Ready and Waiting

Patience is a virtue for a reason--it’s not easy to come by patience. Patiently waiting for something takes grace--a lot of grace. In our world of instant rebates, fast food, and immediate cash-back rewards, we have trained ourselves to not wait--and impatiently so.

The flip side of our impatient lifestyle is procrastination--putting off until tomorrow what we could and probably should do today. We can’t be bothered, bogged down, or face the inevitable--we just table it until later.

Procrastination, however, can come back to haunt us in the future. What we so readily pushed to the back of our minds and schedules quickly reappears--and with vengeance. The same is true in the kingdom of God--procrastination can be the difference between entering the kingdom or sitting outside. When faced with God’s invitation to His kingdom we must make a decision. If we choose to say yes, we must waste no time to “be prepared” always, waiting patiently for the wedding feast to begin.

Jesus’ parable, also found in Luke 14, asks us directly--will you choose to be ready and waiting or will you choose to procrastinate? We, and those we are reaching out to, are invited join God’s kingdom now. Let’s see how Jesus shares this with us:
[read Matthew 22:1-14]

Preparation is important. Preparation isn’t bonus points or an extra gold star. Preparation doesn’t serve as the cherry on top of our religious sundae. Preparation, or being ready, is essential to fulfilling God’s call to join Him in His kingdom. Our salvation is not complete with God’s forgiveness and acceptance of us. When we accept God’s forgiveness we enter a relationship with God and continue to move toward Him--to become more like Him--through grace and preparation--what we would call around here discipleship. It’s not a and/or question. Preparation, being ready, is an essential part of the Christian life.

Did you see the guests mentioned in verses 11 and 12? They were there at the wedding, they were partaking of the wedding cake and too-sweet punch. But something was wrong. The King wasn’t happy. A guest didn’t come prepared--he thought he could walk into the party straight from the farm, garage, market, baseball field. Forget keeping the dirt off the wedding favors. Don’t even bother getting dressed up--you can just say “yes” and show up. This wedding guest, apparently, didn’t think much of the couple or the wedding party. He didn’t spend any time preparing for the party; he didn’t care enough to show up in his best.

Did you hear the king’s reaction to this man’s lack of preparation? The king asked the man what he was doing at the wedding. After all, the man wasn’t dressed for the wedding (wouldn’t you think it’s odd if someone came in their sweaty work clothes?). I love the man’s response: he was speechless. Now, there are those of us who would have a hard time being speechless. It seems God has created some folks to have something to say about everything and anything. And endless supply of words are in these folks pocket, ready for us. But this man, he was speechless, flabbergasted, astounded, astonished, bowled over--standing there with his mouth hanging open. Why, you ask? Because he had an invitation. The king sent out his servants to personally invite him to the wedding. He had the golden ticket. He had made it in the door. Yet the king had him thrown out. He didn’t come prepared.

Do you see what Jesus is saying here? You can pray the sinner prayer, you can tithe, come to Sunday school, serve on the church board, participate in VBS, give to Faith Promise and be a generally “good” Christian person. But if you fail to prepare your heart and life, you won’t be invited to stay in the kingdom. This is a bit shocking folks. We don’t like for anyone to feel bad. We don’t want to upset people. Sometimes we might shrug at the lack of preparation, or discipleship, but God does not. Here God is clearly saying that being good, being saved, or being a regular church attendee is not enough. Did you here that? We miss the point if we say, “God forgive me of my sins,” and in turn fail to allow God and work with God to transform our lives. God wants us to participate in our relationship with Him.

Preparation is an important thing. There is a particular cooking show that I enjoy watching. Individuals compete for the title of best chef and a prize (usually ownership of their own resort restaurant). The competition can get brutal. Each person is out for himself or herself, which is even more difficult when you put them into teams. Part of the competition includes what chefs call “prep.” When you prep, you are preparing foods to be cooked later in the “dinner service.” If you are making salads, your prep might include washing and cutting vegetables. One particular night a whole team lost a challenge inpart because of a team member’s lack of prep. He failed to wash the mushrooms before adding it to the pizzas being made: dirt topping, anyone? Just as a simple lapse in kitchen prep can ruin a good meal, our disregard for our spiritual preparation can have disastrous results. It’s God’s desire to help us “prep” our hearts, minds, souls and lives for life in His kingdom. Will you “prep” today?

	Pentecost Sunday May 11, 2008
	Trinity Sunday May 18, 2008
	May 25, 2008
	June 1, 2008
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	June 15, 2008
	June 22, 2008
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	September 14, 2008
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	November 16, 2008
	November 23, 2008