We are invited to the great banquet at the end of time.   This is God’s banquet that he invites us to share with the rest of the people who have been baptized in the name of the trinity.    

 

It is interesting to listen to different Christian traditions on how they describe this banquet.   Most give a clear answer on who will be invited.   For our evangelical brothers & sisters, they are very firm on who may dine at God’s banquet. Those who have saved or received Jesus as their personal savior will be sitting at the table.   We may ask them who will not be invited into God’s kingdom.   For many years, their more conservative & reactionary pastors focused on particular groups that were not saved.   For them,  gays, lesbians, Catholics & liberals would not be saved.   The last time I visited my father in Nashville,  I was driving behind one of these saved individuals.   He was what you would call a bubba, or a southern hick.   He was driving a big truck that was so jacked up, you or I would need a step ladder to get inside.   The bumper sticker read, I’d rather be gay than vote democratic.   He himself & those like him see salvation as tied to a political party & a political agenda.   His vision of heaven might resemble a tractor pull, a nascar race, or the southern Baptist convention.    

 

On the other side,  there are the liberal Christians,  they might see the heavenly banquet as open to all people with all lifestyles.   Inclusion would be emphasized so much that one might wonder what could exclude anyone from the table.    The Anglican communion of churches is currently being torn apart because those who are Anglican cannot decide upon what tenets of faith they wish to hold.   Is it necessary to believe in the resurrection?  Maybe, maybe not.    Should we ordain noncelibate gay bishops  and clergy.  Maybe, maybe not.   What must a Christian say or do to remain faithful to his or her Christian calling?  Who knows? 

 

This is the difficulty because within the parable,  there are elements of inclusion & exclusion.  Yes, all are invited, yet all may not stay at the banquet.   One fellow is tossed out of the banquet because he is not wearing a wedding garment.   

 

The early Christian community was defined by its separation from the dominant culture of the day.    It would be an exaggeration to say that the early Christians were always in fear for their lives or they were one step away from being literally thrown to the lions.   Yes, there were times of persecution, but most of the time, they were allowed to live their lives in peace.    However, early Christians did separate themselves from the culture of their day.   They did not participate in the festivals that were dedicated to the pagan gods.    They did not participate in the military, because part of being Christian was to be a pacifist.   The Christians had this idea of the immanent parousia, meaning they felt that the end of time was coming soon.  God through Jesus would bring about a new heaven & earth.   They were living with this idea.   Their baptism in Christ’s death, so that they may share in his resurrection was something they based their life upon.  All things fell by the wayside.  They were willing to sacrifice everything so that they might live eternally with God the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit.  In greater or lesser ways they showed their devotion.  

 

As Christians we become confused over what is the message of Christ & how we should live our lives.   Sometimes our culture and political ideology becomes a stumbling block.  Yes, we do express our faith & belief according to our culture, but our cultural values can impede our fulfillment of our baptismal promises.   It is no secret that Americans generally are  materialistic & narcissistic.  If we were not, we could not continue to live as we do.    We as Americans think that we are entitled to use most of the world’s resources, to pollute the world disproportionately to our numbers & think that no one should impede our lifestyle.  We blindly rack up debt because we feel entitled to a certain lifestyle.   We deserve big cars, big houses, cell phones, & big HD tvs.  Our American lifestyle in many ways is anti Christian. 

 

If we were to follow our baptismal promises , we would discern that the way we live is unsustainable for the planet & as unjust for rest of the world community.  Our Christian beliefs should impact all aspects of our life.   We aim to be part of the heavenly banquet which means we wish to be instruments of  God’s kingdom on earth.   We live our lives in a way that fosters peace,  justice, & love.   We see all people as God’s children, so we attempt to foster unity within our own community as well as the world community.     

 

We know from Paul that we are saved through God’s love.  The perfect expression of God’s love was  through Jesus.   We are justified by our faith in Jesus. We are called to the banquet & to invite others to share with us, rich & poor, gay & straight, educated & illiterate, liberals, moderates & conservatives to the table of the Lord.   We challenge ourselves as we challenge others to live lives that manifest God’s work in us as we live faithfully, hopefully, & lovingly turning away from our sinful, selfish ways to live lives that show our wedding garment that was given to us at our baptism.