I have a significant university reunion coming up in March. Over the (many) years there have been many reunions with varying take up by members, myself included. I think I attended the 10 and 25 years. However, judging by the messages flying back and forth on the “WhatsApp” group, all but about 3 out of our 105 1st year intake have been contacted and invited. Some are travelling from as far as Australia and South America to catch up with, “old” friends. We have even got the (retired) bank manager coming as guest of honour. She was responsible for financing, repeatedly in some cases – myself not included, considerable loans to many of us students!
This morning the latest message was that as there are over 120 people attending, (other halves are also invited), the caterers are asking for a seating plan. We have therefore been instructed to send in our preferences of who we would like to sit with for dinner, (and/or who we would not).
This posed a question for me. Do I simply choose those people I have kept in contact with over the years, those I shared a house with, stick in my “comfort zone” or do I go for “pot luck” and offer to sit with anyone, perhaps people I had little contact with when at university?
It got me to thinking about the story in the Bible about the banquet and seating plans.
There are two stories next to each other in Luke’s gospel. The first one (Luke 14: 7-14), a lesson in humility, is the story of being invited to a wedding banquet and which seat to take. If you assume a seat at the top table you will be humiliated when a more important guest arrives, but if you take a seat at the back you will be invited forward to share with the wedding party.
The second, follows on (15-24), and teaches about who will be invited to the kingdom of God. Those who had been invited to the banquet made all sorts of excuses when the day of the feast arrived. The host was understandably angry, and sent his servants out to invite people off the streets, the disadvantaged, the less able bodied, the marginalised. The feast was ready to begin and their was a full table with no room for those previously invited.
Do we make assumptions about our position at God’s table? Do we make excuses, “not yet,” “just let me do this and then I’ll be ready.”
Do we mix only with those we feel most familiar or comfortable with? Stick to our own “comfort zones.”
As it turns out, whilst I have been writing this TFTD, the friends I was planning to sit with at our reunion have been chatting, and our number does not fill a whole table, and so we’ve opened it up to others. A compromise you might say!