The Invitation

As a child, I remember having exactly 2 birthday parties.  My parents would probably try and argue that they provided more than 2 parties for me, but “parties” that only include siblings and cousins don’t count. In order for a party to be a party, at least one friend must be present.  Could there have been more than two? Possible, but I only remember two, both of which were shared with my older brother.  No, we are not twins, nor do we share the same birth date.  To be honest my older brother probably had it worse since his birthday was two days after Christmas and a party on a day so close to Christmas was never going to happen for us…or any of his friends.  Thus, a double party on two occasions was scheduled for early spring.  One of the occasions included a mass conversion at Wadena Lanes, the local smoke-filled bowling alley.  God bless my parents and anyone else who has the energy to manage 10+ children in a public establishment, while trying to keep kids from climbing on the chairs, playing with the public bowling balls and attempting to smoke Krazy Karl’s cigars when he wasn’t looking. 

The other party that I recall was a few years prior when all of my friends played outside with my brother and all of his friends, while I lay alone sick on the living room sofa. That was a sad day, especially when you consider that my kindergarten girlfriend had even shown up for the festivities.  She gave me a semi-truck and trailer.  I wish I still had it...then at least I would have something to bitterly remember that day better.

We have hosted several parties for our own children and now I know why my own parents avoided the birthday party scene.  Additionally, my children have gone to many birthday parties for their friends over the years. Party invitations were usually brought home with our children from school or in rare cases delivered through the U.S. Mail. One of the hidden blessings of these invitations, is that they helped build familiarity with Morrison County as I would find myself driving anywhere and everywhere trying to find the right house to drop the child off.  Usually by the time I found my way home, I would have to turn around and drive back to pick them up from the party.  It was a fair trade off really.  My wife would take them shopping for the birthday gift and I would drop them off and pick them up. 

I remember one beautiful spring Saturday afternoon when our youngest daughter had a birthday party to attend for one of her 2nd grade classmates.  One of the best factors was that this young girl only lived a couple of blocks away. 

“Sarah, What time does the party start today?”

“1:00”

“A.M. or P.M.?”

“…seriously????...”  Sarah’s eyes could audibly be heard rolling at this moment.

I waited until 12:58, figuring that it would take at most 5 minutes.  This would guarantee that we wouldn’t be early and would arrive at about the perfect timing.  We hopped in to the rusty pickup and we cruised the few blocks to her friend’s house.  Upon arriving, I made Erica carry the gift and we walked to the front door together.  I rang the doorbell and the girl’s father came to the door. 

“Is this the place for the party?” I asked.

“It sure is.” He said flatly…a little too flatly if you ask me.

He looked at me with a less than jovial face and said, “But the party is tomorrow…not today.”

That was awkward.

When we arrived home, my confused wife asked, “What’s the deal? Why is Erica here?”

“The party is tomorrow…not today,” I matter of factly replied, voice dripping with exasperation. 

This would have been an appropriate time for my wife to apologize for sending me to the right house but on the wrong day. But instead…she laughed.

I guess I should have taken better note of the invitation itself.

In Matthew 22:1-14, Jesus shares a parable about an invitation.  In this case, the King is having a great party for his son who is getting married. Yet, the people who received the invitation all reject it.  Not only do they not come, they scoff at it.  The cultural insult is astounding.  What we then find in this parable, is that Jesus opens this invitation to all, if we will just say yes to him.  Perhaps one of the best things about this invitation is that I can accept it today.  The day is today…I don’t need to come back tomorrow!

May we come to say yes to the invitation to put our trust in Jesus!