"A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many.
When the time for the dinner came,
he dispatched his servant to say to those invited,
'Come, everything is now ready.'
But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves.
We secretly believe that our excuses for not attending the dinner will give us more joy than the dinner itself. We think that all our worry about our oxen, our fields, and even our marriages are where the real satisfaction is to be found. And so we don't let the feast to which we are invited interfere with our normal grind in which we try to eke out a modicum of joy for ourselves.
Before we even make an attempt to shift our priorities we should ask for a clearer vision and a greater hope for what the feast will in fact mean.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away (see Revelation 21:4).
Suddenly even marriage seems like it ought to be in second place to something so significant. The trouble is we don't keep our eyes fixed on that hope. But we should. In fact, if we want to be able to run the race with endurance it is the only way.
And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith (see Hebrews 12:1-2)
When we fix our eyes on Jesus we see the full picture. We see the one who completely embraced humility even onto the point of death in order that all the nations could be united in one feast. And we see our first distant view of that feast in his own resurrection in which we all one day hope to be united.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Jesus himself tears apart the dividing wall between God and man. He puts to death all that keeps us separate from God and therefore also from one another. He shows us the way in our own humility to bridge division and welcome all into the unity of the heavenly feast. Above all, he shows that the effort and endurance is worthwhile because he himself shows us the reward.
To him my soul shall live;
my descendants shall serve him.
Let the coming generation be told of the LORD
that they may proclaim to a people yet to be born
the justice he has shown.
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