For many are called, but few are chosen.
Matthew 22:14
A King sent out wedding
invitations to his powerful friends, who promptly rejected or ignored them. A
second wave of servants are sent to ask “as many as you can find” to the feast.
So far, so good.
When the King enters the
banquet hall, he sees a man who is poorly dressed. He addresses him as “Friend”
and asks why he is dressed so shabbily. The man has no defense. He is thrown
out of the hall, into the ‘outer darkness.’
I have always been challenged
by this Scripture passage.
Why would
the King toss out an invited guest?
Why would he
invite so many he knew were poor, only to kick out the underdressed?
That doesn’t sound like the
King I know. My God doesn’t look at the outside, but values what’s inside of
me.
This week I came across an
article on this parable that really opened my eyes.
The commentary stated that in
Jesus’ time, the wedding guests were given the special garments to wear. If
someone refused to put on the garment, it was considered very disrespectful.
This fact really helped me
put this passage in perspective. We are all called to a life in the Lord. Few
are chosen, because so many reject him.
Being chosen doesn’t involve
a hard test, like a cumulative final. And even if it did, we’d be given the
Cliff Notes. ‘Called and chosen’ is part of our DNA when we were created. We’d
have to actively refuse the Father to become: ‘un-called.’
A soccer player is asked to
play in a special game. He is a very valuable player, and the coaches want him
on their side. But, at the last minute, he refuses to play. He doesn’t like the field. It’s
too uneven, too muddy, too small, not clearly marked. Think of an excuse, he's already made it.
He also chooses to sit apart
from the team. To the fan in the stands, it sure looks like he’s been rejected.
He’s sitting all alone at the end of the bench, a towel over his head. It would
be natural to feel bad for this poor guy, cast aside by his team. But that’s not
the real story, is it?
If everyone really knew what
was going on, they’d realize that this guy is having the mother of all
hissy-fits. Kind of like the wedding guest who refused his wedding clothes.
Every single one of us is included in the Wedding Feast. We are warmly invited to live in a sacred union. Part of being invited requires putting on something new.
If I agree to attend, I'll need that new garment. And he stands there, new clothes in his hand, waiting for my decision.
You know what? I'm going to have a great time!
Linking today with: Soli Deo Gloria, Raising Mighty Arrows, Thought Provoking Thursday
Labels: called, chosen, rejected, rejecting, wedding feast
