Thanksgiving - October 9, 2005
Sermon: "Be ready to Party"
by Rev. James Farrell
A 6 year old was asked where
his grandma lived. ''Oh,'' he said, ''she lives at the airport, and when we want
her we just go get her. Then when we're done having her visit, we take her back
to the airport.'' Well Jane and I have felt
this year, more than ever, that one or the other of us lives at the airport…there
has been more travel, I think in the last 6 months in our lives than at any
other time in our 25 year history. Our One of the things we did that
had us running around a bit was to marry off our son, Christopher—who said it
would never happen? Jane and I officiated at,
what we agree was the most beautiful wedding ever. Truth is, I have shared in a
lot of weddings over the years and I can honestly say I have never been a part
of a wedding that felt to be more loving, joyful or that was experienced as such
a genuine celebration. In fact others came up to us and said the same
thing…throughout the whole day. Now before I get carried away
with that, I should say that I spoke to another dad who married off a son this
summer and he said, without any prodding from me that his son's wedding was the
most loving wedding he had ever been at…so I wonder if it is something that only
folks attached to the inner workings of a wedding can appreciate? After Chris & Dee's wedding,
I gathered the hundreds of pictures that were taken during the weekend
festivities and made them into a DVD. I can now feel that same
wonderful feeling whenever I pop that DVD in the player. Our new in-law…Deanna's mom,
her name Susan, is an English language program Director in the People's Republic
of China. The other day she emailed me to say how much she enjoys having the DVD
to play in China to make those fond memories come alive for her too. It's a 56 minute video so
don't worry, I have no intention of showing it in worship. But for Susan, the
joy of that banquet, that festival weekend comes alive half a world away at the
press of the "play" button on her DVD player. Jesus' parable today is again
about the kingdom of Heaven. God's kingdom is a party. It's a celebration beyond
any celebration we have seen. Avoid the temptation to focus on the king inviting
the good and the bad, don't let your mind wonder who they might be, don't think
of the king kicking out the one not properly attired. The truth is that this is
not our party to organize. We are not in charge of the
celebration. It's Jesus' party. Jesus can invite whomever he wants and he
chooses to invite everyone. The Pharisees had a problem
with the kinds of people Jesus hung out with. That should not be our problem. There are still church people
today who would like to limit God's love and Jesus' generosity to only some. If
it were their party all kinds of people would be excluded from the festival
kingdom. Are their people that you
would exclude from the party? Ask yourself, "Why?" If there is a point of focus
here, we would do well to focus on the party and on whether or not we are ready
for it. The celebration of Christ emerges all around us. Can we see it? Are we
prepared? Are we happy to be invited? Do we live like those who are happy to be
invited? Does it show in our eyes, on our faces?... in the things we care to
share and embrace?
The parable teaches that as you are invited to the party, come ready. If you are
not ready to party, there really is no reason for you to be here and you might
as well be removed out of the celebration into the darkness
You are called by God to be a
part of the church of God. In fact we are all chosen…what do we do with that
truth in our lives? Are we ready to party? Are we willing to celebrate or are we
going to waste God's lavish banquet being lost in a morbid disbelieving funk?
Life isn't easy. But what is easy, even through the pain, is the option to
embrace the truth that we are loved and welcomed into the banquet heart of God
no matter what else may be going on in our lives. Those invited to the
kings wedding banquet were both Good and Bad with no distinction. The only
"condemnable" behavior at the wedding was not really wanting to be there.
Perhaps the greatest joy of this parable is that everyone loves a party,
especially Jesus! One of the things we did this
July during the wedding weekend of Chris and Dee was to take a ski lift up to
the top of the mountain in Fernie for pictures of the families…one large new
family. It was fabulous…a spectacular view—a clear day…everyone enjoyed it!
A colleague tells of an
encounter with Lake Louise that sounds a bit similar and I think it fits this
thanksgiving context well …She says, "Lake Louise is surrounded by
mountains and glaciers. The lake itself is a stunningly beautiful shade of
turquoise blue-green. My husband and I made the three-hour hike up the trail and
just sat and looked. We listened to the thunder of ice cracking off the
glaciers. We occasionally caught sight of the glacial calving. The beauty was
overwhelming. Near the top of the trail we
stopped at a chalet for tea and cake. As we rested and continued to enjoy the
view, I looked over and saw a woman reading a book. I was stunned. I couldn't
believe it. This woman was surrounded by spectacular beauty and she was looking
at a book! She could have done that on a rainy day at sea level! "Earth's crammed with heaven,
and every common bush afire with God, but only those who see take off their
shoes…" wrote Elizabeth Barrett Browning. This woman in this wonderful
place of splendor needed to put down her book and take off her metaphorical
shoes, and get in touch with the splendor of God all around her. The invitation we have all
received to the kingdom of Heaven, is an invitation to a wonderful party. Are we
prepared to party with Jesus? Are we willing to allow others to be a part of our
kingdom party? Right now? The king is always inviting
us, always welcoming us in to the banquet…what are we doing with those
invitations? Those opportunities for joy, love and celebration. It is a bit like the story of
Jesus healing the 10 lepers and only one, a Samaritan recognizing his healing,
takes the time to praise God…to celebrate the wonder. In my life, I can only recall
two people who have taken the time to celebrate the gift of God that is theirs
through the second chance of healing that they have received…perhaps there were
more, but only two come to mind. One a man who survived a heart attack and made
a point of celebrating "happy heart attack day" with his family every year and
another man who survived cancer and annually celebrated with a "celebration of
Life" party. That's the kind of party God
wants us to embrace…a joy of thanksgiving that stems from being invited to the
party—and, the kingdom of God is a party. Here, now and beyond. Last week was a tough
sermon…also on a parable…but one of those messages where I hoped, in a short
time to share with you a deep message that we didn't have an opportunity to
properly explore. For that I apologize. I trust that today's parable is easier
to embrace. Thanksgiving is one of the festivals that shouldn't have to be too
difficult for us. It ought to live on the edge of our minds and our tongues to
say nothing of residing at the depths of our hearts. If you were here last year
for thanksgiving you may remember some of the thanksgiving messages that the
kids shared with us…thankful were they for their parents and grandparents and
other people in their lives and in this church. In that spirit of
thanksgiving for those who have touched our lives and invited us to share the
banquets of their lives I would like to leave you today with some thoughts on
"grandparents" Taken from papers written by a class of 8 year olds. This is some
of what the kids had to say: Grandparents are a lady and a
man who have no little children of there own. They like other people's. A grandfather is a man
grandmother. Grandparents don't have to do
anything except be there when we come to see them. They are so old they
shouldn't play hard or run. It is good if they drive us to the store and have
lots of quarters for us. When they take us for walks,
they slow down past things like pretty leaves and caterpillars. They don't say, "Hurry up." Usually grandmothers are fat,
but not too fat to tie your shoes. They wear glasses and funny
underwear. They can take their teeth and
gums out. Grandparents don't have to be
smart. Another writes: They have to answer questions
like "why isn't God married?" and "How come dogs chase cats?". And Everybody should try to have
a grandmother, especially if you don't have television, because they are the
only grown ups who like to spend time with us. And finally, They know we should have
snack-time before bedtime and they say prayers with us every time, and kiss us
even when we've acted bad. In all you do this
thanksgiving weekend, do what you can to celebrate life, family, God's presence
in your life, our world, and in the life of our faith community. Amen.