Friday, April 22, 2016

Revelation 19:6-9

Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:

“Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)

Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’ And he added, “These are the true words of God.”

Years ago I heard author and speaker Brennan Manning tell a story that I have remembered ever since. He told of growing up in a very dysfunctional home – a home in which love had to be earned by good behavior. But because his parents both struggled with alcoholism, he never knew when he had been good enough to receive their love. He told of a time when, as a young boy, he won some sort of contest. His parents were happy, so they threw a party in his honor – but they invited all their adult friends. Of course, he was very excited to be the focal point of a party – so he behaved as any excited young boy might behave. At some point during the party, his parents decided he was attracting too much attention to himself by his behavior so they banished him to his room for the rest of his party. As he lay in his bed with his party hat on his head – he suddenly had the thought that since he had been so naughty, his parents would soon come into his room and take his party hat away from him. So he hid his party hat under the pillow and decided that when they came to take it, he would lie to them and tell them he didn’t know where it was. Many years later, as he worked through his own struggles with alcohol and depression, Manning recalled this incident with a wise counselor. The counselor encouraged him to “re-live” the story of the party hat – only this time to imagine that it would be Jesus – and not his parents – that came into the room. As Manning once again experienced the shame of being punished at his own party, he also imagined Jesus coming into his room. Jesus said, “Hi Brennan, where’s your party hat?” “It’s under my pillow,” the little boy, now a man, replied. Jesus said, “Take out your party hat and put it on again.” Brennan said, “But I was going to lie to my parents.” Jesus said, “Don’t worry about that now; put on your party hat – and I’m never going to let anyone take it away!” With that, Manning said, he felt Jesus reach under his pillow, take out the party hat, and place it gently on his head.

This is a story about love; it’s a story about joy; it’s a story about grace; it’s a story about two lost sons, and, perhaps most importantly, it’s a story about each one of us!

The younger brother in Jesus’ story lost his party hat when he wound up feeding pigs. The older brother refused to wear his party hat because he didn’t think his younger brother deserved a hat as much as he did. In the end, their father offered them both brand new party hats – not because they deserved them at all – but because his grace was greater than their sin!

Whether you have spent your life to this point as a rebellious younger brother; as a prideful, resentful older bother; or as a little of both – Jesus is saying that there is a party hat with your name on it! And he wants you to allow him to put it on your head so that you can join the party he is throwing for you!

Pastor Brian Coffey