Everyone likes receiving invitations. Getting one is something that makes us feel important and connected. Not getting one leaves us feeling insignificant and forgotten.
Christians are entering into the most meaningful season of invitations. No, we are not referring to Christmas parties or family gatherings characteristic of this time of year. Rather, it is our invitations to Jesus that come to the fore in this grace-filled season of Advent.
Salvation itself is predicated on the fact that God has invited each of us into a personal relationship with Him that is a requirement for entrance into heaven. We should recall how poignantly Jesus made it clear that only His friends would be welcomed into heavenly glory. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven… Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers’” (Mt. 7: 21, 23). Jesus repeatedly defined a disciple and friend as “one who does the will of my Father.” Getting into heaven, then, is completely reliant upon our acceptance of an invitation to friendship with Jesus.
Many Christians regrettably have allowed their religious practice to become little more than routinely going through the motions of participation in Sunday rituals, hoping to sneak through the pearly gates with no more than a modicum of effort. Jesus describes what happens to such “intruders” in the Parable of the Wedding Feast (Mt. 22: 1-14) when the king, representing Jesus, discovers the guest “without a wedding garment” and orders him to be bound and cast outside, “where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.” The lesson Jesus was teaching His disciples was simple: “Many are invited, but few are chosen.” The “chosen ones” are those who accept and cultivate the friendship Jesus offers to each of us. Advent provides believers with the opportunity to take seriously the relationship we have with our Lord by strengthening it.
In prayer and song we accept Christ’s invitation to us by inviting Him into our hearts. We often sing, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” “Come, Lord Jesus” or “O Come, Divine Messiah” as a prayer of invitation. Equally common is our acclamation of faith that Jesus indeed will come to us. We sing, “The King Shall Come,” “On Jordan’s Bank” (‘the Lord is nigh’) or “Proclaim the Joyful Message” (‘our God is coming’). Whatever the case, our acceptance of God’s invitation is itself in the form of an invitation, or better yet, a re-invitation that recognizes that a vibrant relationship with Jesus is what constitutes the acceptance of the gift of salvation. Once we recognize this reality, it then behooves us to give this relationship the attention it deserves, much as we would do for someone we consider to be our “very best friend.” In reality, should we not reserve such a distinction for Jesus alone?
The ways that we can invite Jesus into our hearts, into our families, into our workplaces are limitless. But, as Pope Francis continues to demonstrate rather vividly, our friendship with Jesus is reflected most noticeably in the way we treat those around us. ‘Tis the season to practice generosity, kindness, patience, mercy and love. We Christians are called to raise the bar for ourselves and to set the standard for others in practicing these very things. In just this way we invite Jesus into our lives and welcome Him into our world.
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