I Have Been Invited

“Many are invited, but few are chosen.” Matthew 22:14

The invitation has arrived. I have been invited to the wedding banquet. I’m so excited that I’m on the guest list. I read the invitation over and over again. And then, something I had not noticed before catches my eye. In the bottom right corner there is a little note that says “Attire: Black Tie.” What in the world? 

What does black tie mean exactly? I grab my phone and I google: “black tie.” I find that black tie for gentlemen means a tuxedo jacket and bow tie, and for women, a floor length gown is typically preferred, but midi dresses and appropriate cocktail dresses work as well. Not in Miami, they don’t. I learned that the hard way many moons ago. The very first time that I was invited to a black tie affair, I did not own a floor length gown, so I opted for the prettiest cocktail dress in my closet. It was a black silk gown that felt to my knees. I was the only one wearing a short dress. Every single woman at the event was wearing a floor length gown. I felt so out of place. Luckily, I was not thrown out.

There was once “a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son… When the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless. Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are invited, but few are chosen.’” Matthew 22:2,11-14

Every time I hear this reading my first thought goes to the poor guest who maybe didn’t own the proper attire. But then I think that if the King throws him out, there had to be a deeper reason. It’s like when you are invited to be part of the wedding court. The guys are asked to go to the Men’s Wearhouse to rent their white tuxedos. But one refuses to abide by the request and shows up wearing a black one. Most likely the groom will tell him that he will not be part of the wedding party. The same thing probably happened here. The King probably provided the necessary guidelines and maybe even the garments for his guests. But one guest simply refused to wear it, and that’s why he was kicked out of the banquet. 

Every Sunday, the King invites us to a wedding feast. We are all invited. We are all on the guest list. The King wants all of us to join the celebration. But not all of us will show up. Some of us will be too busy or too tired to attend the feast. We don’t value the invitation. We have better things to do or better places to be. 

The rest of us will show up, but some will be wearing the wrong attire. We do not care enough to take the time to prepare ourselves, to be worthy of the invitation. We must prepare ourselves, not just on the outside but also on the inside. As a matter of fact, it’s the inside attire that the King cares about. He couldn’t care less if we show up with a floor length gown or a short one, but He does care that we show up with the right attitude. Many times we are at the banquet physically, but our minds are a thousand miles away. We approach the banquet not paying attention to what we are about to receive.

The King has extended the invitation and the attire is black tie. Black tie means to show up with the proper attitude, the one that makes us worthy to be present in front of Our King. It means letting go of all distractions to really hear what the King has to say. It means offering Him all that we are and all that we have as our gift to Him for extending His invitation to us. And the King will thank us and say to us: “I’m so glad you accepted my invitation. I’m so glad you are here. I’m so glad you wore your black tie gown.”

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