Unexpected Parties ...

There was a time when an invitation to a party or a feast, was more commonplace.  Just a couple years ago you would not have thought twice about one.  Going to family for Thanksgiving or Christmas has been baked into the psyche since you were a child.  Regular family meals and get togethers were a dime a dozen.  But this year?  Those simple gatherings begin to nudge into the doubt column, or into the dangerous one.  I love my mother, the grandma of my children.  I want to celebrate events with her.  But with covid-19 hanging around, any one of those celebrations could literally expose and then kill her.  So my love for her must take an expression to find safer ways to share and keep in contact with her, but not physical ways for the time being. 

I wish everyone loved my mother as much as I do.  In heaven, this will be the case, the commonplace.  But here, it is not so.  Many claim to love her; but think nothing of attempting to meet with her personally.  Not because she requested it.  But because they did.  They had the time.  They were going to be available.  It was going to be convenient for them.  They do not share my thoughts about trying to protect her, to keep her safe during this time.  Yet all of these folks know about her pre-existing conditions.  She still fights cancer, has only 50% lung capacity and requires oxygen every few minutes to get around.  She is ~80 (not allowed to say the exact number, vanity being what it is).  And all the folks who want personal, physical time, in her presence know all these factors.  Yet their own interests, desires, needs, become the only things of focus for them, and so they push to meet someone whose life they now knowing gamble with.  And this is called love; it’s not.  It is love of self, not a real love of my mother.

Many might say I go too far in trying to be safe.  My hair is longer now than it has ever been in my entire life.  I look horrible (well more horrible I guess 😊).  It isn’t that the hair salons have not re-opened, they have.  But in my mind, the virus is still here.  When our governor opened up our state way too early, and turned everyone loose, I predicted our case counts would explode 4-6 weeks later.  They have.  When the protests took place, I predict our case counts will once again explore in another 4-6 weeks after that.  The lives we try to make matter will now be exposed to a killer who has no compassion, and who has no heart that can be moved with pity.  A killer who preys on the weak and the infirmed harder, but who hits the young and healthy as well, causing damage that will never be undone.  If staying home as much as possible avoids that, then call me crazy.  What is my vanity to look better stacked against that ever-present threat?  But I am a man.  My mother is a woman who has made it a practice of getting her hair done every week since she was very young.  And her vanity could not resist.  So all my efforts to protect her from contact with me (as my wife is a frontline worker), come to naught.  Last week her hairdresser called her the very next day to tell her she was symptomatic and confirmed with covid-19.  My mom has been exposed, up close and personal.

I wonder now, would all those people who claimed to love my mother still want to go meet with her now?  Or would her definite exposure cause them pause?  Her test results are not back yet.  Would you go, to an unexpected party at her house now?  Or would you be less willing to take a risk with your own life, once you understood it was a real risk?  Would you be more thoughtful of your own mother’s life or family’s lives that carrying something from contact with my mother right now might bring to you?  All of the sudden the risk becomes more real to you.  But the risk is a death sentence to my mother should she have it.  Only God can remedy now, what vanity could not resist.  In this climate, invitations to a party or a feast, are unexpected, and very possibly life threatening even when no intent of that ever existed at all.  But as we all know, this was not always the case.  And we hope one day after a vaccine takes its course, and an effective treatment regimen is developed, all the risk and fear and threats of the day will dissolve back into our memories once again.

Jesus once attended a feast at the home of the chief Pharisee of His day.  Talk about an unexpected party invitation.  But He went.  And He remained who He was throughout, even as He ministered.  And as Jesus sat at that feast, He could not resist using the occasion to compare it to the Kingdom of Heaven.  So Luke records in his gospel letter to his friend about what we believe and why, the parable Jesus chose to offer while at this stately feast put on by perhaps the richest and most important man in the area roundabouts.  He picks up in chapter fourteen and verse 15 saying … “And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.”  One of the other guests at this feast recognized the importance of what was taking place.  He was eating with the long-awaited Messiah.  And while that was a stunning event.  It was still here in this wicked world filled with sin.  This believer looked forward in his own mind, to the day in which he might eat again with the Messiah, in the Kingdom that has no end.  To eat then together, would be to truly be blessed.

Jesus responds with his parable in verse 16 saying … “Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: [verse 17] And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. [verse 18] And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. [verse 19] And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. [verse 20] And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.”  Oh the good old days, when no fear entered our minds; but then, only unfortunately taking-gifts-for-granted was the norm.  These first invitees were called of God.  They knew who God was.  They had likely dined with Him on other occasions, taking in His gifts, and knowing the full favor of the Lord.  But on this occasion, they were too busy to make time for some unexpected party.  The association with God could wait, there were other more important things to attend to (as said by every person ever to discard Sabbath observance for similar reasons).  But this was a bigger problem than that.

It took time to get things ready.  Perhaps all the time it takes to make ready the second coming of Jesus Himself.  Time to go home and eat at that final banquet prepared for dining with the Messiah Himself at the beginning of the end of the former.  It was that important.  It was that big a gift from God for us.  We were to be that close.  But we just bought land, and needed to go attend to it.  We used our wealth, the wealth God sees fit to give us as His blessing to us, on you guessed it, on ourselves.  And we needed to go see what our new goodie was like, what it might do.  Our happiness was now to be centered in the things our wealth would buy.  And for that, we would skip out on the second coming itself.  Still others of us were obsessed with career.  Like the invitee with 5 oxen who need to go get them prepared for the fields, we turn our focus to what we do, and allow that to fully define us.  We put career ahead of church, for without our jobs, we would not be able to survive.  We put our trust in jobs, and remove it from God.  We think we only need God when times are bad.  We fail to see that careers are also meant to be gifts from our God, not intended to so preoccupy our minds so that we have no time or space or priority for anything else.  Lastly are those of us consumed with love of family.  Our wives and husbands, yet another gift of God, are taken to such extreme we lose sight of the importance of God in maintaining our homes, assuming if we work hard enough on love we can make love wonderful all by ourselves.  Until we realize the heart is only the province of God, and He alone can make love where no love exists, or has grown cold.

Was Jesus really talking to these guests at this unexpected feast, or was He really talking right to you and I?  Jesus continues with the story in verse 21 saying … “So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. [verse 22] And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.”  Now we get a glimpse at the heart of God when He must yet endure the rejection of those He has poured so much love into.  All those gifts He gives us, for no other reason than He loves us, yet we take the gifts and reject the giver.  The first-called were supposed to be ready.  This was supposed to be the big day.  But none of us were ready to put anything else aside to be with Jesus when invited.  So who was called next to this feast?  Those who had NO ability to attend it on their own.  The poor had no funds to travel there, the maimed needed help to even take one step to this unexpected party.  The halt could not walk, they needed to be carried.  The blind could not see, they needed to be led.  These people knew they had need of Jesus, all the other gifts of the world could not distract them from their own need.  Their need was ever with them, it was a part of who they were.  And if help was needed, if they needed to be carried, or led, they were not too proud to put themselves in the complete care of the Master of the feast in order to attend it.  From a group of church goers who should have had no priority greater than this, to a group of sinners who knew they would never deserve such an honor, but went anyway, fully depending on Jesus to get them there.  And still there was room.

Jesus continues in verse 23 saying … “And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. [verse 24] For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.”  Then the entire world is bidden to come, the gospel is preached in the highways (the places where many travel), and the hedges (the places that may appear dark, or way out of the way).  Everyone is bidden.  But the state of those who were first invited is left horrible.  Because they valued other things more than God, they refused to be humbled to submit themselves for transformation to the love of Jesus.  They thought themselves as already “good enough”, in no need of a Savior.  They already knew of Jesus.  They already knew the scriptures.  They already had forgiveness, though they could not for the life of them, remember what they might need forgiveness for.  They were blessed of God.  Just look at their wealth, or their careers, or their wives and husbands – they had all they needed right now.  What need is there of transformation when you already have the favor of God?  So this would be one invitation they would pass up.  Never knowing it would be their last invitation, and that time is not without limit.

So many of us today are truly in the first-invited category.  We do know of Jesus.  We wait for that second coming.  But while we wait … do we lose sight of everything that matters?  This is the time when our need should be driving us to the realization that it is we who are blind, and crippled in our hearts.  We need this time for His transformation to make us into people we know not yet.  If we push Him away now, we may push Him away forever.  There is so much more to life in this world.  There is so much more to living.  Even in this world of covid-19, there are ways to love and serve others, that protect them at all costs.  Should we not value the lives of others above all things?  Someday, we are to receive an invitation to an unexpected party for eternity, by the Messiah Himself.  Someday, there will be a time when at last everything is ready.  Everything else that is.  If we are to be ready, we must realize we need to be carried there, to be led there.  If all we value then is what is convenient to us, what we have time for.  Then as the parable predicts, there will be many who push aside the final call for other more pressing matters.  For love of self, thinks only, of self.

 

Time to Party ...

When was the last time you heard a Christian saying that its time to party?  A lot of nominal Christians perhaps, but how about Christians that think of themselves as disciples, or apostles, or leaders in the faith.  The problem is not the joy, it is how the term “party” is usually associated with getting to the joy.  The world has commandeered the term “party” to be closely associated with chemical stimulants.  But even the world admits, the chemical stimulation is not as much fun when you are alone.  Indeed, the most fundamental ingredient of any party, whether it be the world’s idea of fun, or perhaps the Christian ideas of the same, is a gathering of other people (no cats just won’t do).  And no matter what kind of party you prefer, or attend, having someone there who is indeed the “life” of the party makes the gathering even better.  A party can go from dull to exhilarating just by having someone attend who is practiced at being the life of the party.  But then again, if there is no-one there to see the life of the party, to enjoy the interaction with them, then the skills are wasted, and the event is generally a failure.

So if you break a party down to its most fundamental elements there are few things revealed.  First, any party to even call itself by that name, needs to include a gathering of people.  Second, parties can be made significantly better by having the “right” person or people in attendance – folks who know how to have a good time and know how to encourage others to do the same.  Third, when you gather people together, things tend to get noisy.  And lastly, no matter how you get there, the ultimate desire underlying any party is to have fun, to attain joy, to lift our spirits and make us feel better about our lives.  A party is a chance to escape the normal pressures of the world and focus on something entirely different.  And what rings the irony gong for me, is the vehicle a party uses to shift our focus upwards and better is the vehicle of human fellowship.  A party is not a party without people.  Ideally these people are ones we know and love, but most of us would be happy to meet new folks as long as they are fun to fellowship with and enjoy lifting their own spirits while at the same time lifting ours.

At most parties there is some sort of food element involved.  Even if only finger foods, or appetizers, having something to munch on is a great ice breaker at parties.  Depending on how much food is involved, a party can evolve from party to feast.  There is not much distinction between a party and a feast except for the amount of food they intend to serve and consume.  Food has long been a vehicle for people to set aside precious time and fellowship while they eat.  When you can’t get people to come to a “party” you can almost always get them to come to “feast”.  Everyone has to eat.  And even eating is much more fun when you don’t do it alone.  Sharing, whether it is ideas, or thoughts, or even commiserating, is a fundamental need of humans.  This is part of the whole “created in Gods image” thing.  Our God longs to fellowship, and enjoy His own creations (food, etc.) with us, the same way we would long to do it with each other, and hopefully with Him.

So inevitably when I look around, I see the faces of Christians, and my first thought is rarely – “this is a party guy or gal”.  No instead my first thought is – “who died?”.  When I study the rest of the American Christian frame, I realize perhaps the party is going extinct, but the feast seems to be alive and well.  Though perhaps McDonalds and the fast food industry is responsible for more of our heft, than the traditional home cooked feasting that would be so much more fun if we could only make time for it.  In any case, Jesus did not intend for Christians to be miserable people, always hungry, and never caught dead in a party (even if we call it a feast).  The intent of our God was that we eat the fruits of His garden, and that it is not good for us to be alone.  We need companionship, just like He does.  We should have way more joy in our lives.  So much joy, that it creeps into our faces and our bodies, and becomes evident to anyone who looks at us.  How do I know?  Luke offers us some insight into Jesus’ thoughts on just this topic.  He begins in his 5^th chapter in the gospel letter to his friend on the fundamentals of our beliefs and where they come from.

Picking up in verse 27 it begins … “And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me. [verse 28] And he left all, rose up, and followed him.”  A lot of us modern day Christians read this passage only for its historical value.  We seem to forget this invitation is not dissimilar to what God offers each of us, every single day.  Jesus asks each of us, would you like to follow me?  Note that He does not ask us for directions.  He already knows where He is going.  The invitation is not for you to join a committee or intend to make the plans “with” Jesus.  His plans for you are already made.  What Jesus asks each of us, is whether we are willing to “follow” Jesus and let Him lead us wherever He wants us to be, even if that is to the same place you have been longing to get away from every day of your life.  Your role in this transaction is simply to follow.  Perhaps better stated to be willing to follow, and then to move where He leads, even if that means standing still while He clears the way out in front of you.  No more decision making for you, if you are practiced enough to begin letting Jesus make them for you (which is the ultimate of submission).  When Jesus asked Levi Matthew this, albeit in person, Matthew left everything and followed Jesus.  It did not matter where Jesus was going, only that Levi Matthew was honored enough to be going too.

Luke continues in verse 29 saying … “And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them.”  And look how Levi Matthew responds.  Not in solemn silence.  Not with black clothing and ashes heaped upon his head for the fortune and property and income he was walking away from.  Matthew was not depressed by what he gave up to follow Jesus – instead he was excited to the hilt to be offered the spot on the Jesus team.  Money is worth nothing.  Jesus is worth everything.  So a happy man, full of joy does, what a happy man full of joy does.  He throws a party and invites anyone who would dare to party with a sinner like himself.  The elite of society will not be coming to this event, at least not inside the house of this sinner.  They will come and peruse the goings on through the windows outside where the “proper” folks go to avoid being contaminated by the sinners who tarry within.  But Jesus goes right in there.  Jesus walks right on in to a house filled with prostitutes, adulterers, men of great pride and little education, men who cheat the Israelite nation on behalf of Rome and themselves.  There was not ONE single saint in that entire gathering outside of Christ.  This was a party.  A full-on respectable party, full of joy.  And the life of the party was Jesus Christ.  If you let Him, He will be the life of every party you throw.  A tradition that does not end here, but continues in heaven for an eternity your mind is too feeble to even comprehend right now.

For those of us modern Christians who are too timid to go to a party because there “might” be alcohol there – get over it.  For those of us Christians who believe isolation is the only solution to keep us from getting contaminated by the sins of other sinners – get over it.  YOU are already the source of sin those others sinners should be avoiding in the first place by that judgmental logic.  Its not them, its you.  No matter what they are doing, you are doing things just as bad or worse.  You may not have been discovered yet, but you are no less guilty than they.  So isolation just leaves you alone in your own sins, it does not prevent you from contracting theirs.  Fellowship is not the cure for sinning, but it can be a vehicle of support for those suffering with this disease including you.  Jesus is the cure.  And Jesus can be found in places of joy and parties and feasts, just like He might be found in the places of worship that resemble more of funerals than of people bound for an infinity of fun.  Jesus attended this party, like He is honored to attend any other you ask Him to.  And He was not in there making everyone miserable with sermons on hell fire and sin and repentance.  He was in there freeing people from sins, lifting them up in joy, making them shout and sing and dance because this new found freedom was like nothing they had ever experienced.  That is my kind of party.  Who cares what you eat and drink if you have Jesus right there making everything awesome.

But alas, for every life of the party, there is usually a Debbie-downer looking to trash the whole event.  For this one, enter the Pharisees.  I forgot, are you one of those?  Nobody thinks that “they” are the Debbie-downer Pharisee, but the judgmental language that seems to just leap out of their mouths, brings everybody down and does nothing to lift anyone out of any sin ever.  We Pharisees have a knack for pointing out what is wrong with anything.  We can tell you the five ways this could have been better, but usually spend our time focusing on who is to blame for the tragedies we invent.  Anyone who comes in our circle usually instantly regrets that decision.  Walk by us in a party and just feel your spirit come crashing down to earth, when it might have otherwise soared to the heights of heaven.  When you look up, you move up.  When you look down, you fall down.  And so not content to just be miserable, we must share our misery in order to feel even the slightest bit of relief from the responsibility we carry of pointing out the sins of the world.

Luke continues in verse 30 saying … “But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners? [verse 31] And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. [verse 32] I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”  Does it sound like Jesus was indisposed in the back bedroom with the hookers who came to this shindig?  Or does it sound like Jesus was at the kitchen table in there counting up the gold and dividing it up to keep a good portion of it Himself?  Does it sound like Jesus was falling down drunk unable to speak without slurring His words?  No.  Jesus was fully alert, sober, and having the time of His life.  These wounded souls were hearing Him, and accepting His call to follow, and let Him free them from their sins.  Again, my kind of party.  And the results were singing, shouting, and dancing.  Everyone was having a blast, not because of their sins, but because He was freeing them from their sins.  And Debbie-downer was worried about the social stigma of hanging out with hookers and tax collectors (hookers being better than tax collectors also called publicans).

Debbie-downer was worried about reputations, and keeping themselves in isolation from sinners in need.  But that is NOT the example of Jesus Christ who we claim to follow.  Jesus did not transact with hookers, He freed them from their sins, and used His church to support them, welcoming them into His ranks.  The same applied to tax collectors.  After all, He just personally invited one of those “scum” to be one of His disciples.  Take a hike Debbie-downer.  This party is for the joy of looking up in freedom.  The life of this party was handing out life like it was M&M’s in a punchbowl.  Relief.  Joy.  And fellowship with like minded folks who appreciated these gifts more than anything wealth could ever buy.  The last thing this party needed was “church leadership”.  Let the party be the party.

But Pharisaical Debbie-downer was persistent if nothing else.  Luke continues in verse 33 saying … “And they said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink? [verse 34] And he said unto them, Can ye make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? [verse 35] But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.”  Jesus says yes Debbie, there is a time coming when you will make persecution of any who find freedom from sin through me a living hell.  The church will persecute the saved from one end of the earth to the other bathing themselves in the blood of those who have found freedom no single doctrine could have ever provided.  In those times, there will be more fasting than feasting.  But notice too, when Jesus is with us, the time to party has come.  When Jesus is with us, it is feast time baby.  Somebody break out the finger food and the chips.  Hold your ears Debbie because there is going to be spontaneous singing, shouting, and dancing when Jesus is nearby.  This is not a Pentecostal thing, this is a Jesus proximity thing.  This is about being connected to the life of the party.  Not just in our imaginations or faith, but in the reality of an eternity spent with Jesus beyond the concepts of time.  We can begin here.  But it does NOT end there.

Jesus must have looked around at the guests of this party.  He notices some have clothing that is torn and ripped.  He notices too the wine bottles in the containers along the wall.  Items readily available for those in this party to see and understand what He means as He continues in verse 36 saying … “And he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old.”  The poor folks there understood, when their clothing was ripped, you could not cover the hole by sewing a new piece of fabric over it.  The new was much heavier and would rip the tear open even worse than before.  If you have an old robe, you need an old piece of fabric to cover it up with.

Luke continues in verse 37 saying … “And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. [verse 38] But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved. [verse 39] No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.”  The same analogy holds true with the bottles of wine.  And here is where Debbie-downer (my nickname for the Pharisees among us) went away angry.  Old doctrine is what old leaders prefer.  New doctrine is what new vessels, that is new converts prefer.  The old choking doctrines of the past, will choke a new convert, focusing only on what you can and cannot do – instead of how you can love and be free in the love of God for others.  It is a completely different way of thinking.  Loving others solves the sin problem like nothing else can.  If I love you, I don’t think about hurting you, lying to you, stealing from you, dishonoring you, you name it.  If I love God first, then the love for others will flow through me.  It is the lack of focus on love in the old set-in-their-ways ideas of the past, that creates Pharisees, kills Jesus, and causes entire generations to be lost.  Jesus brought us a new way to think, a new way to love and live.

The New way for us to follow, was one of submission of our ideas and will to our God.  Just like Jesus did with His Father every day He was here.  He submitted to God.  We submit to Him.  We accept that invitation to follow.  Next, Jesus loved everyone of us He encountered, and did everything He could to make each of our lives better through fellowship, support, and association.  There is no isolation called for in that recipe.  There is no sadness called for in it either.  He did not think of this as sacrifice, why do we?  It was the love in Him that gave Him joy in the giving.  Love can bring you that joy as well.  The world, and sin itself will bring plenty of sadness for us to have to deal with.  But Jesus brings freedom.  He brings joy.  He brings a time to party where we look up and find reason to sing, to dance, to shout praise to God.  My kind of party.  That kind of joy is infectious.  It spreads to anyone who encounters it.  And it is here.  Why not invite that life of the party into what will become the party of your life?  Why not begin to experience joy, not because you find it in a bottle or a syringe, but because true freedom is exhilarating.  Jesus truly is my kind of party.

 

A Crazy Big Wedding ...

A romance is a small and very intimate thing (or at least that is what women are constantly attempting to explain to their daft-thinking men 😊).  Moments spent alone.  Moments that wind up burning into our memories.  A level of intimacy that leads one to think; gee, I would like to do that over and over and over again.  If you gave men a big red button that if pushed would bring happiness, we would stand there for a 100-years pushing that thing over and over and over again.  But it is that mutual recognition that my life was just not complete until I met … [fill in the blank here].  That recognition inspires us to get married and put a lock on the big red happiness button forever.  And so it begins.  What was once a small intimate romance built for two, must now become a “wedding” that is the LAST thing from small and intimate.  The families must be notified (and included).  Unable to choose our blood-relatives there are sure to be hurt feelings (that could spit in our food) if we omit someone from the long list of guests if not participants in our “wedding”.

And where it comes to weddings, everyone (short the groom, who is still scratching his head) has ideas.  It is the bride’s day, so in theory, she should get to decide everything.  But those pesky relatives are sure to insert their “brilliant suggestions” at every turn.  It then requires the diplomatic skills of Henry Kissinger, to navigate potential conflicts, hurt feelings, family traditions, and of course what the bride wants.  No man is equipped for this level of diplomacy so most grooms simply surrender within the first day or two.  Good to have hubby out of the way, but that still requires fiancée to have the patience of a saint, and the ability to compromise for the sake of family unity … all of which drives a significant cottage industry in Vegas for weddings when both bride and groom just cannot take it anymore (or anticipate that early).  The simple truth is, where romance is by definition an intimate thing between two people; Weddings are a public event designed to include everyone in the celebration of a union intended to last forever.  While they are linked, they are rarely described the same way.

Enter God.  Silly us.  We thought a romance was only between two.  It is.  But God wants one too.  He wants His romance with just you.  He loves (for purposes of this example), just you.  He is “in love” with you.  It all started when you were an imagining in His head, so He made you.  He made you with certain skills, abilities, and interests … and then he brought you into existence and set you free to use what He gave you and grow into an even more unique person.  He watches you grow, like an excited parent, always pinning your refrigerator drawings up for all the universe to see.  He cries when you do.  He weeps when you get hurt, and weeps harder when you do the hurting to someone else.  He gets so happy He could dance when you look back home, and seek to build a relationship with Him, attempting to get to know Him, like He already knows you.  So the intimacy of our Creator God, is a level of romance, that would top any known to man.  His love for you was there first, and He hopes it will lure you to His side.  He hopes you will see His big red button of happiness, and decide you want to push it (even if only once in a while), just something to get your end of the romance going.

Silly us.  And we thought all we were ever going to have with our God was a romance built for two.  And no, I am not referring to how God would love to be at the center of your earthly marriage to do things you cannot even imagine getting done.  (Like changing hearts, habits, and minds).  No, I am talking about what God wants to culminate His romance with you.  He wants a wedding.  He wants a crazy big wedding.  He wants something that is a public event that expresses to the entire universe, that you and God, have decided to make a permanent relationship forever and ever.  It is going to be a party.  And yes, while you will not be the “only” bride in this equation, all of mankind in total, will make up the “bride” He has been romancing for so long, it seems like forever already.  He wants cake.  He wants grape juice.  He wants fruit with names we have yet to pronounce.  He plans to pick steak off the steak-growing-tree (why not, He is God after all), and cook it on a grill with mesquite charcoal that would make a Texan green with envy.  (and you “have” to try God’s spicy BBQ sauce, it is the stuff of legend).  He wants witnesses.  He wants a massive affair.  Everyone is invited.

Now enter Matthew recording a parable just like this imaginative story that Jesus first told so long ago.  He starts out his twenty-second chapter in verse one, with the third parable Jesus has been telling church leadership to get them to come back to the source of their religion (instead of replacing Jesus, with doctrine, that the Pharisees preferred and sometimes so do we).  The romance between Jesus and the church leadership is hot on the Jesus side; and ice cold on the leadership side.  It has been a one-way thing for a long time.  Jesus wants to change that (with them, and with you).  So he tries again in story form.  Beginning in verse 1 it says … “And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, [verse 2] The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,”

First let’s get the players and the context.  Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of Heaven is a like a marriage that God has prepared for His only son.  God the Father is the King, who prepares this public event (of reconciliation for us) for His Son Jesus, who has long awaited this event.  The excitement is so thick you could cut it with a knife.  It continues in verse 3 saying … “And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.”  His church is His bride.  God sends His angels, and His servants (prophets, preachers, lay workers, anyone willing to work in His vineyard); the job of these servants was to tell the bride; it is time.  It is time for the bride to come to the wedding.  And “WE” would NOT come!!  Let that sink in for a minute.  The servants when to those who were supposed to be preparing, to those who were supposed to be in a romance with Jesus, but when the time finally comes, WE refuse to come.  This cannot be.  This is unfathomable.  But it is what happens.

The story continues in verse 4 saying … “Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.”  God decides to sweeten the deal.  He knows perhaps some brides get cold feet.  So he tries again, and this time reminds us, of the feast that will be coming.  Sacrifices have already been made.  Meat is ready to eat.  It has already been on the altar and is ready for eating now.  Perhaps the bride didn’t hear the first message, and anyone who loves a fiancée would not just throw in the towel because they have one bad day prior to the wedding.  Someone who loves like God loves, would try again, and intensify the beauty of the invitation, to cut through our blindness, get our attention, and remind us, “this” is what we have all been waiting for. 

Our response continues in verse 5 saying … “But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: [verse 6] And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them.”  Aaarg!  WE made “light of it”.  Who cares.  It is only salvation, why bother with perfection anyway, how good could it really be?  So instead of embracing it, they leave to pursue their own interests, one to a farm to work on creating his own perfection.  Another went to his business commerce to see if he could purchase his own perfection.  Those without jobs, or means, don’t want to hear that the gift of perfection or salvation is really ready for us – so they did what everyone always does – they beat the servants who brought this message.  And when they just would not shut-up (amazed we would so carelessly throw away a thing of such value) – WE killed the messengers.  The church did this.  The old one did it.  The new one did it.  And the one we are in, … is still doing it.  We spit on a gift we should have treasured, then we treat it far worse.

The story continues in verse 7 saying … “But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.”  And a holocaust ensues targeting millions who claim the lineage or membership in the first church carried out by racist hate.  And an entire age is characterized as “dark” when the second church moves from Apostolic to death on horseback, killing all who would reform it, or bring light into it.  And today, we sit on the precipice of global environmental destruction as we still claim to be a bride, but have no idea who our groom truly is, or what it means to love anyone other than ourselves.  It is a dark picture that is painted when man rejects God thinking there are no final consequences to that choice.  Satan’s greatest lie is that we would not suffer for our sins, that we have “all the time in the world” to commit them, until all of the sudden, we don’t.  Evil will one day meet its end.  The only question, will you be consumed by evil when time is run out, or been made free from it so long ago.

But the story is not about rejection, it is about a crazy big wedding, and the wedding must go on.  So on to plan B.  It continues in verse 8 saying … “Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. [verse 9] Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.”  It is so easy to think of this as only applying to the Jewish faith.  They rejected Christ, therefore the church of God was taken from them and given to others.  That’s easy.  But that is not the whole story.  The first Christian church devolved from purity to death, and it was taken from them and spread throughout Protestantism.  And here near the end of times, it may move again from organized denominations to individual believers in Jesus, who are taken out of where they reside today, to follow an end-times calling.  Our organized structures seem to resemble walking a path that does not end well.  They could change.  But it would take change.  And no matter what the church leadership thought, the invitation went out, either with their help, or without it.

The story continues in verse 10 saying … “So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.”  Several things to take note of here.  The invitation is universal.  The attendees were a mix of “good” and “bad”.  Some people destined for the crazy big wedding with God are not perfected yet; they are still on the journey.  And what does every bride need most of all?  A wedding gown.  Usually white.  Usually provided to her by someone else (most often her father).  And what does Jesus offer each of those who choose to become part of His Kingdom, and trust Him to save them … a white robe of righteousness.  That white robe is a gift.  You cannot make it.  You cannot buy it.  You have to humble yourself and realize you need it, to take it when it is offered.  If you keep trying to make one yourself, you are destined for failure.  You don’t beat sin, because you want to, or you choose to, or you kept fighting it.  You don’t beat sin.  Jesus does.  Jesus recreates inside of you, something else to want, something else to do, another way to think, another way to love.  He gives you your white robe of perfection, you don’t do anything, but take it (and maybe say thank you).

The story continues in verse 11 saying … “And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: [verse 12] And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.”  So if you are the only one in a room full of people wearing white robes as bright as the sun; and you are not, you will stick out like a sore thumb.  But there is always one person in church, who is sure, that going to church will save them.  Or another who believes if you pray 4 hours a day, that should do it.  Or another who believes if you memorize the entire Bible, you get a pass to get in.  But they are wrong.  There is no list of things you can do, that will earn you a white robe.  It remains a simple gift, for those humble enough to realize they cannot do it themselves.  Jesus makes you into who He wanted you to be, instead of the mess you made or make.  It is that re-creation, that restores you into harmony with the law.  Without it, going through motions, and abiding by the letter of what is written, is just not enough.  For it never touches your heart.

When confronted with the simple question, why didn’t you take the free white robe?  The man is speechless.  There is no answer to that very basic question.  It is the mystery of iniquity, why would we choose it, over God.  The story concludes in verse 13 saying … “Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. [verse 14] For many are called, but few are chosen.”  The man with the beige wedding gown finds himself thrown out, away from the presence of Jesus, into the utter darkness that exists when you choose not to keep your eyes upon Jesus.  Weeping and gnashing of teeth is to be expected.  When romance ends from rejection you decided, and then you realize what a mistake you have made, it is often too late to do anything but nurse your self-broken heart.  In love there is light.  Without love, or bathed only in self-love, there is only darkness and failure.

But so as not to bury the lead, consider the 14^thverse … “for many are called; but few are chosen.”  This is not a disclaimer about the love of God being limited.  Keep in mind, His invitation went out first to His church, the people who claimed to know Him, and were supposed to be waiting for Him to come and set them free.  But in this story, they rejected Him.  A pattern we see across time.  The invitation then went out to the entire world (no shortage of love there); and both bad and good were invited to the wedding event.  It was understood that some were not at the end of their journey to perfection, they were still on it.  But again, the invitation was universal.  Many were called.  You could say all of us were called.  The question is what we do with our own unique invitation.  For our invitation comes amidst the romance our God continues to want to have with each of us.  He longs for our hearts, and just a little of our time and attention.  He puts aside one day every week for a special romance time, where we could come, hang out with our Dad, and play.  He is always there with us.

But do we make light of it?  Do we tend to our farms, and our commerce, trusting to our wealth to save us, or at least make our lives better?  Do we look away from Jesus into the utter darkness that exists everywhere Jesus is not?  Do we get so tired of hearing His servants invite us to perfection that we begin to ignore them, beat them, or kill them altogether?  Do we repeat the sins of the church leaders who walked before us, refusing new light, and the love of Jesus that might make white robes of righteousness to surround us, robes we could never make on our own.  All these warning are given so we avoid these mistakes not repeat them.  The goal of this story was to insure we are at the wedding, dressed in the robes He provides, enjoying the feast and the spectacle.

And it feels like this is the piece we are the quickest to forget.  A wedding is AWESOME!!  We are enjoying the culmination of our relationship with Jesus – entry into forever.  No more pain.  No more death.  Not just physical pain, or emotional pain, but every kind of pain you have ever had the misfortune of coming to know.  NONE of it, was supposed to be something you got to know, none of it.  Sin was the ugly cause behind every effect; and sin will be forever removed.  Not just from what you do, but from what you think, what you want, and even how you reason.  That sacrifice is already made.  And you don’t need to do it.  It wasn’t about you.  It was done for you.  Instead of you.  All that is left now for you, is a life without pain.  Loving like Jesus loves, sets you free inside yourself.  It keeps you from causing pain to yourself, and to those you love.  It alters your thinking, even how you read scripture.  And it is free.  The message remains “the time is now”; are you ready to join the wedding?  Could there really be any other choice that seems valid to you over that?

Three stories were told to our church leadership forefathers.  How they responded would unfold next …

 

The Perception of Reality ...

To admit one is an alcoholic is the first step in finding a solution to the problem.  Though most of us are not afflicted with this uncontrollable addiction, we refuse to see our condition with self-interest is as great or greater than the desire in an alcoholic for just one more drink.  We too are addicts and slaves, but to self, if not the bottle.  And like an alcoholic our perceptions of our condition are colored by the disease we are enslaved to.  We do not truly see our condition.  We do not truly recognize our peril.  We do not rightly foresee the results of the evil we engage in, and the pain that will inevitably come from our actions.  To begin to heal, we must begin by recognizing how our condition colors our reality, and ask to have our perceptions corrected.  We must admit, we are unable to accomplish this in any way.

Perception is reality.  It is so entirely easy to focus on a particular evil in our lives as being “our problem”.  We contend with it.  Loathe it.  We despise ourselves for engaging in it.  And in the process of becoming obsessed with its removal, we ignore the many other problems that go unnoticed.  We fixate on solving a particular evil that grabs our attention and ignore that perhaps it is not the most dangerous evil we are embracing.  For instance, an alcoholic may believe it is his drinking that lays at the root of all the evil in his own life.  But a more objective review, might reveal that it is his refusal to accept help in any form, that prevents him from finding a solution to not only his alcoholism, but relief from every other evil in his life as well.  While he fixates on trying to stop drinking himself, he openly engages in all manner of other evils and hardly recognizes their impact.  In this instance, it is humility that would open the doors to healing, both for this addiction to drinking, and for all the other evils Christ would be able to free him from.

I have sometimes heard the prayer … “show me the evil in my heart,”  This is truly a dangerous prayer.  Yes we need a reality check from time to time to realize our imperfections and keep our dependence upon Christ to heal us.  But a complete picture of our evil might cause us to lose hope that we would ever truly be cured of it all.  Our God is merciful to us, in that He only reveals a little at a time, as we are able to process it.  The true extent of our evil infection is in fact, terminal.  We suffer from a fatal disease that has only one cure – submission to Christ.  While a hurting infected person craves a cure, if they lack the humility to submit, a picture of their condition might only inspire complete despair.  It takes time for the Savior to humble our will, our minds, and our lives to the point where we are able and willing to accept His healing.

It is said a doctor does not make a very good patient, and a lawyer does not make a very good client.  Perhaps it is because having a level of expertise in their respective fields, colors their ideas about how best to treat themselves or represent themselves in court.  A more objective analysis, i.e. one that is provided by someone else looking out for them, may often be better that what they had imagined for themselves.  Christians are similarly stunted when it comes to self-diagnosis.  We see very little in the mirror of our true selves that needs to be adjusted, yet think ourselves expert at diagnosing others.  We sometimes take our diagnosis of ourselves or others a step too far, believing we are capable of writing a prescription that will “heal” the patient.  We have no such skills.  Not for ourselves, or for others.  Our best and only hope is call on our Master Physician to heal us all.

The problem with our disease is that warps our thinking and our perceptions by default.  Self-focused thinking warps the mind to believe it must be done, it cannot be neglected, and if another suffers for our need, better him than me.  These become our core values.  They are exhibited in our actions and worse our motives.  They drive our bad decisions, and create ripples of pain in those we love.  We are blinded by the disease we carry and it is a common disease.  To look to another human for an answer, is to ask another person with a varying level of infection, how to avoid infection at all.  Humans do not have the answer.  Divinity alone is required to recreate what has already been warped within us.  To restore His original intent takes His hands alone.  We can encourage each other.  We can console each other.  We can love each other.  But we cannot heal each other.  We cannot change our own desires, let alone those of another human.  This was not supposed to be our role.  Our job is to give the hurting, the name of our physician and let Christ do the healing.

But as the disease warps the mind to the negative, healing restores the mind to the freedom and joy that is a part of His intentions for us.  Imagine being a freed slave for the first time.  True freedom.  Not being told when to eat, or limited as to what to eat; not being forced to work or play or do anything.  Our addictions force us, or compel us, to do that which we would not.  Healing removes those horrible cravings of slavery.  We no longer have to fight against them, they are removed.  The chains are lifted.  We are set free.  The shear enormity of the time we have, no longer obsessing with the pain of the past, is in itself a gift from Christ.  The liberation of being unbound to the weights that would drag us down, make us feel as if we could run with the wind.  We become free to sing, to dance, to express our joy at the freedom He gives us in our souls.  Our earthly surroundings become meaningless trappings to a heart that has been freed from the evil that once bound it.  It ignites a passion within us, to experience even more freedom, even less pain.  Healing is the only kind of good addiction.

Gratitude from a heart that has begun to experience true healing can motivate us as well.  Freedom resets our colored perceptions and causes us to see truth more clearly.  We begin to want to express our thanks for this gift.  It is not enough to merely utter the words “thank you” over and over and over again.  We cannot be contained just shouting them.  We feel as though we want to do something to show our gratitude.  We begin to want to share in the feelings God has from serving us.  And as we begin to share ourselves with others we discover what it feels like to love like God loves.  When our love affects someone else, when disinterested benevolence finds an object, we begin to rightly perceive what service is all about.

It is all too easy to give to the poor to quell a guilty conscience.  It is too easy to perform some standard amount to giving, in order to “prove” we are a good person.  Too often, work for others is not really done for their benefit alone; it is done to put check marks on a list of perceptions of holiness; or to attempt to feel better than the next guy in the pew.  Motives matter.  When our service comes from an unchanged heart, our disease colors our motives to the point where we miss the true value of serving.  Service is then a chore, a burden, a responsibility.  It drains our human strength, tires us.  Instead of finding the freedom from service, and boost to our morale, we limit its blessings with improper motivation.  But a changed life, and freed heart, can hardly be made to be still.

To discern the spiritual truth in our Word from the Lord, we must allow Him to create within us a spiritual nature.  To be able to properly interpret His Word, our motives for studying it must conform to His leadership and not our own ideas.  Our perceptions cannot be trusted.  Our ideas are affected by our disease.  And thus our results are less than perfect.  But with submission to Christ comes healing.  And with healing comes discernment.  And with discernment comes wisdom.  And it becomes a spiraling cycle leading up to the throne room of God our Father. 

There is NO cap on how good, good can truly be.  There is no limitations to joy.  There is no sky-based-limit to how far we can take this healing process.  Our limitations are only founded in our unwillingness to let go to Him, what we cherish.  Our perceptions, colored by our disease are what limit us today.  But they need not.  Rather we can relinquish them to Him, and allow the healing to commence and grow and grow till we realize we are no longer limited in any way.  This is the process of sanctification.  This is the joy and power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  There are no caps on happiness any more.  There are no chains capable of holding us back , that He is not strong enough to break.  We have truly been freed to love.  So let us love and explore love like God Himself has done on our behalf.

The Ultimate Party ...

A common misconception whose origin is suspect portrays Heaven as a bunch of disembodied souls, hanging around on puffy clouds, playing harps, with naked winged babies flying around them.  Whereas Hell is portrayed as this incredibly wild party with all the ‘cool’ people attending.  Again, the results of a fairly successful marketing campaign by evil to completely distort our picture of what is good and what is not.  We have already talked about the truth regarding Hell so in this discussion we will talk more about the reality of Heaven.

The first myth to debunk regarding Heaven is the internal feeling you would have while experiencing it.  Start with joy, add a huge portion of bliss, throw in some perfect contentment, pour on the excitement and you are only beginning to get the feeling.  Every drug in use in this world is such a POOR counterfeit to the unbridled happy feeling of experiencing Paradise.  Now add to this incredible feeling, a completely clear head.  There is no need to have your judgment and perception impaired in order to feel this good.  There are no problems to escape from, no pain that nags at you in any way to offset.  Better than sex, maybe.  Adrenaline, endorphins, you name the chemical, they can’t begin to touch what is possible here.

Remember too that your new body is aged perfectly (no longer a senior citizen, or a teenager, but somewhere perfect in between).  Your new body will be revised / recreated in perfect health.  Those who suffered through infirmity here on Earth will have this incredible new sensation of perfectly functioning bodies in Heaven.  No moles, freckles, disfigurements of any kind; perfect teeth, perfect hair, perfect nails, you name it.  All mental disability wiped away forever.  And what’s more you will not be neutered; there will still be man and woman as before.  All the sensory organs sharpened 10 times greater than today.  Your strength and size will be increased to the levels before sin decayed us over the years. 

You will not be overweight.  What you eat and drink (and you will eat) will be transformed directly into energy the body needs without any waste by-products (no more need for a bathroom, although I love a large tub).  The food in Heaven will consist of a seemingly endless variety of fruits, grains, nuts, spices, and vegetables.  No flesh foods, as there will be no killing of any living creature throughout the rest of eternity; but these former foods we so crave here on Earth will mean nothing in comparison with tasting the absolute perfection of Heaven grown offerings.  Not too certain about animal by-products such as dairy, eggs, etc. – but I hope to use these ingredients to make the best pizza I have ever eaten J

And what is there to do in this perfect place?  How about imagine, create, or learn.  How about expanding your mind regarding history, mathematics, physics, other world studies, God’s character, etc..  How about sports.  Want to swim, surf, scuba, skate, and ski in settings that would astound both the eyes and the body?  How about music, art, or sculpture?  How about exercise.  Want to run for miles without getting tired, climb incredible mountain peaks, fly through the air without the need of wings (a simple matter of learning to adjust gravity).  And what would all these activities be without good old company.  You could do them all with God Himself.  You could invite generations of family members and friends to join you.  It might be a little weird watching your Great Grandmother, your Mom, and your Daughter all go skiing with you (especially when they all look like they are maybe 30 years old), but this is all real.

Then comes the truly mind expanding ideas about Heaven, like for instance the ability to travel at the speed of thought (perhaps bending time and space).  How about the idea of space exploration without the need of technology, or protection from the elements that exist in space; find out what is at the end of a black hole.  The idea of sitting at the feet of the Creator God of the Universe and just listening to what He says directly to you.  Imagine how good it would feel to be asked by God to do something for Him, which only you could do.  Direct two-way communication with the infinite God of the Universe.  Socialization with people from all walks of life, from all time periods on planet earth, with beings who have never experienced the curse of evil; and this is just the beginning of what Heaven would be like.

So the reality is perfect food, perfect weather, perfect place, perfect people, perfect bodies and senses, and endless activity to do, think, or invent.  That is the Ultimate definition of a party.  And unlike any party you have ever been to here on Earth, this one you don’t get tired of, you don’t need a rest from, and can keep going forever.  So how did we come about having such a lame alternative posited rather than this picture?  It starts with concept of ‘when’ do you get to Heaven.  Heaven is a literal place.  It is also known as the city of God, a place where Christ builds out homes for each of us who have accepted His sacrifice for our penalty.

And when do we arrive at this place?  When He comes to take us home to it, is the simple answer.  He described this future moment in time in His own words saying “as you have seen the Son of Man ascend into the clouds, so it shall be on His return”, “as lightning shines from the east to the west”, and “With a loud voice and a trumpet”.  These words of Christ Himself portray not a secret rapture but a worldwide event, witnessed by everyone.  He goes on “the dead in Christ shall arise first”.  This means everyone who has ever lived will be awakened out of their sleeping state to greet their Lord in the air.  Notice He did NOT say, He was bringing back disembodied souls from their puffy clouds in order to re-inhabit their bodies once again.  The dead “who know not anything” are called to arise first as Christ comes back to this planet to reclaim His own.  The text goes on stating “then we which are alive and remain will be caught up in the air”.  This states there will be living servants of God, who are eagerly awaiting His coming when it occurs, we are the living ones, not those who have died before us.

The idea of a disembodied soul can be traced all the way back to the Garden of Eden, when the snake told Eve she would NOT die.  If Eve’s soul lived past her body’s death, if she was capable of intelligent thought, interacting with others, enjoying Heaven or being punished in Hell (another myth we debunked earlier), then the Devil was telling the truth.  Eve did not really experience death.  She was in fact immortal.  She simply transitioned from one form of intelligent life to another using death as the portal.  This simply was NOT true.  When Eve died, she decayed and “returned to the dust from whence she came”.  She had no more a part in the living world.  The breath of life God had breathed into her which then made her a living soul, returned to God.  She was dead.  No ability to communicate with others, no enjoyment or punishment, much more like dreamless sleep.  She still sleeps and awaits the trumpet sound that will call her forth out of her grave, away from the bondage of this world of evil, to a world of perfection and association with God Himself.  At that time, she will eat, she will drink, she will make-love with Adam once again.  She will talk to God, and to us, just like every other person who accepts God’s gift of salvation.  I would love to meet Eve, along with a long list of folks I have read about who lived before me.  It’s another one of the perks of Heaven.

Some Christians have a hard time accepting the idea that going to Heaven may not be an immediate result of a loved one dying.  They are looking at it all wrong.  For the sleeping lost loved one, time is passing by in the blink of an eye.  Almost as soon as that person takes their last breath, their next one will be to a visibly returning Lord.  For them, the time seemed like an instant.  It is for us, who live on, that time drags its feet.  Eve has no idea that more than 5000+ years have passed since she died.  For her it was just a second ago. 

Another group who has a hard time living without the soul somehow transcending our bodies in a next stage of existence are atheists, pure scientists, and agnostics.  The concept of complete and utter non-existence is too hard to swallow for these folks as it leaves them NO hope at all past their meager years on earth.  So the idea that while science can explain none of it, an intrinsic ability to preserve what makes us us, becomes the only acceptable rational for those who deny the existence of a loving God.

Yet the truth offers so much more hope to all of us.  The idea that there is hope past a grave, there is a heaven that exists and offers us more than we can even imagine while confined to this mortal existence.  We will experience it together with our loved ones for the first time.  This is the very essence of hope itself.  And the absolute ease of attaining this goal, we do not need to work for it, it is a gift to us.  We were given this gift by a God who loves us this much.  Eternity will be anything but boring.  It will be the ultimate party.  It will surpass anyone’s wildest ideas about happiness.  And best of all, it will never end.  That reality is what God has in store for each of us.