Today's story begins in the year of our Lord 1982.
I am swept up in the frantic pace of the parish priest of Ararat as we go to visit Aradale. A place for those who are not mentally well. The service is nothing like I have ever experienced before and never have since. There are clients wandering around the sanctuary while Fr. Ian, in that other dimension, sails magnificently through the chaos, the language and the unspeakable antics of those who are worshipping with him. There is one clever guy who stands directly behind Fr. Ian and to one side. He fluently repeats every word that the priest says. Even the homily.
There’s another lady who is accosting everyone else with naughty words and that's me being really polite and understating it. There's another couple at the sanctuary step locked in a passionate embrace. I can’t believe the pandemonium, the lack of reverence, the chaos.The recessional hymn is the Lord of the Dance and Fr. Ian in all his vestments, literally dances down the aisle with one of the clients; both are singing at the top of their uninhibited voices. We get into the car. Fr. Ian closes the door, looks at me and smirks. He can tell I’m a googly mess of disbelief. He grins mischievously and says Well Dave, you’ll never get a liturgy like that in college.
And … he .. was .. right!
It was a liturgy like no other and it was a party like no other. Now in case you were burdened by the misunderstanding that Jesus spent all his time praying alone with his heavenly Father, or ticking off the scribes and Pharisees, might I encourage you to have another squiz at the gospels.
There you will discover a joyful and exciting fact. Jesus went to a lot of parties. From the wedding at Cana to the party at Simon's house which is gatecrashed by a lady of dubious character. From the upper room, to Levis' place to Zaccheus’ digs. In fact party going was one of the accusations levelled against the Master.
So much so that he has to counter;“John the baptist came fasting and you say he has a demon.The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.”
No wonder then that the party is often the backdrop for Jesus parables. Remember the story of the lost sheep and the lost coin. Both stories are about diligence in seeking out the lost. The farmer and the housewife do not give up. But right at the end of each story, when the lost sheep and the coin have been found, they round up their neighbours and ask them over for a keg and a BBQ to share in their good fortune.
This mornings parable is also set against the backdrop of a wedding feast where there is so much love and joy and food and drink and celebration. However, its not all going to plan. Some of the guests turn down the invitation. In fact they shoot the messenger who brings them their invite. So part of the message is that we are to accept the invitation cheerfully and willingly.
But that still leaves lots of room at this wedding reception. Just some of the name cards at the table have to be redone. So the king sends his messengers out to gather every Maree, Cheree and Donna to come to the party. Bad and good alike. Now we’re getting somewhere. That sounds like us. That’s a picture I can relate to. Here we all are, a very odd collection of people having been dragged in unprepared, sometimes not quite knowing why we’re here and often feeling a bit uncomfortable about it anyway. Sometimes maybe wishing that God had left us undisturbed just to get on with our business.But it's the guy who gets dragged in at the last moment, that hasn’t had time to hire a tux, the guy that gets chucked out, that I feel sorry for. I mean, it wasn’t his fault that he didn’t have time to smarten up. The message here is that we are supposed to have the right party clothes and to be continuously growing.
We do not remain static, where we were, when we were called, but should continuously and actively develop and enhance our relationship with the Living Christ. And part of the message is that we are not to take our place at the table for granted. Our Lord calls whoever he wants, whenever he wants. Our job is to say our prayers, read our bible and get to the altar whenever the health authorities allow us and as often as we can.
But back to Aradale in Ararat. At the age of 22 I crassly thought and so wrongly believed, that these clients were being disrespectful and irreverent. What I realised much later was that their sense of celebration was infectious and overwhelming. In their uninhibited sparkle and bliss they taught me that the party has already begun. It is already being celebrated and all we have to do is show up and join in. “Dance then wherever you may be….”