Great Excuses and Greater Expectations, Luke 14:15-24
Eric A. Snyder, Minister, Farwell Church of Christ
July 14, 2002
I came across this list that could prove to be very helpful if you ever fall asleep at work. The following is a list of excuses you can use when caught sleeping at your desk.
"They told me at the blood bank this might happen."
"Whew! Guess I left the top off the liquid paper"
"I wasn’t sleeping! I was meditating on the mission statement and envisioning a new paradigm!"
"This is one of the seven habits of highly effective people!"
"I was actually doing a "Stress Level Elimination Exercise Plan" (SLEEP) I learned at the last mandatory seminar you made me attend.
"Darn! Why did you interrupt me? I had almost figured out a solution to our biggest problem."
"...Amen"
Now those are meant to be in fun but there was a recent article in a major newspaper that gave out actual notes that parents had written to schools so that their children could be excused for their absence.
"Please excuse Lisa for being absent. She was sick and I had her shot."
"Dear School: Please ekscuse John being absent on Jan. 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, and also 33."
"John has been absent because he had two teeth taken out of his face."
"Please excuse Ray Friday from school. He has very loose vowels."
"Please excuse Tommy for being absent yesterday. He had diarrhoea and his boots leak."
"Please excuse Jennifer for missing school yesterday. We forgot to get the Sunday paper off the porch, and when we found it Monday, we thought it was Sunday."
Someone has said that excuses are like belly buttons, everyone has one.
We excuse ourselves from a lot of things. If we miss school we give an excuse. If we miss family time we often give an excuse. When we are stopped for speeding many of us try to give an excuse. If we are a few minutes late to the office we give a detailed explanation. When we are absent from spending time with God we try to give an excuse.
That’s what’s happening in our story today. Jesus is telling a story about a generous host who wants people to come and share in a rather glamorous feast. And the people make some excuses.
Now I don’t want you to misunderstand me today. I know you know this text and have heard it presented as a case for faithful church attendance every Sunday.
But if you look at this text as if Jesus is merely telling people to go to church then you are missing the bulk of the meaning. And the truth is sometimes ministers get frustrated that church attendance is not quite what it should be so we pull out this text and tell people they need to be in church. Which is probably the greatest disservice anyone could do with this story.
Because this story is so much more than that. If you are absent from this place you will most likely be called after a little while because people here care about you. We want you to be a part of what God is doing here but it is very important to us that you know how missed you are and how loved you are. So when you call someone who is not here you should not be nagging, you should be showing genuine concern and empathy for a friend.
And if you were to ever be on the other end of such a conversation we hope you would appreciate the compassion.
But too often these conversations become confrontations. Excuses are doled out exceptions are made and acceptance is not felt.
If you miss a few worship times you may find yourself making excuses but the deeper issue is: Where are you with God?
What kind of things do you say to God in that brief moment of realization that you forgot to spend time with Him is prayer.
What do you say to God as you are writing out the offering check
What do you say to God when you stray from your commitments to him
What excuses do you make when you neglect The truth of his word.
See it’s not about the excuses that you give to other people this text is about what you say to God when it’s just the two of you.
Lord, today was really busy, I just didn’t get around to talking to you.
God tomorrow will be better but right now I’m so tired.
We push off the expectations and begin with the excuses.
Have you ever noticed that of all the things we excuse we always excuse the stuff that is good for us, the stuff that nurtures our soul and feeds our brains.
You say wait a minute what expectations are we talking about? Does God actually expect something from me?
You want to know something true?
God Created time. He also created our drive to be active and He knows how busy life is. But he also as asked us to spend time feasting at His table.
Now I don’t want you to think I’m singling you out or that I’m talking to any one group in particular. Because all of us at one point or another have made excuses for being away from the presence of God. The sad truth for me is hard to hear. Sometimes I treat God like a rag doll and drag him with me when I want to do something. Then I make excuses for not doing what I was supposed to be doing.
A husband spent all day playing gold and his wife was very irate when he got home. When he walked in the door at 7:00pm she said "Do you expect me to believe that you were playing golf from seven in the morning until seven in the evening?" a wife asked her husband. "You should have been home by three."
"Now, let me explain, Carol," Harry replied. "I got up at dawn and picked Fred up at six A.M., but on the way to the course, I had a flat tire. I didn’t have a spare, so I had to walk a couple of miles to the service station. By the time I got back to the car, it was after nine. Then we ran out of gas, and that cost an hour. We didn’t tee-off until eleven."
"You still should have been home by three," Carol replied.
"I’m not finished," Harry explained. "Everything was fine for the first two holes, but then Fred had a heart attack. I ran to the clubhouse to find a doctor, but no luck. By the time I got back, Fred was dead. So for the next sixteen holes, it was hit the ball, drag Fred, hit the ball, drag Fred. . ."
Sometimes I am guilty of doing what I want to do and neglecting a greater need.
In Luke 14 Jesus is clear that we need to make God a priority in our lives. But beyond that we need to realize the expectations that God has for us, stop making excuses, and make our hearts right with Him.
But as we read this text this morning I would like you to think about which group you fit into.
Luke 14:15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God." 16 Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ’Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18 "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.’ 19 "Another said, ’I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ 20 "Still another said, ’I just got married, so I can’t come.’ 21 "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.’ 22 "’Sir,’ the servant said, ’what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ 23 "Then the master told his servant, ’Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’"
Prayer
Sam had been in the computer business for 25 years and is finally got sick of the stress. He quit his job and buys 50 acres of land in Vermont as far from humanity as possible.
Sam sees the postman once a week and gets groceries once a month. Otherwise it’s total peace and quiet. After six months or so of almost total isolation, he’s finishing dinner when someone knocks on his door. He opens it and there is a big, bearded Vermonter standing there.
"Name’s Enoch... Your neighbor from four miles over the ridge... Having a party Saturday... thought you’d like to come."
"Great," says Sam, "after six months of this I’m ready to meet some local folks. Thank you."
As Enoch is leaving he stops, "Gotta warn you there’s gonna be some loud music"
"Not a problem...after 25 years in the computer business and a busy life, I can handle some loud music."
Enoch says. "More ’n’ likely gonna be some fightin, too."
Sam thinks...tough crowd. "Well, I get along with people. I’ll be there. Thanks again." by the way, what should I wear to the party?"
Enoch stops in the door and says "Whatever you want, it’s just gonna be the two of us.
Now I think most of us would try to find an excuse to get out of that invitation. And when it comes down to the banquet that God has invited us to, you may think there is bound to be some kind of turmoil there as well.
This text is clear, these people with the excuses are people who have previously been invited. They were told before hand that there was going to be a party.
But the thing that I look at as an indicator of God’s character is found in His disappointment. These people who are pushing Him to the side of their lives were people He considered friends. They were previously devoted followers and now they have other priorities.
I think one of the greatest mistakes we can make regarding the character of God is to assume He is like Spock. Do you remember Spock from star trek? He would say things like “Captain if my calculations are correct we are all going to be vaporized in 16.7 seconds”
And Kirk would go nuts
We sometimes forget that God created mankind in His image. He was the one who fashioned our brains and emotions. But we don’t always think that God has feelings because he’s all knowing. And we equate more brain power with emotional distance.
In fact that’s one of the signs of autism in children. People are incredibly smart. Comprehend everything that is place in front of them but are emotionally detached.
We sometimes make the mistake of thinking that because God has a vast authority on knowledge. And because we cannot see Him that he is unfeeling and unemotional.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
In fact one of the many things that separates our one true God from Idols and false gods is that He is complete.
God has emotions. You don’t have to look very hard to find a passage of His anger. Or His compassion. We all know Jesus to turn over tables and drive charlatans out of the temple and then we see him a couple of chapters later weeping for his friend. God’s compassion is probably best demonstrated in the person of Jesus but we also have countless examples of his compassion on the people of Israel and His anger against those who continued to walk their own way.
3 barriers from being in God’s presence
In 2000 years there were 3 things that kept people from fulfilling God’s expectations and those 3 things are prevalant in our society today
1. Work Buy oxen
2. Money Bought a field
3. Family Got married
Those are all very good excuses, but God is clear that no matter how good the excuse what He really wants is time with you.
Some have gotten into trouble with this story because they say well does this mean that I shouldn’t work or spend money or have a family.
No it does not mean that
What Jesus is saying loud and clear it God takes priority. In fact the Bible is clear that all good gifts come from God but God does not want us to forget where those blessings come from.
One of the first things that God says to his people is in the first commandment. He says I am a Jealous God and you are to have nothing between you and me.
God is clear that He wants first place in our hearts. He is your first phone call your first line of defense.
Families are great, working gives us a sense of accomplishment and through it all God reminds us that we are His craftsmanship. His handiwork. And because we are His, His blessings shower over us.
I don’t know about you but I have given God some great excuses.
But through all of them they will never amount to the truth that He has greater expectations of me than what I sometimes give him.
Jesus told this story to the religious establishment to tell them that God was opening the doors wide. He was going to let everyone in who wanted in.
Some of you in this room are in a position where you have been making excuses.
Still others identify more as the servants of God and your mission is clear. Go out and bring people to Jesus. Bring the poor the crippled the blind the lame. Bring the infirmed, bring the people who are on backroads and live out in the middle of nowhere. Bring in the people who have never been invited before so that God’s house may be full.
Signal player
Yet others of you identify with those in the story who had no previous invitation and you are just learning about this Jesus. This giver of life. Consider yourself invited today. Come sit at the table of God. Feast in His presence. Find out what kind of Greater expectations God has for your life.
