God is the invitation

Last week, my church's summer intern gave her last sermon. She spoke on the story from Luke 14:15-24. In this story that Jesus told, someone invited a bunch of people to a big banquet, but then everyone made excuses at the last minute, saying they couldn't come. The man became angry, and because he wanted to go on with the banquet anyway, he asked his servant to invite people from the streets to come - the poor, the crippled, the blind etc. He said no one that had been invited before would be allowed to come.

This story has been interpreted in different ways, but apparently there is not one widely accepted interpretation. One way of looking at the story is that God is the man whose invitation was rejected and who was angry and gave those people only one chance. The idea that God wouldn't give the guests another chance is disturbing. It makes it sound like people have one chance to enter God's kingdom, and if they turn it down, too bad. No more chances. In this sermon, however, the idea was put forward that God is the actual invitation, not a character. God is what flows between the inviter and the invitee. The intern gave an example of this in her own life, when our congregation invited her to come for her internship this year when many other churches would not welcome her because she is a lesbian. She felt God was very present in the invitation to her from our church, and the experience of being part of our congregation and interning with our pastors ended up being a very positive experience for her.

This reminded me of an invitation I received this summer where I felt God in it. Someone who I don't know well, but who has some mutual friends with me, offered me an invitation to her house for a gathering of friends. This followed a couple of years of tension due to past hurt. I didn't directly do anything to hurt her, but because I was in a close relationship with someone who had hurt her, it definitely made it strained between us. Last year at a party that a mutual friend hosted, I approached her and initiated a friendly conversation. That began a healing of that tension. I didn't see her for a year, but earlier this summer at a friend's birthday party, she and I were able to talk easily and be comfortable around each other. A couple of weeks later, she actually invited me to a gathering at her house. I was so honored and felt so much that I should accept that invitation, because it was a peace offering that was really significant to me. It took me going out of my comfort zone to accept the invitation and it was stressful in some ways, but it felt right to go. I was glad I went because I do believe God was present and helped bridge building/peace making/healing to happen. It seems to me that both she and I were listening to God in this situation, and God is happy. And it gives me hope and faith in human relationships and reconciliation.