Luke 14:15-23
"You're Invited"
Preached Saturday, February 28, 2026 at Youth RetreatI want to start tonight off by sharing a poem with you entitled, “The Gospel According to Mrs. Farnell’s Pre-K Class” by the Rev. Sarah Speed. It goes:
“In Pre-K the whole class gets an invite to Tommy’s birthday.
He places the paper invites in our cubbies. There’s a helter-skelter sticker
sealing each one, proof that tiny hands did the work. So we,
the members of Mrs. Farnell’s Pre-K class, arrive at the park on Saturday.
We arrive whether or not we’ve ever built a sandcastle with Tommy.
We arrive whether or not we’ve ever shared half of our PB&J at lunch.
We arrive at the park on Saturday, with pigtails and balloons,
because we were invited.
And together we play tag, and we eat birthday cake, and we run barefoot in the grass.
Together, we sing Happy birthday to youuuuuu, so excited we can barely stand still.
Together, we momentarily forget that Chloe never gets picked for Red Rover and that Quinn cried in class last week, because the park is not the playground and everyone was invited.
And when we load into our cars at the end of the day, with grass-stained knees, chocolate frosting on our faces, and the awareness of inclusion, we say to our parents, This was the best day of my life.”
Our Scripture lesson tonight was also about invitations extended for a party. We heard a parable of a banquet feast where those invited did not accept the invitation - those who would have been on equal social standing, or even friends with, with the host of the party make up excuses of other things to do. They will not be attending dinner.
That’s kind of, well, sucky. Imagine you were throwing a party and you invited those closest to you and they came up with lame excuses like, “I can’t come - I have to plan what college I’m going to go to.” (And college is like - years from now). Or if they said, “I can’t come - I just got a new puppy and I want to play with him.” or “I’m going to hang with my new boyfriend instead.” That might hurt your feelings that your friends were choosing to do things that weren’t necessary to do right then or hang with people or animals just to hang - not a special planned party.
And the host is angry about this. Perhaps his feelings are hurt. But he doesn’t cancel the party. He just decides to invite more people. And so the invitation is extended - to the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame. Those who would have been considered - and often still are considered - the last and the least. The invitations, however, do not stop there. After that, the host then tells his servant to go into the streets and compel anyone and everyone - any who will accept the invitation - to come in and feast.
So often our invitations to the tables we sit at, the parties we throw (and now I am talking metaphorical not just literal), look like the first round of invitations the host sent out - invitations to those of the same social standing or sphere, those in our “groups”. So often our tables are full of people who look, act, and think just like us. This is not the Good News of the Gospel.
The Good News of the Gospel looks a lot more like that Preschool Birthday party. The Good News of the Gospel looks like inviting all.
And sometimes, all, starts with you. Each and every one of you, here, as individuals, is invited by Jesus to know him and be included in the big party.
In the United Methodist Church we believe in something called prevenient grace - and maybe you’ve heard that term if you’ve already gone through confirmation and maybe you’ll hear more about it in the future - but basically it’s this idea that from the moment each and every one of us is born, God is extending love to us. God is whispering in our ears, “hey! I’m right here! Hey! I want to be in relationship with you! I want you to get to know me! Hey! I love you!” From the moment each and everyone of us is born, God is inviting us. And this is happening constantly, consistently, every single moment of our lives whether we realize it or not.
God is always whispering in your ear, “I love you. Accept my invitation to get to know me.”
All of your names are on the invite list.
Actually, everyone’s name is. That doesn’t make your personal invite less special, it just makes the eventual party - both in this life which is the community of Christians, the Church, and in the next life, that big wedding feast, that much better.
So look - Jesus has made the invite list - everyone, full stop, no exceptions - and Jesus is doing the inviting work through the Spirit whispering love into our ears and… we are called to amplify God’s invitation of love to one another.
That means, just as we are invited by God, we are called to invite others - to know Jesus and to be a part of the Church which is the community of people who know Jesus and follow him.
Let’s parse that last sentence out into two parts - first - we are called to invite others to know Jesus.
When we come to accept Jesus’s invitation of love for us, it can completely change our lives. Maybe not our outer lives - like who our family is or what our day to day life is like - but it does change our inner lives. When John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, accepted an invitation of God’s love, truly believed that God loved him, he said his heart was strangely warmed. This strange warmness is a defining characteristic of our lives with God. That no matter what we are going through, no matter what is happening in the world around us, God’s strangely warm love for us is always there. There is also a safe person to go to in Jesus. There is always hope to be found. As followers of Jesus, we know this to be true!
And we are not meant to keep this strange warmness, this knowledge of love, the safety of Jesus’s presence, the hope that springs forth - to ourselves. We are meant to share it. To invite others to experience it.
Okay, so I’ve been talking for awhile now. Let’s talk about this. Like I’m going to throw a question out and it would actually help me a lot if you answered, if we turned this next part of the sermon into a kind of conversation. But we want to hear everyone so don’t all talk at once.
How can you share the warmth of God’s love with others? How can you invite them into a relationship with Jesus?
Actually, everyone’s name is. That doesn’t make your personal invite less special, it just makes the eventual party - both in this life which is the community of Christians, the Church, and in the next life, that big wedding feast, that much better.
So look - Jesus has made the invite list - everyone, full stop, no exceptions - and Jesus is doing the inviting work through the Spirit whispering love into our ears and… we are called to amplify God’s invitation of love to one another.
That means, just as we are invited by God, we are called to invite others - to know Jesus and to be a part of the Church which is the community of people who know Jesus and follow him.
Let’s parse that last sentence out into two parts - first - we are called to invite others to know Jesus.
When we come to accept Jesus’s invitation of love for us, it can completely change our lives. Maybe not our outer lives - like who our family is or what our day to day life is like - but it does change our inner lives. When John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, accepted an invitation of God’s love, truly believed that God loved him, he said his heart was strangely warmed. This strange warmness is a defining characteristic of our lives with God. That no matter what we are going through, no matter what is happening in the world around us, God’s strangely warm love for us is always there. There is also a safe person to go to in Jesus. There is always hope to be found. As followers of Jesus, we know this to be true!
And we are not meant to keep this strange warmness, this knowledge of love, the safety of Jesus’s presence, the hope that springs forth - to ourselves. We are meant to share it. To invite others to experience it.
Okay, so I’ve been talking for awhile now. Let’s talk about this. Like I’m going to throw a question out and it would actually help me a lot if you answered, if we turned this next part of the sermon into a kind of conversation. But we want to hear everyone so don’t all talk at once.
How can you share the warmth of God’s love with others? How can you invite them into a relationship with Jesus?
(Receive answers from youth)
Yeah, those are a lot of good ways. I think it’s a mixture of our words and our actions. Some people only use actions - and while it’s great to show kindness and love to others, they may never know that Jesus is the reason behind them if you don’t tell them. And some people only use words - but those words won’t have much weight unless they are backed up by actions of love.
Okay - so that’s inviting others to know Jesus. Now let’s talk about inviting others to church.
The Church, which is made up of people like you and me, is one of the many ways people experience God’s love in this world. The Church community it’s meant to be a safe and welcoming space for all to experience the love of Jesus.
Now…you may notice I said it’s “meant” to be. Because we are human and sometimes we get it right and sometimes we get it wrong.
Sometimes the church is full of fighting and bickering.
Sometimes the church is not welcoming of all the people that Jesus would invite - because of their race, or the language they speak, or what country they were born in, or if they’re LGBTQ, or, or or…
Sometimes the church…just gets it wrong.
Which is often why people want nothing to do with it. They think, “Why would I want to be a part of that?”
Now - God has been whispering an invitation of love in their ear since the moment they were born. And God will keep on doing that.
And. It’s up to us to show them how the Church, the community of people who God, can be a safe and loving place for all people - and we can make it so.
Let’s do that things where I ask you all questions again - So let’s imagine you were throwing a party and all sorts of different types of people were going to be invited - people of different ages, people with different needs and abilities, people with different dietary restrictions, people with different hobbies, etc etc - how could you be good host and make everyone feel welcome? Give examples.
(Get answers from youth)
You’ve all thought of it exactly.
Whether people work, have kids, or are in school would influence the time of the party. And what kind of party it is! You don't break out the fancy breakable plates when there are going to be little ones running around. If someone has an infant, you might even consider opening up another room for them as a quiet place to care for their child. Or even...helping arrange childcare. Or, what if someone was in a wheelchair or just had surgery...the venue would need to be considered to make sure it's accessible and there is room at the table. And consider the food too. We always do as Methodists, don't we? Maybe someone has allergies or is vegan or vegetarian. Maybe someone doesn't eat a specific food because of their cultural background. When you are planning for a dinner party, a good host takes the guest list into mind when cooking. Cause you want everyone to feel welcomed at the table. If you don't think of your guests then when they arrive you can't suddenly change the menu or short order cook. No, you prep and plan to make it a place and a time where all are welcomed at the table. If you have a reputation of being a host who isn't prepared to welcome all - those with different life experiences, those with kids, those with disabilities - whatever it is. When they get the invitation, they're not going to come. They're going to say "oh. This isn't really for me." Think how much more it is for the church instead of a party. We can be the change in our church communities to help them be places where all are welcomed and celebrated.
Now God's table, this table, the Communion table, the feast at the heavenly banquet, God’s table - that table is already open to ALL. God has made it so. God has the guest list and each and everyone of us is invited - just as if it was a preschool party. And here in the United Methodist Church we strive to reflect that openness of God's table by saying that all are welcome at our table - you don't have to be a United Methodist, you don't have to be a member of a specific church...you only have to want to be at the table with God. Cause Jesus won't turn anyone away, there is truly a seat for all. God wants us and everyone of us to come to this table and walk away grinning and smiling, saying This was the best day of my life!
So as we consider invitations tonight -
Remember, God is always and ever, from the moment of your birth - extending an invitation of love to you.
The invitation of love is also going to everyone else in our lives and the world - we can help amplify that invitation by inviting people to know Christ and the Church - and helping make that church a truly safe place for all.
And tonight - you are being invited to this table, to experience God’s love for you, and let it warm your heart. Amen.
Yeah, those are a lot of good ways. I think it’s a mixture of our words and our actions. Some people only use actions - and while it’s great to show kindness and love to others, they may never know that Jesus is the reason behind them if you don’t tell them. And some people only use words - but those words won’t have much weight unless they are backed up by actions of love.
Okay - so that’s inviting others to know Jesus. Now let’s talk about inviting others to church.
The Church, which is made up of people like you and me, is one of the many ways people experience God’s love in this world. The Church community it’s meant to be a safe and welcoming space for all to experience the love of Jesus.
Now…you may notice I said it’s “meant” to be. Because we are human and sometimes we get it right and sometimes we get it wrong.
Sometimes the church is full of fighting and bickering.
Sometimes the church is not welcoming of all the people that Jesus would invite - because of their race, or the language they speak, or what country they were born in, or if they’re LGBTQ, or, or or…
Sometimes the church…just gets it wrong.
Which is often why people want nothing to do with it. They think, “Why would I want to be a part of that?”
Now - God has been whispering an invitation of love in their ear since the moment they were born. And God will keep on doing that.
And. It’s up to us to show them how the Church, the community of people who God, can be a safe and loving place for all people - and we can make it so.
Let’s do that things where I ask you all questions again - So let’s imagine you were throwing a party and all sorts of different types of people were going to be invited - people of different ages, people with different needs and abilities, people with different dietary restrictions, people with different hobbies, etc etc - how could you be good host and make everyone feel welcome? Give examples.
(Get answers from youth)
You’ve all thought of it exactly.
Whether people work, have kids, or are in school would influence the time of the party. And what kind of party it is! You don't break out the fancy breakable plates when there are going to be little ones running around. If someone has an infant, you might even consider opening up another room for them as a quiet place to care for their child. Or even...helping arrange childcare. Or, what if someone was in a wheelchair or just had surgery...the venue would need to be considered to make sure it's accessible and there is room at the table. And consider the food too. We always do as Methodists, don't we? Maybe someone has allergies or is vegan or vegetarian. Maybe someone doesn't eat a specific food because of their cultural background. When you are planning for a dinner party, a good host takes the guest list into mind when cooking. Cause you want everyone to feel welcomed at the table. If you don't think of your guests then when they arrive you can't suddenly change the menu or short order cook. No, you prep and plan to make it a place and a time where all are welcomed at the table. If you have a reputation of being a host who isn't prepared to welcome all - those with different life experiences, those with kids, those with disabilities - whatever it is. When they get the invitation, they're not going to come. They're going to say "oh. This isn't really for me." Think how much more it is for the church instead of a party. We can be the change in our church communities to help them be places where all are welcomed and celebrated.
Now God's table, this table, the Communion table, the feast at the heavenly banquet, God’s table - that table is already open to ALL. God has made it so. God has the guest list and each and everyone of us is invited - just as if it was a preschool party. And here in the United Methodist Church we strive to reflect that openness of God's table by saying that all are welcome at our table - you don't have to be a United Methodist, you don't have to be a member of a specific church...you only have to want to be at the table with God. Cause Jesus won't turn anyone away, there is truly a seat for all. God wants us and everyone of us to come to this table and walk away grinning and smiling, saying This was the best day of my life!
So as we consider invitations tonight -
Remember, God is always and ever, from the moment of your birth - extending an invitation of love to you.
The invitation of love is also going to everyone else in our lives and the world - we can help amplify that invitation by inviting people to know Christ and the Church - and helping make that church a truly safe place for all.
And tonight - you are being invited to this table, to experience God’s love for you, and let it warm your heart. Amen.
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