better Together on Saturday, October 17 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Chapel. If you, or you know of someone looking for a job, please share this information with them. Text JOBS to (844) 987-3949 to start.
