Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Give Us This Day

Home
Evangelical
Friday of Trinity 7 – Luke 14:15-24

Friday of Trinity 7 – Luke 14:15-24

Last updated on: July 18, 2013 at 10:39 pm by Fr. Charles Erlandson

Friday of Trinity 7 – Luke 14:15-24 2013-07-18T22:39:18-05:00 Fr. Charles Erlandson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Luke 14:15-24

“Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the Kingdom of Heaven!”

What a nourishing thought! I find it interesting that the anonymous person who made this great statement was sitting at the table and eating with Jesus Himself. I wonder if he knew not only that he would eat bread in the Kingdom of Heaven but also that being with Jesus is eating in the Kingdom of Heaven.

I used to sit around and think of ways to end a particular sentence – almost as if I were a contestant on the old 1970s game show, “Match Game.” The sentence I tried to creatively finish was: “The kingdom of heaven is like ________.” I remember one day years ago when I was helping my friend move (for some reason my 1983 Toyota pickup truck made me very popular whenever people needed to move) in the middle of the summer. By the afternoon I was worn out and sweating with no end in sight, and then . . . drink and rest. Out of this experience I developed the parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like helping your friend move all day in the heat of the Texas summer and then slurping down a Big Gulp from 7-11.”

I think we’ve got the Kingdom of Heaven all wrong. The Kingdom of Heaven isn’t like a bunch of people who die and go to heaven and are turned into ethereal angels who float around on clouds and play harps all day and are bored out of their skulls. I think if we had better pictures of the Kingdom of Heaven in our heads, we might be more interested in living in the Kingdom of Heaven here and now.

Jesus liked parties. He was always eating at feasts, even with sinners,

He likes feasts so much that every Sunday at the Lord’s Supper He throws one for His people, at which He is not only the Host but also the Celebration and the Food. “Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the Kingdom of Heaven!”

God is in the process of throwing the greatest feast ever known: it’s known as the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. The Father invites all people to this feast, but most people reject the invitation because they are unwilling to pay the price (more about the price in Luke 14:25-35 tomorrow.) And so he has commissioned His servants to go out and compel people to come in, that His house (the Church) may be filled.

Now that word compel is a curious one. It suggests force, and I think a lot of preachers of the past took it in this sense. In a sermon titled “Compel Them to Come in” the great 19th Century preacher Charles Spurgeon tried, by the force of his words and emotion, to compel people to repent and come into the Kingdom of Heaven. Spurgeon practically assaulted his congregation and treated them as if they were still unconverted.

I don’t think that kind of compelling people into God’s kingdom, His feast, works anymore, if it ever did. I don’t see many people who have not had some Christian background spontaneously waltzing into our churches on Sunday morning.

But what if the word compel meant invite or strongly urge?

We do have a responsibility for bringing people into God’s eternal feast, His Kingdom, but we do it by invitation and strongly urging.

My belief is that the best way to get people to accept this invitation is to make sure you are at the feast every day yourself. I believe that it is disciples deeply devoted to the Lord, the true Bread from Heaven, that are the most effective evangelists. If we feast every day with our Lord, then three things will happen. First, we will be healthy and joyful ourselves, as our souls feed on Him. Second, people will see the health and joy we have and begin wondering. Third, we will be so ecstatic about eating at the feast with our Lord that we will not be able to help but share with others this incredible source of life and health.

“Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the Kingdom of Heaven!”

Point for Meditation:

How much and how well have you been “eating with Jesus” lately? What is one way you can find to feast with Jesus today?

Resolution/Prayer: Lamb of God, help me to come to Your Feast every day, and to accept the joy and health that comes from feeding off of Your divine Food. Give me the grace to be so well-fed that I have the strength and desire to invite others to the Feast as well. Nourish me by every means You offer to me, especially the weekly feast of Your Body and Blood, your Supper.

Book of Common Prayer

Bread of heaven

evangelism

Give Us This Day daily devotional

Kingdom of heaven

Lord’s Supper

Spurgeon

Previous Post

July 17, 2013

Thursday of the 7th Sunday after Trinity - Luke 14:1-14

Next Post

July 19, 2013 Saturday of Trinity 7 - Luke 14:25-35

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Book Reviews Featured Give Us This Day Give Us This Day Devotional love me love my wife Love My Wife Reformed Catholicism Blog Spirit-Reality Take This Cup Uncategorized

Select a Month February 2022 November 2021 October 2021 August 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 September 2018 July 2018 March 2018 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What book has the most references to the word "love" in the New Testament?

Select your answer to see how you score.

1 John John Romans Matthew