No Excuse Sunday

With tongue in cheek, I would like to tell you of our plan to help increase the Lord’s Day morning worship attendance. Next Sunday morning we are going to have a special “No Excuse Sunday”. Cots will be placed in the foyer for those who say, “Sunday is my only day to sleep in.” There will be a special section with lounge chairs for those who feel our pews are too hard. Eye drops will be supplied for those with tired eyes from watching too much TV late Saturday night. We will have steel helmets ready for those who say, “The roof would cave in if I ever came to church”. Blankets will be furnished for those who say the building is too cold, and fans for those who say it’s too hot. Scorecards will be available for those who wish to list the hypocrites present. Relatives and friends will be in attendance for those who can’t go to church and cook dinner for lunch guests too. We will distribute “Stamp Out Stewardship” protest buttons to those who feel that the church is always asking for money. One section will be devoted to trees and grass for those who like to seek God in nature. Doctors and nurses will be in attendance for those who plan to be sick on Sunday. The whole auditorium will be decorated with both Christmas Poinsettias and Easter Lilies for those who have never seen church without them. We will provide hearing aides for those who can’t hear the preacher and cotton balls for those who can, but don’t want to. We’re looking forward to seeing you next Sunday morning. (Author unknown... from the Joyful Noiseletter)
Excuses... we all make them. Here are some excuses children give for not having their homework assignments. “I made a paper airplane out of it and it got hijacked”; “I put it in a safe, but forgot the combination”; “I left it in my shirt pocket and my mother wash it”; “My baby sister ate it”; “I didn’t do it, because I didn’t want the other kids in the class to look bad”; “I didn’t do it, because I didn’t want to add to my teacher’s already heavy work load”; “My parents couldn’t finish it in time, so they took it to their work place to get some additional help”; “My hard drive... well... it went kind of... whatever on me!” What elaborate webs we weave to remove ourselves from obligations.
[Luke 14: 16-24] Jesus speaks of a great banquet being prepared for those invited, but they began to make excuses to those doing the inviting. “I have just bought a field and I must go tend to it”; “I have just bought five yoke of oxen and I’m on my way to try them out”; “I just got married, so I can’t come”. Those who are saved are calling out to those who are lost. Those who are saved from the wrath of God, having their sins washed away in baptism, no longer living in guilt and shame before the Lord, they invite others to join them in their journey to the promised land (the great banquet) where Jesus is preparing a place for the believers. But, most of the time all that is heard are promises that will be broken and excuses why now is not the right time. “He said to another man, ‘Follow me’. But the man replied, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father’. Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God’.” (Luke 9: 59-60) Are you following Jesus? Are you proclaiming the kingdom of God? Are you inviting others to the great banquet? Have you committed your life to Him, or are you rejecting His invitation? Without excuse, Jesus laid down his life for the redemption of sins, your sins. There’s no excuse for now is the time of the great banquet.