January 1, 2011
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God throws a party
Last week I suggested we were in the season of planning, planning for the holidays and planning for the new year. This week I suggest we are also coming out of the season of parties, all sorts of parties on our pressing social calendars. Holiday parties with co-workers, friends, and family. For some people it is almost impossible to make it to all the parties and events we are invited to attend. The invitations almost become burden; people have to decide which invitations to accept and which to decline; some people have to decide which family group they will celebrate Christmas with this year. And all of this pressure pales in comparison to the pressure of New Year’s Eve parties, there is only one evening to celebrate New Year’s eve. Many times we make are decisions about which parties to attend based on who is hosting the party and who else will be present at the party. Then there are some who avoid all the stress and potential disasters associated with holiday parties by simply choosing to stay home.
We are told in our texts for today that God has planned a party for us. In fact, God has been planning this party from the time of creation. It is up to us to chose whether will attend God’s party or not. We might be tempted to assume everyone wants to go to a party hosted by God but I don’t know that our assumption would hold up under examination. We have been taught we should enter into God’s presence with fear and we have been taught that God is a strict judge and we cannot enter into God’s presence until we are worthy. If we accept these statements as true, most of us would want to decline God’s invitation to come to a party God is throwing. I do not believe these statements are true, I believe they come from a misinterpretation and misunderstanding of God as portrayed in the sacred writings.
Where we are told to fear God, the meaning is not that we should be afraid of God. The words were meant to suggest we should approach God with great respect and awe. We are to fear God not because of God’s wrath or desire to harm us. We approach God with respect and awe because God is God, all knowing, all powerful, and present everywhere. We tremble before God because we recognize that God created all that is, that God created us, and God knows everything about us. God expects our respect and awe but God does not desire us to fear for our well being in God’s presence. Each time God sends a messenger to speak to the people, they start with the words, “fear not.” We should not be afraid to come to God’s party. God is a strict judge when it comes to what is good for us to do and what is disobedient. God does not struggle with the gray areas we struggle with when identifying what is just, true, or loving. God knows because God is the creator of justice, truth, and love. However, God is also a forgiving and compassionate judge. God desires that none should be lost. God, in planning our party, provided as way for each of us to receive God’s mercy and grace so we might come to the party and not worry about being judged as being unworthy. God’s party is a come as you are party and we should never fear to come to the party God invites us to attend.
Some of us are reluctant to attend God’s party because we either don’t know who else will be there, or we think we know who will be at the party and we don’t want to party with them. While God, the host of the party, is very welcoming and accepting of all of us, the other invited guests are often not so accepting of each other. The purpose of religion for many people is to control the guest list to God’s party. They want to make sure that only people who think and act like them feel welcome at the party. They want to control who they are going to party with. We do this in our churches also. We establish dogmas, traditions, and social norms and let everyone who attends know what is expected of them if they want to be included in the party. We even say such things as, “if so and so is going to the church function, then I am not going,” or, “if this person is participating in worship, then I won’t be there.” It isn’t God, but those who want to use God to restrict the party guest list that keep some people from knowing the joy of attending God’s party. We are all invited to God’s party and God has such joy in anticipating the party that it is wrong for us not to agree to attend and to encourage everyone else to attend the party.
The other great thing about God’s party is that it is always going on, it doesn’t have a starting time and it has no ending time. We must never believe that God’s party doesn’t start until we die. God wants us at the party now and always. God planned the party at the same time God was creating the universe and everything in it. God has always had a plan for creation to sing and dance together, and for all of us to come to the banquet table and eat and drink all we need. The best part is we are not required to pay anything to attend the party, it does not have a cover charge and it is not a carry-in dinner. God has provided it all as a gift to us. We may want to earn our way into God’s party to prove we are better guests than the others but our attempts to prove our right to be at the party are an insult to our Host who has provided the finest of everything and is not in need of our contributions. God is not pleased when we want to believe we have earned our place at the party, but God is pleased when we invite others to the party and when we share with others what a great party God provides, and when we live out the joy of being at God’s party for others to see. If you are having a good time at a party, it isn’t necessary to tell others you are having a good time, they can see what a good time you are having. Our lives should reflect that we are at the best party ever. Not just when we are at worship, or not when we are trying to talk someone into coming to church with us. We should reflect that we are at God’s party at all times and when life is the hardest for us, we should still show that we know we are at God’s party.
We have all been invited to the party, we are all welcome to come to the party as we are, and we should not worry about who else will be at the party. How will you RSVP to God’s invitation to the party? Amen.
