Pastoral Devotion for June

Invited to The Banquet Joel 1:1-13, Revelation 18:15-24, Luke 14:12-24
The table is set, the banquet prepared. Everything is ready. It is time for the feast. There is only one problem; the guests have decided not to attend. It seems there are more pressing things on the agenda, other things, personal things, worldly things. Each declined, one by one. Yet, even as the guests spurned the invitation, the master vowed that the banquet would proceed, the meal will be served. How often do we sinners decline God’s invitation?
How many times do we opt out of worship, excuse ourselves from Bible study, or fail to perform acts of service, just so we can engage in our personal pleasures? The dilemma is before us; shall we come to God’s banquet, or do we cancel? After all, we have been invited. Our Baptism into Christ serves as the initial invitation. Even in our disobedience, God set his seal upon us. Through Christ, we have a place at the table.
Like the plague of locusts in our reading from Joel, sin continues to lay the world to waste. Lovers of money search for fulfilment through material means. The self-righteous turn their backs to the needy. Even so, God has reconciled that which was lost. In Christ there is redemption. For those who seek God’s grace there is forgiveness. The Lord says “Come, the banquet is ready.”
Prayer: Feed us at your table Lord, and fill us with your love. Amen.