The fanciest gala I ever attended required me to deck out in black tails and white gloves. I was one of the waiters.

During seminary I worked for a catering company. The aforementioned event occupied the St. Louis Art Museum. The May Company threw the dinner in honor of a new exhibit.

I spent the entrée portion of the evening statuesque by one of the dinner tables. Moving only when a glass needed more water or patron required personal attention.

Desert dictated a change from black tails to dessert jacket. I didn’t even know they made dessert jackets. 

The dinner wasn’t for me. I was hired help. Maybe I took some leftovers home. No clue.

Jesus once told a parable of a host throwing a fancy feast. His original invite list all had better things to do. He then filled the hall with clueless people who never dreamt of sitting at such a soirée.

The lame. The blind. The broken and homeless and cast offs. All unclean by standards of the day.

All invited to the finest feast they’d ever seen. All because the host was incredibly gracious. 

All because He loves a full house.

The parable reveals Jesus as the God who prepares a banquet and invites everyone to the evening. Especially you.

Ironically He’s not only the host. He’s also the invitation. 

If you don’t know Him for who He is the banquet makes no sense. The invitation will likely be tossed aside for some other priority.

When we leave this world we’ll either attend God’s great feast or stand eternally alone outside a beautiful door wondering what all the joyful noise on the other side is all about. 

Who is Jesus? Great teacher or great God? Your answer defines your ending.

The God-man Jesus invites you to a banquet to end all banquets. Not as a waiter. As His guest.

Maybe we’ll be at the same table?