Excuses

As an instructor at a community college, I have heard all kinds of excuses from students:

• "My car broke down."
• "My kids are sick."
• "The dog ate my homework." (This is no longer valid, because now they do their homework on-line. Perhaps, now, the dog will eat the computer.)
• "The aliens abducted me."

Whatever the case, we can usually come up with a good excuse that will get us out of a sticky situation. We think that an excuse will absolve of responsibility. For example, when students give excuses (like those above), they think that they no longer have to do the homework, or take the test. Excuses, however, do not absolve us of responsibility.

Jesus told a story about excuses. It is often referred to as the parable of the great banquet. It is found in Luke14:16-24. The gist of the story is as follows. A man is giving a banquet, but all the people he invited had an excuse as to why they could not come. One had business concerns. One had to see to his personal possessions. One had familial relations that took precedence. They had known for some time of the banquet. The man giving the banquet was ticked that they made excuses. He then invited the homeless and other marginalized people to eat at the banquet.

The banquet is a metaphor for the Kingdom of God. The ones who made the excuses were the religious elite. They thought their place at the banquet was secure, and their invitation written in stone. They were forced to watch the banquet with their noses pressed against the window of the banquet hall.

What are our excuses for not entering the Kingdom of God? Sometimes we think only of the Kingdom of God being heaven. When we die, we go the Kingdom of God, heaven. The Kingdom of God, however, is also in the here and now. We are supposed to be living in the Kingdom right now. I have made excuses. My family comes first. I'm too busy working. I have to take care of my junk. I need to quit making excuses. We, as the Church of Jesus Christ, need to quit making excuses.