Jesus Throws Better Parties Than You

I've been reading in Leviticus and Luke lately for my personal devotions, and I came across something interesting in Luke 14 that I just felt like I had to share this week with the youth. Luke 14-15 contains many popular parables and some hard sayings. However, what I have never noticed about these passages is that most of the conversation occurs either at or right after this dinner party that Jesus attends at the house of a leader of the Pharisees (Lk 14:1).

Jesus Unimpressed

The first half of chapter 14 is focused on Jesus telling the host and the party attendees what they're doing wrong. First, he makes a grand entrance by healing a man with swollen arms and legs (14:2-6). Rather than being in awe, however, the guests seem more perturbed about not being able to heckle him for working on the Sabbath. They almost immediately turn their interests towards jockeying for the best seats of honor at the table.

At this point, you get the sense of just how many of these dinner parties Jesus has had to sit through and how annoyed he is by the role playing. He responds, "Y'know, you really ought to just wait for the host to seat you or else you'll be embarrassed when he pulls you out of the seat of honor to put someone else in your place. Maybe, just maybe, you'll be taken from the lowest place and be put in the seat of honor by the host" (14:7-11). Then he turns to the host, "And you. Why invite rich people and relatives? They can repay you the favor, but that'll be your only reward. You ought to invite those who can never return the favor. THEN you'll be rewarded with true joy and righteousness at the resurrection" (14:12-14).

A Great Feast

After all this, one guest comments that a banquet in the Kingdom of God will be a great blessing to attend. Jesus has a very intriguing response:

Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’

“But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’

“Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’

“Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’

“The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’

“‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’

“Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’” - Luke 14:15-24

I've often read this parable simply as a reinforcement that God is now opening up the doors to all people, namely Gentiles. But rereading this, I have a few questions: (1) Why weren't the poor invited in the first place? (2) Why is the man so bent out of shape that people don't want to come to his party? (I'm generally annoyed with people like that). (3) How does the fact that Jesus is still at this dinner party change the way we hear the parable?

A Few Thoughts

I think the answer to all those questions is wrapped up in the last one. We often assume that parables have a one-to-one correlation between its characters and spiritual life. If we say that the "certain man" is God, then we are led to talk about God as a party host throwing a tantrum when people make other plans and only inviting the poor when the rich decline their invitations. However, I wonder if Jesus isn't doing something more creative. All of these party guests can identify with the "certain man" and his predicament as his party plans are falling through. He just prepared the party of a lifetime and now no one is going to show up. How embarrassing!

In his situation, any one of the party guests likely would have felt the pressure to do something, anything, to pressure some high profile guests to show up. They have a reputation to uphold, after all. But that's not quite what the host does here...He compels people to fill the house, sure, but not the people you'd expect. He spurns the company of the wealthy and popular in favor of those with no social status. His banquet is a banquet for the nothings.

Jesus throws better parties than us because Jesus doesn't care about his status. He is joy incarnate and breathes life and blessing into whomever he's with and wherever he goes. Jesus is the party.

So What?

I've always heard and accepted that our goal in the Christian journey is to reach the end and stand before the Father, hoping that we might hear, "Well done, my good and faithful servant" (an homage to the parable in Mt 25:14-18). But as I read through Luke 14, I had the haunting image of receiving that pat on the back only to enter into the most beautiful feast without few to share it with. I felt my heart break with God's as the servant read out people's excuses (seriously, who goes to check out the oxen they just bought instead of going to a party?).

I'm not so sure I care that much anymore about what God thinks of my performance. I already know He loves me. I'm more concerned with whether or not other people are going to make it to the party. People are wasting their time on things that don't satisfy and missing out on the party to end all parties. Let's go spread the word.

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