Some friends invited me to one of the most famous and expensive restaurants in the country. I was grateful and eager to go. One invited friend even flew from another state for the experience. Every bite and sip was truly memorable and delicious. But my friends’ teenage children spent much of the time on their phones, complained about the food, and generally ignored the once-in-a-lifetime experience. I wanted to yell, “C’mon, you guys! Look what you’re missing!”

In today’s parable, Jesus describes people invited to an amazing wedding feast who respond with inexplicable indifference. He says, “Some ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to his business” (Matthew 22:5). The problem is not that they choose evil but that they allow other desires to distract them from an amazing opportunity. The feast is prepared, but their hearts are elsewhere. In Christ Jesus, God offers each of us a wildly extravagant offer: a place at the wedding banquet between heaven and earth.

What are your current excuses for the delay in engaging with Jesus? How are you postponing a deepening of your relationship with him under the guise of responsibility? The good news is that the feast is ready. His invitation remains. Hear the Lord say to us, “C’mon, guys! Look what you’re missing!” Then respond with concrete action.