그들이 사양하였기에 Because they Excused themselves

그들이 사양하였기에 Because they Excused themselves 펜실바니아 랑카스타 지역에 있는 사이트 앤 사운드 극장은 규모만 아니라 그 무대는 실제로 동물과 사람들이 함께 실감나게 연축하기에 전국만 아니라 세계 각처에서 사람들은 다윗 왕, 다니엘 등을 보기 위하여 오래 전부터 표를 사고 예약하기에 갑자기 가서 표를 구하여 들어가기는 참으로 쉽지 않다. 예약한 자가 어떤 사정으로 오지 못하면 그 자리에 대신 들어갈 수 있는 기회가 된다. 예수께서 누가복음 14장에서 말씀하신 잔치의 비유가 그러하다. 어떤 사람이 잔치를 계획하고 초청장을 보내었더니 온다고 하여 잔치할 날이 되고 준비는 완료되었다. 종들을 보내어 청하였던 자들에게 잔치가 준비되어 있다고 초청하였다. 모두가 다른 사정이 있다고 일제히 사양한다. 한 사람은 밭을 샀기에 가야 하고 한 사람은 소를 사서 시험하러 간다 하고 한 사람은 장가들었기에 갈 수 없다고 한다. 모두 그만한 이유가 있고 친구의 잔치보다는 자기 일이 더욱 앞서는 것을 안다. 잔치를 배설한 주인은 실망하고 화가 나서 종들에게 시내와 거리와 골목으로 가서 가난한 자 몸 불편한 자 맹인과 다리 저는 자들을 데리고 오라고 한다. 그래도 빈 자리가 있자 종들에게 길과 산울타리로 가서 사람들을 데려다가 자리를 채우라 한다. 처음 초대된 사람들은 그 잔치에 모두 제외 되었고 예상치 않던 사람들로 잔치는 진행되었다. 이는 하나님 나라의 잔치를 말하는 것이다. 하나님 나라에 처음 초대된 자들은 하나님의 택함 받은 유대인들이다. 종교 지도자들인 바리새인과 서기관 그리고 사두개인들은 그들이 믿는 하나님이 자기 아들을 위하여 준비한 잔치에 참여하기를 거절한다. 바래시인이라도 예수님을 초청하면 언제나 응하셨다. 지금 말씀하시는 곳도 바리새인의 집이다. 그러나 전반적으로 그들은 예수를 거절하고 오히려 하나님 모독자로 고발하여 제거하고자 하였다. 주님은 길과 거리와 골목으로 가신다. 가난한 자를 찾고 뱡든 자 맹인 등 어렵고 소외된 자를 찾으신다. 주께서 세리장 삭개오 집을 찾아가시고 12년간 혈루증으로 고생하는 여인을 치유해 주시고 가난한 무리 5천명을 배부르게 먹이기도 하셨다. 주님은 이것으로 만족하지 않으시고 길과 산울타리로 두로와 시돈 지방으로 가시어 귀신들린 자와 버림 받은 자를 치유하여 하나님의 자녀로 영입하셨다. 주께서 직접 가서 그들을 만나고 잔치를 베푸신다. 세리장의 집이나 나병으로 고생하던 나사로를 고치고 그 자매 마르다 마리아 집에서도 잔치를 배설하셨다. 이는 처음 예정된 이들이 거절함으로 주의 영역은 외부로 퍼져 나갔다. 예수께서 동역자 제자들을 선택할 때 예루살렘이 아니라 이방으로 취급되던 갈릴리에 가시서 베드로 같은 어부들을 부르시고 베드로는 나중 유대인들의 거절을 당하자 이방인에게로 간다고 하였다. 우리는 이방인이었다. 처음 초대받는 그들이 거절하였기에 우리에게 초청이 오고 주께서 우리를 찾아오셨다. 그들의 거절이 우리의 초청과 잔치 참여가 되었다. 감람나무 그들의 자리에 우리가 접붙임을 당하였다고 바울이 말하며 우리가 접붙임을 받았다면 원 감람나무에 속한 그들은 더욱 접붙임을 당할 것이라고 하였고 우리는 그 날을 기다린다. 주님은 주의 나라 잔치 자리가 채워지기를 원하시고 땅끝까지 가서 초청하라 하시며 우리를 파송하신다. 순종하여 선교사로 먼 나라로 가서 최선을 다하지만 그래도 아직 자리는 비어 있고 우리 모두가 함께 사람을 초청하는 일에 함께 하게 되어 있다. 항상 경성하여 주의 마음과 말씀을 따라 주의 나라 복음을 듣고 하늘 나라 잔치에 참여하도록 믿지 않는 자를 초청하는 사명을 수행할 것이다. Because They Excused Themselves The Sight & Sound Theatre in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, is impressive not only because of its enormous size, but also because of the way its stage brings biblical stories to life. Real animals and actors perform together in a remarkably realistic setting. People from all over the country and even from around the world purchase tickets and make reservations long in advance to see productions about David, Daniel, and other biblical figures. Therefore, it is not easy to go there unexpectedly and simply purchase a ticket at the last minute. Yet sometimes an opportunity becomes available when someone who has made a reservation is unable to attend. Someone else may then have the opportunity to take that person's place. This reminds me of the parable of the great banquet that Jesus told in Luke 14. A man planned a great banquet and sent out invitations. Those who were invited said that they would come. When the day of the banquet arrived and everything had been prepared, he sent his servants to tell the invited guests that the banquet was ready. But they all began to make excuses. One said, “I have bought a field, and I must go and see it.” Another said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to examine them.” Another said, “I have just gotten married, so I cannot come.” Each person had what seemed to be a reasonable excuse. Yet each one revealed that his own affairs were more important to him than the invitation to his friend's banquet. The master of the banquet was disappointed and angry. He told his servant, “Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.” Still, there was room at the banquet. So the master said to his servant, “Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house may be full.” Those who had originally been invited were excluded from the banquet, and the feast went on with people who had not been expected to attend. This parable speaks of the banquet of the kingdom of God. Those who were first invited to the kingdom were the Jews, God's chosen people. The religious leaders—the Pharisees, scribes, and Sadducees—refused to participate in the banquet that God had prepared for His Son. Whenever a Pharisee invited Jesus to his home, Jesus accepted the invitation. In fact, the place where Jesus was speaking when He told this parable was the home of a Pharisee. Yet, generally speaking, the religious leaders rejected Jesus. They accused Him of blasphemy and sought to destroy Him. So the Lord went out into the streets, the roads, and the alleys. He sought the poor, the sick, the blind, the lame, and others who were suffering and marginalized. The Lord went to the house of Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector. He healed a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years. He fed five thousand hungry people until they were satisfied. But the Lord did not stop there. He went beyond the familiar boundaries, even toward the regions of Tyre and Sidon, and reached out to Gentiles and to those who had been rejected and afflicted. He healed those who were demon-possessed and those who had been cast aside, bringing them into the family of God's children. The Lord Himself went out to meet them and prepared a feast for them. He went to the house of the tax collector Zacchaeus. He healed those who suffered from terrible diseases. He also shared fellowship and a meal in the home of Martha and Mary. Because those who had originally been invited rejected the invitation, the Lord's kingdom outreach extended beyond its original boundaries. When Jesus chose His disciples and fellow workers, He did not begin in Jerusalem. Instead, He went to Galilee, a region that was often regarded with contempt by the people of Judea, and called fishermen such as Peter. Later, when the Jews rejected the gospel, Peter and the other apostles came to understand that the message of salvation was also to be taken to the Gentiles. We were the Gentiles. Because those who were first invited rejected the invitation, the invitation came to us. The Lord came looking for us. Their rejection became our invitation and our opportunity to participate in the banquet. Paul describes this in Romans 11 using the picture of an olive tree. We, who were like wild olive branches, were grafted into the olive tree in the place of those who had been broken off. And Paul says that if we, who were wild by nature, were grafted into the cultivated olive tree, how much more will those who originally belonged to it be grafted back in again. We wait for that day. The Lord desires that the places at the banquet of His kingdom be filled. He commands us to go to the ends of the earth and invite people to come. He sends us out with this mission. Some obey by going far away as missionaries and doing their very best to invite people into the kingdom. Yet there are still empty places at the banquet. Therefore, all of us are called to participate together in inviting people to the feast. We must always remain watchful and attentive to the heart of our Lord and to His Word. We are called to proclaim the gospel of His kingdom and invite those who do not yet believe to come, hear the good news, and take part in the heavenly banquet. Those who were first invited excused themselves. Because they excused themselves, the invitation came to us. Now the invitation has been entrusted to us. May we never make excuses. Instead, may we faithfully accept the Lord's invitation and faithfully invite others to His great banquet, until His house is full.