“Missing out”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Monday, November 7, 2022
Luke 14:12-24 (Forward, p. 9) CEV p. 1081
I have often characterized today’s parable as the story of the three silly people, and that is undoubtedly true to how the story unfolds. Three people were invited to a particular feast, a great banquet. However, when the time came for the feast to begin, each of these three people begged off—for one reason or another. The first asserted that he had bought some land, some property, and hadn’t had a chance to look over it yet. “So,” he said, “pray let me be excused.” But, isn’t that entirely daft: he has bought property sight unseen. It could be swamp or desert for all he knows. He is a fool. And besides, it will still be there, sight unseen, when the banquet is over and done with. And so, because of his lame excuse, he misses out on something very good.
The second guest to bow out is perhaps even more foolish, even more silly. He claims to have bought five yoke, five team, of oxen and has yet to try them out. “You fool. they could be lame or blind for all you know.” And so, this man too prays to be excused”. Once again, a lame excuse has caused him to miss out on something extremely good.
The third guest, perhaps, has an excuse that is more plausible, more acceptable. He tells the host that he has just gotten married, and for that reason, can’t come. That excuse has just a verge of support, though only a verge, as the Hebrew Scriptures tell a newly married man that he can’t go to war or start a new business just after their marriage (Deuteronomy 24:5).
But surely the banquet isn’t that lengthy: won’t she be all the happier when you return from it? And besides, maybe you could spring an invitation for her as well. So, once again, this man loses out, misses out on something worthwhile for himself.
All of these excuses sound pretty flakey, but it gets worse once you understand the culture and practices of the day. In a time and place where time pieces, clocks and such, were non-existent, it was not possible for the host or hostess of a banquet to give an exact time for when it began. Instead, they would merely give an open-ended invitation, usually stating the day (but perhaps not always) but no more. The guests were expected to get ready—presuming that they had accepted the invitation in the first place—and await the word of the servant to tell them that all was now ready and that they should now come.
And so, not only did all the guests have plenty of time to prepare—thus, nullifying many of their silly excuses—but in this case, they were turning down, going back, on something they had already said ‘yes’ to. Thus, it was a massive slap in the face, a particularly outrageous and nasty insult, to the host and his honour and reputation.
So, what might have happened? Here is a field for endless speculation but here goes. Some scholars have suggested that these guests had discovered who else was coming and decided that they didn’t want to be seen with them! Others have suggested that it was a simple shift in priorities during the interval between the first notice and the final call. Whatever the reason, they lost out big.
However distant this scenario might seem it can certainly have some applications to us today. First off, do we ever offer up equally lame excuses as to why we can’t commit ourselves to Christ, or as to why we can’t follow Him or obey Him in some regard? Are not excuses such as pride or ambition or conflicting priorities or pleasure or fear just a lame as the ones put forward by these three men?
And, secondly, do we not find ourselves, on occasion, of being in the situation where we initially said ‘yes’ to something pertaining to the Lord, and then, partway along—or at the last minute—backed out? Isn’t this just as insulting to our Lord, just as disrespectful, as the bail-out of those three men? So, my guess is that we, you and I, can lose out, miss out, on something very good and wonderful, just because of stupid choices that we make. I pray that this will not be so with any of us moving into the future. Amen.
Forward notes: “He said also to the one who had invited him, ‘When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous’” (verses 12-14).
“One of my favorite figures in American history is Benjamin Franklin. The statesman popularized many adages, including that it was possible to ’do well by doing good.’ Franklin meant that it is possible to succeed and profit by our acts of ‘goodness.’ On a certain level, this is true and acceptable for the Christian. We have legitimate needs in our lives and living profitably isn’t forbidden. But when we choose our acts of goodness on the basis of the return rather than the voice of the Holy Spirit, we’ve put aside the eternal reward in preference to a temporal one.”
Moving Forward: “What acts of goodness will you choose today?”