Advent - The Master's Invitation

Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.- Revelation 3:20Hospitality is incredibly powerful. We know this is true in our lives. Who we eat with, who we welcome close to us and who we celebrate with is incredibly powerful because it is a tangible demonstration that the person we eat with is accepted, they are worth being in the presence of, that they are valuable. Jesus was always inviting himself to other people's homes to be hospitable with them. We see the power of that hospitality in the gospels. We see how it shaped the lives of the people Jesus hangs out with and spends time with. He goes to have tea with Zaccheus and the guy does a complete 180. He’s a corrupt official when he meets Jesus and after Jesus comes into his house Zaccheaus promises to repay anything that he’s stolen and gives away half his wealth to the poor. And what does Jesus say? Today, salvation has come to this house!Jesus even got in trouble with the Pharisees and religious leaders for having meals with people, partying and celebrating with people all the time. The first miracle Jesus did was turning water into wine at a wedding party.Jesus told his followers and hanger on-ers, and tells us through the Gospels, that the Kingdom of God. That is, to be following Jesus and to be experiencing his presence and experiencing God's rule and reign in our lives, is like a feast. The idea that the God of the universe in Christ wants to come into that level of proximity and closeness to us is just, wow. Amazing. He wants us to know: you are accepted, you are worth being in the presence of, you are valuable. It is an invitation. An invitation To hear his voice and open the door. It’s not an invasion. He’s not about to kick the door down like some super cop.  But he does want to be present with us, he wants to be intimate with us.I want to invite us to stop waiting and respond. This is an invitation not a command. An invitation to be satiated and satisfied with the real thing. The realest thing. Say no to what they world is feasting on and say yes to feasting with Jesus.