You're Invited to the Party

For me, going off to seminary was a pretty intense experience in the first place.  And then, just after my first semester, while I was on Christmas vacation, I got the news that I had been diagnosed with cancer.  I went through surgery in the January term, and then during the spring semester I went back to classes while I also had chemotherapy every two weeks.  I was tired, I was nauseated, and I was bald.  I did not know whether I would be one of the many women who go through treatments for breast cancer and lead a long and healthy life, or whether I would be one of the many women who go through treatments and die young.  I was 36 years old.  My children were four years old and two years old.  It was a much more intense theological education than I’d bargained for.  

There were a lot of times when what I needed was to have a good cry, and to have friends who were willing to keep me company in my sadness without trying to fix it.  There were other times when I needed to focus on something other than my own problems.  There was one Thursday in February which was shortly after my chemo infusion when I was feeling my worst.  My friend Lonnie and his fiancee Jessica were engaged to be married, and my dormmates had organized a wedding shower for the two of them that evening.  I thought I probably wouldn’t go to the shower.  But I decided to get a present for Lonnie and his fiancee.  So I drove over to a Pier One store and found, at a price I could afford, some margarita glasses that I bought for them.  And while I was at it, I bought a few more to take home.  And then once I’d bought the present, I decided that even though I didn’t really feel like it, I didn’t want to miss his wedding shower.  It turned out to be a delightful shower, full of love and fun and friendship.  

It is now 23 years since my diagnosis, and it looks like I am going to be one of the women who lives a long and healthy life, for which I am deeply grateful.  When I look back, I am glad I went to that wedding shower to rejoice with my friend.  And I think that if I had been one of the women who died young, I would have been even more glad that I went to that wedding shower to rejoice with my friend.

It may seem odd to talk about parties with friends when times are tough.  But when times are tough is often when we need parties with our friends the most.  The list of things that are wrong in the world is a long one, and there are a lot of things that may get worse.  Many of us have our own personal sorrows also.  

Jesus tells us repeatedly that the way to deal with those who are poor and suffering is with generosity and compassion.  Now is an especially good time to show generosity and compassion to people who are worse off than you.

And Jesus also tells us that in the midst of all the suffering of human life, the kingdom of heaven is like a party.  You are invited.  It is a big party.  A wedding banquet.

Today’s gospel passage actually has two stories smushed together.  Today we will focus on the first one, about inviting people to the party.  The second story, about the guest who doesn’t have a wedding garment, is the one I will preach on when we come back to this passage three years from now.  Jesus has a lot of different ways of describing the kingdom of heaven, but he describes it as a party more often than any other way.  And the thing I love about that is that when you invite your friends and loved ones to a party, it is not because you want them to do something for you; it is simply because you want to share your happiness with them.  What makes you happy is just the simple pleasure of having people you love with you.  It is like those moments when you sit across a table from a dear friend and say, “I am so glad you are here.”  And as you say it, you know that it is not just a conventional pleasantry, it is a deep truth.

Jesus says to each of us: you are invited to the party.  I want to share my happiness with you.  And whenever we accept that invitation, whether it is with the community in worship or in our own personal prayer, Jesus looks at us with the delight of a dear friend and says, “I am so glad you are here.”  

One of the things I love about the Church in general and the Anglican Church in particular is that there are so many celebrations!  Every Sunday when we gather around this table, we have a celebration of love and thanksgiving and communion.  We might not worship God by drinking margaritas, but we do worship God by drinking wine.  Our Eucharistic feast each Sunday is a little foretaste of the heavenly banquet at which we will feast in eternity.  It is a good and joyful thing!  This congregation takes that spirit of celebration into lots of other times and places too.  It’s part of the Blessing of the Animals we had a week ago, and the welcome back potluck we had the week before that.  It’s part of the Saturday Soul Suppers to which everyone is invited and everyone is welcome to the party.

In today’s parable, Jesus talks about the king telling his servants, “Go into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.”  This congregation has a real spiritual gift for serving God by inviting and welcoming people to God’s party.  The newcomers who have been coming here to St. John’s lately have all told me that you have made them feel very welcome in this faith community.  

Like the servants in Jesus’ parable, you serve by inviting everyone to the party.  The king makes it clear to his servants that they are to invite everyone they find on the streets, both good and bad, to come to the party.  The preacher William Sloane Coffin once said that every parable Jesus tells is about either inclusiveness or forgiveness, one or the other.  He’s pretty much right.

Today’s passage from Philippians also emphasizes the themes of rejoicing: “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, Rejoice”

The theme of thanksgiving: “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”

The theme of goodness: “Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

These instructions are not just for times when everything is going well; they are for all times.  My favourite cartoon from The Far Side is one that I’ve loved for years, and the more bad news in the world I hear, the more I appreciate it.  This cartoon shows a guy right in the middle of hell.  You can see the flames all around him.  In the picture there are two demons.  The guy is pushing his wheelbarrow full of heavy rocks past these demons, and while he pushes his wheelbarrow, what is he doing?  He is happily whistling a tune!  And the demon says, “You know, we’re just not reaching that guy.”  My goal in life is to be the person who’s rejoicing so much that the demons say, “You know, we’re just not reaching that one.”

I remember that the theologian and reformer Martin Luther said that the best way to drive out the devil is to laugh at him, because the devil can’t stand to be laughed at.  

When people think of God’s commands, they sometimes think of them as burdens.  But in today’s scriptures, what God commands us to do is:

Party, party, party!

Welcome, welcome, welcome!

Rejoice, rejoice, and again I will say rejoice!