It's Party Time
Two stories:
A couple months ago there was a story that was reported in the Associated Press about an engaged couple who called off their wedding at the 11th hour. It was only a couple of weeks before they were supposed to walk down the aisle, but something big happened - big enough to cancel (or postpone) the biggest day of their lives.
Which is all fine and good. Probably a good decision. The thing was the bride's family had already rented the out the reception space at the tune of $10,000. The deejay was paid, the cake was ordered, and the chef booked. You don't get out of something like that at the 11th hour. You can get out of the wedding, but you still have to pay everyone in full as the contract they signed said.
10,000 bucks. Oooops.
So now what?
Well, the former-bride-to-be called all her family and said that they were going to have a party anyway. It would just be without the other half of attendants (the former-groom-to-be's family).
But, if only half the party is going to show up - what would they do with the other empty half of the room.
Well, I'll tell you what they did: nearby was a shelter for homeless women and children. There were about 50 of them in residence at the time. And, they all got invitations.
50 homeless women and children, a few of the volunteer workers at the shelter, and the bride's family ate salmon, shrimp, and steak. The chef exchanged the wedding cake for strawberry shortcakes. And they all danced the night away together.
And when it was all over, the people at the shelter took back with them the leftovers.
Wow.
The second story took place a little closer to home.
You all know by now that over 300 evacuees from the Super Dome in New Orleans were taken to Camp Dawson, in Kingwood, West Viriginia, just an hour or so from here.
Many of those people were among the poorest of the poor. They had little to begin with, and they had nothing now.
Nothing but their lives. And each other.
There was one engaged couple who were taken to Camp Dawson. They were so thrilled to be alive, and so thrilled to have each other, that after 3 years of engagement they decided that it was finally time to tie the knot.
Like right then!
So, Red Cross workers turned into wedding coordinators and ushers. People from Kingwood donated a wedding dress, a tuxedo, the wedding cake, flowers, a harpist - everything they needed for a blowout wedding. A nearby resort even gave them a honeymoon night on the house!
They invited the Governor of West Virginia to attend - and he did.
After the wedding on the Army base, the adjacent country club opened its doors for the reception - of course free of charge.
And the residents - the other evacuees - cooked real gen-u-ine cajun food.
And, as if that isn't enough, the couple invited everyone who had ever volunteered at the Camp Dawson shelter to attend.
Gosh I wish I hadn't heard about this all after the fact! I love cajun food!! And, I would have loved to have been part of this celebration of love, life, and redemption with those beautiful people.
Wow.
Do you see the similarity in those two stories?
Of course there are major differences. In the first story a $10,000 reception was opened to people who never could have dreamed of eating that well, or being treated so well. And in the second story it was the victims of this disaster who opened the doors to people who hadn't gone through what they had.
But, in both stories the doors were opened. The tables were made available to all. Money, race, background - none of it mattered. The doors were thrown open in love and hospitality.
According to Jesus in this morning's Gospel lesson, that is a glimmer of what the Kingdom of God will be like. All will be welcome at the feast. All receive an invitation to God's banquet - regardless of who they are, or what kind of station they hold in life. God invites all.
I remember helping friends with their wedding plans. They had X number of dollars to work with and a whole host of friends and relatives to invite. To fit their plans into X dollars they had to cut people from the invite list.
Old Aunt Sally? Haven't seen her for a while - out. Uncle Buck? He gets roudy at receptions - out. Our cousins from Alaska? Well, they won't come anyway so we'll send then an invitation to make them feel included, but we know they're out.
I also know people who have combed through their address books intentionally screening out people - even people from thier family. To be honest, there were people ion my family that I thought long and hard about inviting or not.
But, this is not how God works. He throws out the address book, and tells people to comb the streets - twice - so that everyone - EVERYONE knows that they have a place at the table.
There are just two things left:
1) Just getting the invitation isn't enough. You have to RSVP. You have to respond. You have to show up and take your place.
And, 2) you have to be prepared to act like a guest in God's house. All may be invited, but there is a code of conduct at God's party - there's a dress code. You can be invited, show up, and be kicked out - which may just be worse than rejecting the invite in the first place.
We - all of us - are worthy enough - important enough - and loved enough to have been given an invitation live with God, and have God live in us. All we need to do is show up, and live in a way that honors him.
After that - it's party time!
A couple months ago there was a story that was reported in the Associated Press about an engaged couple who called off their wedding at the 11th hour. It was only a couple of weeks before they were supposed to walk down the aisle, but something big happened - big enough to cancel (or postpone) the biggest day of their lives.
Which is all fine and good. Probably a good decision. The thing was the bride's family had already rented the out the reception space at the tune of $10,000. The deejay was paid, the cake was ordered, and the chef booked. You don't get out of something like that at the 11th hour. You can get out of the wedding, but you still have to pay everyone in full as the contract they signed said.
10,000 bucks. Oooops.
So now what?
Well, the former-bride-to-be called all her family and said that they were going to have a party anyway. It would just be without the other half of attendants (the former-groom-to-be's family).
But, if only half the party is going to show up - what would they do with the other empty half of the room.
Well, I'll tell you what they did: nearby was a shelter for homeless women and children. There were about 50 of them in residence at the time. And, they all got invitations.
50 homeless women and children, a few of the volunteer workers at the shelter, and the bride's family ate salmon, shrimp, and steak. The chef exchanged the wedding cake for strawberry shortcakes. And they all danced the night away together.
And when it was all over, the people at the shelter took back with them the leftovers.
Wow.
The second story took place a little closer to home.
You all know by now that over 300 evacuees from the Super Dome in New Orleans were taken to Camp Dawson, in Kingwood, West Viriginia, just an hour or so from here.
Many of those people were among the poorest of the poor. They had little to begin with, and they had nothing now.
Nothing but their lives. And each other.
There was one engaged couple who were taken to Camp Dawson. They were so thrilled to be alive, and so thrilled to have each other, that after 3 years of engagement they decided that it was finally time to tie the knot.
Like right then!
So, Red Cross workers turned into wedding coordinators and ushers. People from Kingwood donated a wedding dress, a tuxedo, the wedding cake, flowers, a harpist - everything they needed for a blowout wedding. A nearby resort even gave them a honeymoon night on the house!
They invited the Governor of West Virginia to attend - and he did.
After the wedding on the Army base, the adjacent country club opened its doors for the reception - of course free of charge.
And the residents - the other evacuees - cooked real gen-u-ine cajun food.
And, as if that isn't enough, the couple invited everyone who had ever volunteered at the Camp Dawson shelter to attend.
Gosh I wish I hadn't heard about this all after the fact! I love cajun food!! And, I would have loved to have been part of this celebration of love, life, and redemption with those beautiful people.
Wow.
Do you see the similarity in those two stories?
Of course there are major differences. In the first story a $10,000 reception was opened to people who never could have dreamed of eating that well, or being treated so well. And in the second story it was the victims of this disaster who opened the doors to people who hadn't gone through what they had.
But, in both stories the doors were opened. The tables were made available to all. Money, race, background - none of it mattered. The doors were thrown open in love and hospitality.
According to Jesus in this morning's Gospel lesson, that is a glimmer of what the Kingdom of God will be like. All will be welcome at the feast. All receive an invitation to God's banquet - regardless of who they are, or what kind of station they hold in life. God invites all.
I remember helping friends with their wedding plans. They had X number of dollars to work with and a whole host of friends and relatives to invite. To fit their plans into X dollars they had to cut people from the invite list.
Old Aunt Sally? Haven't seen her for a while - out. Uncle Buck? He gets roudy at receptions - out. Our cousins from Alaska? Well, they won't come anyway so we'll send then an invitation to make them feel included, but we know they're out.
I also know people who have combed through their address books intentionally screening out people - even people from thier family. To be honest, there were people ion my family that I thought long and hard about inviting or not.
But, this is not how God works. He throws out the address book, and tells people to comb the streets - twice - so that everyone - EVERYONE knows that they have a place at the table.
There are just two things left:
1) Just getting the invitation isn't enough. You have to RSVP. You have to respond. You have to show up and take your place.
And, 2) you have to be prepared to act like a guest in God's house. All may be invited, but there is a code of conduct at God's party - there's a dress code. You can be invited, show up, and be kicked out - which may just be worse than rejecting the invite in the first place.
We - all of us - are worthy enough - important enough - and loved enough to have been given an invitation live with God, and have God live in us. All we need to do is show up, and live in a way that honors him.
After that - it's party time!
posted by Fr. Rick Morley at 1:45 PM
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