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Trinity 20

10/24/2015

Isaiah 55:1-9/Ephesians 5:15-21/St Matthew 22:1-14
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.

Why wouldn’t you go? The King is throwing the wedding reception to end all receptions. He is serving the choicest cuts of meat and the finest of wines. Its a royal wedding to top all others, the Prince and His Bride will be married. There will be a feast of rich foods. The King is throwing open the royal cellar. Cups will be overflowing with the vintage normally drunk only in the palace. It is the opportunity of a thousand lifetimes and you are an honored guest. Why wouldn’t you go? Who turns down a invitation like that?

Some are rebels who hate the King. Their allegiance is not to the King, but to another. A would-be prince who has deceived them that he is the world’s true king. These rebels embrace his ethic of kill or be killed, or survival of the fittest, of take what you can get and look out for yourself and maybe your family.

But most of those who refuse the invitation have simply stopped believing that the King’s word means anything. They don’t think the invitation really is for them. They don’t think the King means them well. Or maybe they no longer believe there even is a King. He hasn’t been seen in a long, long while. And others speak of the King’s name in anger when they stub their toes or get the credit card bill. Why bother with a King who seems so insignificant?

And so they make light of the King’s invitation. They don’t go because they think it’ll be better not to go. There are more important things to do. More exciting things to see. They are simply too busy.

Is there another reason not to go? Yes. One other. You see, the invitation comes with an uncomfortable word on it: “Repent.” The King’s servants have let it be known that He is not happy with the people’s greed and selfishness, their lying and gossiping, their failure to honor and respect their spouses and marriage, their unwillingness to defend His little ones. His invitation includes an amnesty; but going will mean facing up to the King’s Word. It will mean coming out of the darkness into the light.

And that will mean a destruction of idols, a change of mind from cherished beliefs and values. It will means admitting they were wrong, rejecting their past reasonings and experiences. It will mean tearing down the worldly decorations in their hearts and making room for another occupant.

So this King’s invitation doesn’t seem worth it. The Son for whom the marriage feast is being held, they see Him naked and hanging on a tree, in disgrace, shame, humiliation. Some King. He can’t even protect His own Son! And the followers and the friends of this King’s Son - they are hated, mocked, slandered, they are poor, hungry, some are put to death like the King’s Son. Who wants any part of that?

So they stay with their homes and businesses. With their wives and mistresses. That’s what they know. That’s where they think they are safe. They make was seems the sensible, practical choice. And they are destroyed. Not just the rebels, but also the indifferent. The King sent His troops and burned their city; not one stone was left atop another.

Now, this is no mere story. It is a parable. Which means, that you’re in it. It is a story that tells us about something real, something that involves us. And Jesus tells us what it’s about. The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a King who gave a wedding feast for His Son. The kingdom of heaven is not like a wedding feast. The kingdom of heaven is like a King who gave a wedding feast. The kingdom of heaven is like a man.

It is like the man who came shouting, Repent, the Kingdom of heaven is at hand and pointed to that self-same kingdom in the flesh and blood of another Man. And that Man sent out the same invitation, “Repent and come in. All is ready.”

You see this is a story about heaven, about God’s invitation to you, which is a call to repentance and an offer of forgiveness. The invitation happened when John the Baptist proclaimed the coming Kingdom in Jesus Christ. The invitation went out when Jesus sent His men. The invitation still goes out when He sends His servants to preach to you, when His Scripture is read. The invitation goes out when you invite someone to Divine Service, when you invite someone to Bible study or catechesis, when you confess the faith before your family, friends, and neighbors.

You don’t accept the invitation by showing up here, although you ought to. You don’t accept the invitation by contributing a percentage of your income to the Church, although you ought to. You don’t accept the invitation by loving your neighbor and obeying the Ten Commandments, although you ought to. When the King says to you, “Come to My Son’s wedding feast,” He is calling you to repentance. When the King says to you, “Come to My Son’s wedding feast,” He is saying, “Turn away from the idols in which you trusted, the things that cannot save you, and turn away from your sins; come to Me. All is forgiven. I offer you not only mercy, amnesty, forgiveness. I also offer you Life in My kingdom, not as slaves or subjects, but as My royal sons and daughters. All that I have is yours.”

But they made light of it. Why? Why would one not accept such an invitation? Pride. Pride is the only answer. They reject and beat and killed the King’s servants because of pride. And how about you? How has pride manifested itself in your life? What are you hanging on to, not letting go of, not letting the Lord’s Word have its way with you? To what sins are you clinging, refusing to let go? What foolishness takes the place of prayer, meditation on God’s Word, and the exercise of a godly life? In what ways are you making light of the King’s invitation, neglecting the Lord’s Word? It is written, How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? (Heb 2:3).

Look carefully how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, writes St Paul. Repentance is needed. Those who neglected the King’s invitation were destroyed, as Jesus says, because they were not worthy. How is this so? Was not everyone invited? Why then does He say some were not worthy? Because worthiness is not found in yourself. Consider the prodigal son. He confessed to his father that he was not worthy to be called his son. Likewise, even John the Baptist acknowledged that he was not worthy to do a slave’s job for Jesus - he was not worthy to loose His sandal strap. And this is your confession. You are not worthy of the things for which you ask in prayer, nor do you deserve them. You are not worthy, in and of yourself, to be a Christian, to commune, to have eternal life.

Who then can be saved?! What is worthiness? Here the Small Catechism helps. “Who receives this Sacrament - the Foretaste of the Wedding Feast to Come of the Lamb in His Kingdom - worthily? Fasting and bodily preparation are certainly fine outward training, but he is worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words, ‘Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.’ But anyone who does not believe these words or doubts them is unworthy.” Worthiness to come to the wedding feast consists in seeing that you are not worthy. Worthiness is believing the King, who invites you because of His goodness, not yours.

So in the parable the King sends out His servants to invite everyone they could find, both good and bad, for there is no distinction. The invitation to the feast does not consist of anything in us; but comes only by the grace of the Host, by the kindness of the King, that anyone has entrance to the feast.

That means the invitation is for you. If you are in the depths of despair, the invitation is for you. If you are in agony over your sins, the invitation is for you. If you know you are not worthy to attend, the invitation is for you. If you are thirsting for relief, the King invites you, “Come to the waters.” If you have no righteousness of your own, but hunger and thirst for righteousness, the King invites you, “Come and eat.” If you see that you are a sinner, the King invites you, “Come and be forgiven.” If you have been living as a rebel, the King invites you, “Come and be pardoned.”

And those who enter the wedding hall are clothed with the wedding garment, supplied by the grace of the King. What is this wedding garment? Holy Baptism. As it is written, As many of you as were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ (Gal 3:27). And this is not a garment to be worn once and then hidden away in a box in the attic. It is to be taken out every day, it is the daily garment of the Christian; it is the clothing of Christ’s own righteousness, without which you are naked in your own filthy rags.

Thus the man in today’s parable who rejects the wedding garment of the King. He is rejecting his Baptism, turning away from the righteousness of Christ, seeking a righteousness of His own. It is as if he said, “I am a good person. I have a right to be here!” instead of saying, “I am a wretched person, a sinner; I have no right to be at the feast, but the King is astonishingly gracious, and He has invited me here and given me clothes to wear that I could never afford.” The man with the wedding garment rejected the graciousness of the invitation. He was a sham Christian who despised the garment and so despised Christ. He may have looked pious and good and wanted to be with the guests, but the wedding garment consists also of faith in the heart.

It is a continual, on-going, daily exercise of contrition and repentance, or receiving holy absolution and pardon and living in the full and free forgiveness of sins. It is never complete this side of heaven, but those sins you still see in yourself the King doesn’t count against you as you remain and abide in His Word of repentance and faith. As the Epistle read, Do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Do not be foolish, that is, a fool, an unbeliever, one who constructs a house, built not on stone, rather on sand. When the judgment comes such a house falls. Yet the one built on the Rock of Christ and His Atonement, when the judgment comes, shall prevail. For this is the will of the Lord: that you believe on the Son whom He has sent. As our Lord Jesus says, Whoever believes and is baptized shall be saved (Mk 16:16). For indeed, Many are called, but few are chosen.

Strive, my dear Christians, to enter by the narrow gate. Make the best use of the time, because the days are evil. And heed this day the King’s invitation: everything is ready, do not delay. Do you know your sin and desperately seek to be free from it? Then do not stay away. “Come to the feast, all is ready.” Do you have no money? Nothing good to bring or offer? Good. Come, buy and eat without money and without price. Here everything is free according to the good and gracious will of the Lord your God who invites you to the feast.

In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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Trinity 19

10/11/2015

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Genesis 28:10=17/Ephesians 4:22-28/St Matthew 9:1-8
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.

It is our practice each Sunday to bring before the Lord our God and Father those whom we love who are hurt or ill, who are homebound or recovering, those who are suffering in some way or another. This is not limited of course, to the gathered congregation at prayer. You do this in your private prayers as well. Such is not merely common in the Christian Church and life; but in fact marks the faithfulness of our Lord’s dear children.

And for those who are ill, those who are hurting, those who are sick and dying, those for whom we provide care, those under our protection - parents and grandparents, friends and neighbors, even children - our prayers exhibit two things: a deep and earnest desire for these to be freed from their illness and suffering, from their sorrow and pain. And also, a deep and abiding trust in the good and gracious will of the Lord our God who has loved us in Christ Jesus His Son our Lord. For all such prayers are tempered by the Third Petition of the Our Father: Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

The good and gracious will of God is indeed done even without our prayers. And sometimes, often times, His good and gracious will is contrary to the expectations of our flesh. It is most certainly always contrary to the thoughts of the world and the evil ravings of the devil. Such is exemplified in this Gospel lesson.

St Matthew records that Jesus came to His own city. Only it is not Nazareth. Nor is it Bethlehem. Rather His own city is Capernaum. The home of Simon Peter and his family. The base of operations for Matthew the tax collector. That Jesus calls it His own ought not be dismissed or overlooked. For our Lord Christ, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, descended from heaven and came unto His own, but His own received Him not. And only two chapters hence our Lord shall exclaim: And you Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you (Mt 11:23-24).

Though it is laid up for destruction worse than Sodom, yet He has a remnant within her; even as Lot and his family resided in that wicked city. So take heart, dear ones, that our Lord deigns to call anyone or anything His own is a rich and profound blessing. For such does He call you. His own dear children. His own redeemed. His own ransomed. His own people, marked with His own Name, re-created for Himself. His own for whom His heart longs and His own upon whom His mercy is displayed.

And behold some people brought to Him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Be of courage, My child, your sins are forgiven.” Such is the absolute posture of faith. Not merely of the paralytic who could do nothing for himself; who was at the mercy of his friends, who took pity upon him. His life was indeed lived solely by dependence upon the charity and kindness, upon the compassion and care of others. But that Jesus beholds their faith - the faith of the friends!

This may be an exercise of His divine omniscience, but it need not be. For faith is not merely a private matter of the heart. It constantly and continually, without prodding, brings forth good works according to the will and Word of the Lord, even as St Paul exhorts the Ephesians, Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. In posture before the Lord , faith always receives. It is passive, as the paralytic on the mat. It is always looking to Jesus, bringing to Him our needs and our desires, our fears and anxieties, as the friends carry the one for whom they care, the one for whom they sacrifice. Faith expressed in such works is visible to behold. It does not simply reside in the heart, but is made known in the mouth and in the life.

And such faith that looks to Jesus as its Author and Perfecter, always and only desires one thing above all else: the forgiveness of sins. This is not to say that the wants and needs of the body are nothing or meaningless. Nor is it to imply that our Lord does not concern Himself with them. Our gracious God and Father cares for all your needs of body and soul, possessions and reputation. And out of His fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, He provides all that you need to support this body and life.

But that faith seeks above all the free and full forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ is to recognize that this is the good and gracious will of your Father in heaven. All else hinges on this. Where there is the forgiveness of sins there is life, true life, everlasting Life in Christ Jesus, our crucified, risen, and glorified Lord and Savior. Where there is the forgiveness of sins there is salvation, free and everlasting, rescue from all perils to body and soul, from sin, death, and the power of the devil. Such is the prerogative of the Lord your God. Such is His good and gracious will.

And thus the outrage and unbelief of the scribes who among themselves, accuse Jesus of blasphemy. For only God can forgive sins! This is true. Who scarcely believes that the Pastor forgives sins in the stead and by the command of Christ? Who scarcely believes, even among Lutherans, that my forgiveness is God’s forgiveness? Such is the nature of false doctrine and misbelief - its deprives you of your most precious treasures. As Dr Luther says, “If we truly knew what the [Absolution] is we should be willing to run more than a hundred miles to receive it” (Exhortation to Confession]. Not as the voice of a man, but as the very voice of God in heaven who has given such authority to men as the way and means by which He alone forgives the sins of repentant sinners.

But the scribes and unbelievers do not care for such a precious and noble gift! They blaspheme concerning this good and gracious will of God. But Jesus, seeing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your heart?” Once again, His perception need not be a use of His divine omniscience. For just as faith in the heart is seen and evidenced in the life and word. So is unbelief seen in action and primarily in rejection of the pure and beloved doctrine of the forgiveness of sins.

The Word confronts such unbelief and puts to them, Which is easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven,” or to say, “Rise and walk?” Now is seems apparent that is is easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven.” For one to say, “Rise and walk,” and the individual does not do so, it becomes obvious that that man is a fraud or a charlatan. Forgiveness is unseen. Miracles and faith healing are visible.

And they are attractive to the flesh! The scribes want a Messiah who will exert power by healing all disease, curing all illness, fixing all palsied limbs. And so does the unbelieving world! “If only the Church did what Jesus did, or what the Apostles did in Acts - miracles and healing - then I would believe; then it would be easier to be a Christian!” It might be true. But all we do, Pastors and people, the Christian Church, is stand around forgiving sins. And the world scoffs and blasphemes!

I am not convinced that it is easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven.” For not only does such pronouncement bring scoffers and doubters, but it comes at a great and terrible price. Whether forgiving sins or healing the paralyzed, our Lord Jesus is restoring fallen creation. Only one is temporal and the other eternal. Limbs once paralyzed may become so again. The effects of age and disease, symptoms of a greater problem, linger on and grow and increase all the more as death draws near. The man took up his bed and went home. He would eventually return to that bed in his death and be buried. So too shall all of you. So too shall all of your loved ones for whom we pray and you pray. Even if they get better; it is only temporary.

But the forgiveness of sins is eternal. And its pronouncement came at at great price. Absolution is costly. Not that it costs you anything. But it cost the Son of Man, the Lord God of Abraham in the flesh, everything. In order to restore fallen creation, in order to heal paralyzed limbs, to raise the dead, and above all - in order to forgive sins - our Lord Jesus Christ must take those sins upon Himself, all of them, and die. He must come to His own, even though they reject Him and don’t want His sacrifice, and He must become their Sin in order to put it to death, in order to bring Life and Immortality to Light!

And such has He done for you! The GodMan, Jesus Christ, took your sin, made it His own, and bore the wrath and punishment of the Father on your behalf. In blessed exchange He has given you a new self, created after the very likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. This He has put on you in Holy Baptism, raising you from your death bed, giving you His eternal healing, and sending you to the Home and House of His Father and your Father in heaven.

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him. According to His good and gracious will He has given it you, His Church, that is, to each individual Christian, and to His Ministers, that is, His Men, who administer His holy and blessed Sacraments for your good. For you are His own. And by the ways and means of His Word, spoken in His stead and by His command, through the mouth of your Pastor, He daily and richly forgives all your sins and the sins of all believers. This is as valid and certain here on earth as it is in heaven. And where there is the forgiveness of sins, there is life and salvation.

In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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Trinity 20

Trinity 19

Pr. Seth A Mierow

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