An Open Invitation

     At first glance this parable feels like a hard text about judgment, but when viewed through the lens of God’s grace, there is good news.

     Many commentators read this parable as an allegory, with the king standing for God. Maybe so. If it is, it shows how God keeps reaching out to you and I. Again and again, God sends messengers to bring us in. Our God does not give up on us and, for that, we can be forever grateful. And look at who gets invited: everyone, both good and bad! In a world where blame and shame are practically a national sport, a king like that is a surprise, and it is good news. You could even read the story as two parables instead of one. Either way, it points to grace and mercy more than judgment and punishment.

     Underneath this parable is a question most of us carry around, even if we never say it out loud: “Am I okay? Do I really belong?” Lutherans have a “churchy” word for this… “Justified.” Am I right with God?

     Think of the wedding banquet as a picture of life with God, a table set for you and I. Then the invitation itself is God’s answer. Nobody is asked for a résumé at the door. None of us earned our seat. We are simply told, “You are wanted here.”

     So why would anyone say no? Because they have other things on their minds.? The people in the story are busy with their family responsibilities, investments and their businesses. Many of us do the same thing. We let our accomplishments, our work, and our property tell us what we are worth, and we have no time for an invitation that we know little about and we didn’t earn.

     In the movie “Batman Begins” Batman says “It’s what we do that defines us.” A lot of us live that way. Our jobs, our families, and how well we perform in them tell us who we are and whether or not we are okay. I want to be the best parent, the best at my job, the best friend and, if I fall short, I am not okay. Erick Thompson wrote, “Simply read some obituaries or listen to a few eulogies and you’ll find endless testimony to the best grandma or grandpa who worked the hardest, etc. For many people, we know that we are okay, that we are justified, because we have fought the good fight, done our duty, been a good person, etc.”

     This parable turns that idea upside down. The king’s invitation doesn’t go to the elite and the accomplished. It goes to the least, the last, and the lost. It reminds me of the workers in the vineyard, who all receive the same pay no matter how many hours they worked. At this table, what we’ve done doesn’t count for us or against us. The only thing that matters is the host who wants you and I there.

     That brings us to the wedding garment, the hardest part of the story! Notice that the king asked no one to bring anything. Everyone was gathered in off the street, with nothing to offer. The garment was part of the welcome. So the man who stands there speechless isn’t guilty of being underdressed. He is holding on to his own clothes: his résumé, his achievements, his proof that he belongs. He is trusting his own righteousness instead of the one he was handed.

     Paul warns that those who rely on the law are bound to the whole law (Galatians 5:3). If we insist on being judged by what we do, then what we do is what we will be judged by… those same rules. But you and I, we don’t have to live that way. Paul also says, “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” (Galatians 3:27). In baptism, God has already put the garment on us. It is a gift, not something we make.

     So, back to the initial question: “Am I okay?” The invitation is the answer. You are wanted, you are clothed, and there is a seat with your name on it. We don’t have to earn it or prove ourselves. All that’s left is to take our place at the table, and to say “ Thank you.”