Sunday, October 22, 2000
Sunday, October 22, 2000
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
God's invitation, thankfully, is open to all, including you!
(Matthew 5:3
NRSV)
In our text for the day, Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a king whose son was getting
married. The king sent forth his servants to invite people to the wedding feast. In Jesus' time,
weddings were huge events that could often last a week or longer. Many parents saved up for
years in order to throw a lavish celebration. For this reason, wedding invitations were serious
matters. They represented an enormous investment. But many who were invited to this wedding
ignored the invitation. This displeased the king, as you might expect, and he told his servants to
forget about those who had been invited and to gather up anyone they could find off the streets
to bring them to the wedding feast instead. And the image we have is a wedding feast attended by
the homeless, the rejected, winos and prostitutes, people off the streets. And there was a great
party--thrown not for society's elite, but for all who would accept the invitation.
Loving God, thank you for inviting me to your heavenly kingdom. Help me to share your
kingdom with those in need. Amen.
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