The Parable of the Great Banquet

When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”

Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’  But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’  Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’  Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’ The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’  ‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’ “

Luke 14:15-24

That’s bad.

Small but interesting detail. Revisionists sometimes raise the polygamy canard. “Those Africans tolerate polygamy - why won’t they accept same sex relationships?” But:

Bishop Ssenyonjo was deposed because of his consecration of a Ugandan priest “under discipline,” a Ugandan spokesman said. “One of the co-consecrators was another deposed Uganda Bishop, the former bishop of North Mbale. He had been deposed because he took a second wife. So, Ssenyonjo was not deposed because of his association with Integrity.”

Granted the one deposed for polygamy was not Ssenyonjo - but it is interesting to see how the Ugandan church dealt with the former bishop of North Mbale.

The comedy of miscommunication (+Andreth sponsors, hey wait a sec, it’s still on the programme? no way okay I’ll go but no one shows - what on earth?!?!?) is fascinating.

Building trust?

Is it possible this was just a bureaucratic snafu?

I’d much rather see this event as a failure to communicate rather than as an example of a Vast Conspiracy.  But I would also like to know more about the illicit consecration by Bishop Ssenyonjo and the deposed polygamous former bishop of North Mbale.  What church authorized this consecration?

And what about the consecrations for the pro-Chavez independent church in Venezuela?  Was the local Episcopal bishop involved in them?  Were they consecrated in the Duarte Costa succession from Brazil as the Charismatic Episcopal bishops are?