Come as You Are

Matthew 22:4 - "Then he sent other slaves, saying, 'Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fattened calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready, come to the wedding banquet.'"

Come to the wedding banquet! Come celebrate with me the wedding of my son. This verse reminds me of the Eucharist, the Lord's Supper. Come, the table is ready. Both are invitations to share in the life of the Triune God. Invitations to take time and just be with Jesus. Celebrating our relationship with God.

As PC(USA) Presbyterians, we do not celebrate the Lord's Supper every week. Because of the brightness of most of the churches we've visited in CLE, we have been attending the 8:30 service at our church. It wasn't our first choice, we wanted to join a more diverse congregation. The consolation? Celebrating the Lord's Supper every week. It is glorious. Being able to look into our servers' eyes as we take the bread and the cup. It's truly a blessed moment for me each week. 

What used to be an entire meal has been ritualized and limited to a bit of bread and some grape juice. Yet, it's still a foretaste of what Dr. King called "the Beloved Community," the kin-dom of God. That is why I like the fact that the master does not immediately give up on his wedding guests. He entices them with the oxen and the fattened calves. Food brings people in, right? I can see his thought process: If they won't come for me, maybe they'll come when they see the menu. God doesn't care why we come to him, only that we do. Just as the hungry mother doesn't care why we're handing her and her kids something to eat. 

Of course, God and that mother would like more. God wants our hearts. That mother wants the dignity of fair housing and employment policies so she can feed her children without our help. There are as many reasons for being in worship or feeding hungry people as there are people doing it. We celebrate everyone who comes. Everyone. God's love turns no one away.

Now, there's an unspoken rule of worship that everyone must put on a "good face." Not all churches, but it's prevalent. What does this verse then have to offer those who are unable to put on a good face? Who just can't come in spite of our welcome and God's invitation? How can we make worship a place where people feel safe to come when they're at their worst? It's easy to come when we feel good; it's much harder when we feel sad, or like we've failed, or broken in some other way. If your church is this way, perhaps we can lead by example. When people ask how we are, answer honestly! By being vulnerable ourselves, we implicitly invite others to be vulnerable. Try it and see what happens. We have nothing to lose but our walls.

Can I participate in God's invitation and create an atmosphere of acceptance for all who come, no matter where they are in life? Do I have the courage to be vulnerable to another?