The outer darkness seemed to cling to Miriam like the tattered blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She shivered in the cold evening air as she sat in a doorway outside the temple, begging for money so she could buy some bread to get her through the night. Jerusalem was a hostile place for a young widow in Jesus' day. She heard some strangers approaching -laughing and singing. Miriam drew further into the doorway and her own world of darkness. Someone else's celebration was too much for her to bear. But when the strangers saw her, they stopped. One of them sat down beside her, gave her some warm bread, and said, "The king is serving a feast tonight for the wedding of his son. He'd like you to come to eat at his table and celebrate with him. Will you leave your tattered blanket here in the darkness? Will you come? The king has provided a wedding garment for you. Put it on and come with us to the feast!"

The outer darkness swallowed him up as Mike took his last swig of the acid tasting wine and passed out between two parked cars. He wasn't used to drinking, so it didn't take much to forget about his parents' violent marriage and their hateful divorce. Except that the pain followed him into his drunken nightmares and returned full force the instant he woke up in some lonely place. But this time was different. As he opened his eyes, he found that he was lying on a couch in the church lounge with a warm blanket covering him. He looked up and saw his youth leader and his two best friends from eighth grade. ":Hey, Mike," they said, "we've missed you and we're worried about you. We've been praying for you while you slept." And they caringly invited Mike out of his darkness into the light of their friendship.

As Millie stared at her husband's casket suspended above the open grave, she felt like she was falling into the outer darkness. She still hadn't cried. It was all so sudden. Just four days ago Ray had been in perfect health, or so they thought. And then the heart attack- sudden, violent, irreversible, deadly. She had never felt so alone, so frightened, so incredibly sad. She was sure the funeral had been nice, but she hadn't heard a word that was said. Her mind was a vacuum. Now it was time to go back to church for lunch. She had no children, no other relatives close by, she'd probably sit alone. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Beatrice from her quilting circle. All at once the tears flowed like rain. As they hugged, Beatrice said, "I'm praying for you, Millie, and I'll be here for you. Would you like me to ride to church with you?"

Scott didn't know why, but the outer darkness seemed to descend on him at the most unexpected times. He had a stable job, a good marriage, his health was good, and his kids were grown and doing fine. But something was missing. What was life about? What was it all for? What did he really believe in? Was there anything that mattered so much to him that he would not give it up? Scott remembered how he used to go to church with his family. He remembered stopping when his last child was confirmed. Why had they quit? Probably just drifted away like so much else in life. He thought about going back, but he needed more of a nudge than his own wondering. His phone rang and he picked it up. "Scott? It's Kurt. Lori and I were wondering if you and Susan would like to go out with us for Sunday brunch this week? Why don't we pick you up for church and we'll go from there after services?"

The outer darkness surrounded Theresa every time she walked into the church. It made her feel guilty. Three of her four children hadn't been baptized. She was living with the father of her baby, but they weren't married. Coming into church reminded her of all those things she wanted to do in life, but had not done. But they held WIC Clinics at All Saints and she needed the financial help, so she came. The baby started screaming, it happened so often, and she had no one to give her some respite from his care. A woman sitting next to her whose baby was sleeping peacefully in his car seat offered to hold Theresas baby while she filled in all the paper work. The woman hummed a familiar lullaby to the baby, which seemed to calm him. When Theresa took her baby back, the woman said, "If you don't have a church, you should try coming here to All Saints. They have a great Sunday school and nursery and kids are always welcome. You are too."

People of God, the outer darkness of our world can be so heavy, so oppressive. But sometimes all it takes to lift that darkness is an invitation. You are servants of the King-each one of you. You hold in your hearts, your hands, and in your voices, the words to call people out of the darkness into the light, into a festive celebration of good things: love, Christian caring, hope, forgiveness, new meaning, a new relationship with the King and His Son- salvation.

So don't hold back. Invite. Oh it's true; some will reject your invitation. That's clear from Jesus' parable for this morning. Some will be too busy with "important" things to take the time for that which is essential. Some will ridicule you. Some will ignore you - too blinded by the darkness to see the wonderful invitation you are offering in the name of the King. There may be some who accept the invitation and then come to the banquet of God's grace not in garments of justice and righteousness, of light and joy, but in rags of criticism, blame and darkness. Yes, some will abuse your invitation. And God will deal with them in God's own way. That is not your task. As servants of the King, it is not your job to judge or consign anyone to the outer darkness. That is up to God. Your task is to invite them, one and all, good and bad, into the light of Jesus' love and the feast that our Lord prepares.

For every no, there will be a yes. For every "I'm too busy," there will be a grateful smile and a lightening of the heart. For every criticism, there will be a life filled with new joy and hope. God has prepared the feast and every seat will be filled. The celebration of forgiveness and light is ready to start. This is the marriage feast of God's beloved son, Jesus the Christ. He is being united with his beloved, the church. The feast is a celebration of his life giving love.

The guests were overwhelmed by the brightness of the room. Each of them had lived so long in the outer darkness. But now, here they were, gathered at the King's feast. They knew they weren't worthy to be sitting in the King's presence or to be eating at his table. Except for this: They had been invited, each one of them, by the King's son. He had given them the garments of his righteousness, his forgiveness, his love, instead of the rags of their darkened lives. As they looked around the table, they saw in each other a family resemblance. They were no longer strangers. All were children of His love, His light, His forgiveness. And a voice said, " Welcome my beloved ones."

Amen.