Dear Friends,
In the parable of the Great Feast, Matthew 22: 1 – 15, there is a picture of great joy and celebration when everyone is drawn up into a heavenly banquet. And, would that Matthew had left it there but he doesn’t.
Instead, he tells of the one who sat in the banquet hall dressed in ordinary clothes. Everyone else was dressed in their wedding garb for they were celebrating love’s consummation. But not this one who refused to change. In response, the wedding host has him thrown out.
We can get all kinds of upset about the injustice of throwing someone out just because they aren’t wearing the right clothes. Indeed, we did exactly that in our Monday Bible Study.
Or, we can wonder why everyone else was dressed appropriately but not this one?
Could it be that they had already changed? So when the day came for the wedding feast, they were ready. If we follow this direction then, instead of “why God?” we might ask “have we been changed?
Such a question makes us consider what clothes we wear today. Some of the old clothes are comfortable clothes and we return to them from time to time. These could be those habits that lead us to trust in things that are not God.
The ones that are sewn in faith and expectation of the heavenly banquet lead to greater love. At first, they may not feel as comfortable. Still, we put them on day after day because we want to know and experience God’s love now and forevermore.
This Valentines Day, let us be mindful to change into those clothes that celebrate and lead us into the greater love of our God.
Pastor Heather
Reverend Heather DeVoe Miner, M.Div
Rev. Heather served as the pastor at NLBCC until 2022. She continues to spread the loving and inclusive message of Christ, serving a church in Boise, Idaho.
