A Bible Study

He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. And some one said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, “Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the householder has risen up and shut the door, you will begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us’ He will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from; depart from me, all you workers of iniquity!’ There you will weep and gnash your teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves thrust out. And men will come from east and west, and from north and south, and sit at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some first who will be last.
Luke, 13:22-30

It’s been a while since I went to a mid-day bible study. The priest leading the large group I attended was an expert at unpacking this Sunday’s Scripture reading, explaining the meaning and context, and packing it all up again into the comprehensive story of scripture. You understood the point he was explaining. And I followed along for a while, but then my mind went off on its own track of understanding and analogy.

When I (somewhat fearfully) rolled the words of “I do not know you” around in my head, my mind went back to other wedding parables. In Matthew 22:13, the king sees a guest who has on no wedding garment, and has him “cast into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And in Matthew 25:12 the maidens who ran out of lamp oil showed up late and asked to be let into the marriage feast, but were told: “Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.” Obviously in all these examples, it appears that the bridegroom or king SHOULD know these people. They followed him and/or they were invited to the wedding. So why couldn’t they get in? And equally obviously these parables are meant to refer to me – despite my invitation, might I not be allowed in? Uh-oh.

I think all the people involved in the parables were invited to the wedding; they had an invitation, but apparently that alone was not enough to get them in. The host of the party checked them over, to verify they were indeed the guests intended. And so, they had to be dressed right, had a gift, and had to have had a pretty close relationship with the wedding couple, or else the “guests” might find themselves being asked: “Who are you?” --- despite their invitations.

Our invitations to the heavenly party are our Baptisms; we were marked as invited by Him. But later, when we get to the party, we’ll need more, we’ll need to be seen as His friends. We’ll need to be seen as someone who He has seen before, and who knows Him and respects Him. Getting to that point is called “growing in holiness.” Baptism at the beginning of our life; growing in holiness throughout our life; then welcomed at the party at the end of our life. That’s the complete cycle of our lives --- as He intended.

At the bible study group they talked about the parable of the field hands; some worked all day and some only an hour, yet they all got paid the same. It was a difficult parable to understand. But looked at in the light of Luke above, it makes sense. The field hands are us, invited in and called to grow in holiness all our lives, so we can be fit for the heavenly party, our pay, at the end. We’re all called to grow in holiness, but some people grow faster than others. For some, once they receive their invite, they only have to work for an hour before quickly blooming in God’s grace. For others, despite an early invitation and many of God’s graces, they may struggle to grow in holiness their whole life, to get to the same point that others found so quickly. And so when they get to the end of their lives the rewards are the same, and that’s as it should be, for all were now prepared to be good guests.

When you show up at the heavenly party, you’ll need to be seen as a friend of the host, not some bum from the alley who found the invitation on the ground. You’ll have worked much of your life to get to know Him. Unlike a stranger, you’re not going to His party to get something, food or drink or fun, you’re going there GIVE something: honor to the host of the party. It’s not like walking into a stranger’s house; you know Him. Guests are not just invitees; guests are friends. They know Him; He knows them. They celebrate with Him; He celebrates with them.

What a party it will be! Be there or be square!

…… or be left out.