Proverbs 9:1-10/1 John 3:13-18/St Luke 14:15-24
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
The master of the feast made doubly sure that the guests received their invites. He issued two each. The first was to tell each one that he was invited. The second, on the day of the great supper itself, He sent his special servants, his messengers, to announce that the dinner is served: Come, for everything is now ready.
Already this shows us the nature of the Gospel and the superabundance of God’s grace. Firstly, the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is not so much a command, but an offer; not a demand, but a gift. Come! It is an invitation to share in the unfathomable joy of the kingdom of God. Second, God in His boundless mercy sends His call, the invitation, out again and again, in many and various ways by the prophets as you heard in the first reading from Proverbs, then by His Son, and finally in the Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, His special messengers, who carry His invitation to the Banquet, announcing it to all. Inviting all.
Like a shepherd that seeks out his lost sheep, like a woman searches for her lost coin, like a father who stands on the porch day after day looking down the road, waiting for his son to return, so is the fatherly heart and tender compassion of our Lord Christ; His earnest desire to have you, one and all, rich and poor, able bodied and lame, seeing and blind, everyone, to come and recline at His Feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
But what do you suppose was the response? They all began to make excuses: I have bought a field and I must go inspect it. I have bought five yoke of oxen and I go to examine them. I have married a wife and therefore I cannot come. Please have me excused.
The invitation, the gift of heaven is offered, but men are so preoccupied with the business and pleasures of this age that they simply have no time for the joys of the age to come. Even worse, by preferring the pleasures and occupations of this life, they show that they have no real desire for the kingdom of God at all. He came unto His own, but His own received Him not, for men loved the darkness rather than the Light for their deeds were evil (Jn 1:11;3:19).
I know it doesn’t seem as though their deeds are wicked. And don’t get me wrong - land and animals, a devout spouse, these and all other First Article gifts: house, home, money, goods, etc - they are not of themselves evil. They are good gifts of the One Good Giver, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Master of the Feast.
But standing behind all those excuses is the reality that men love the darkness. “God, we’ve got more important things to do in our lives right now than to eat Bread with You in Your Kingdom.” Camping, fishing, vacationing. Race cars, baseball, working on my house. Partying with friends. Sleeping. You name it. But it all comes down to this: Your offer isn’t as appetizing to us as the fun of this world. So, we give our hearts and minds to the things temporal, things we are bound to lose, and choose to neglect to our unspeakable detriment the things eternal.
But the Banquet of the Lord is a gift. First. Foremost. Always. Gifts are offered. Not coerced. The Lord offers them in freedom and without compulsion. We can reject them in freedom without compulsion. God will never force Himself upon anyone. But the invitation does not ring out over a person’s life indefinitely. There comes a time when the invitation moves on to others. Dr Luther said that our Lord’s Word and promises are like a passing rain shower. Take it for granted, misuse it, reject it, and it’ll move on. The sad reality is that if you harden your heart to the Lord’s invitation, in judgment He’ll harden it even more for you. Everyone is invited. But not everyone comes. The Gospel can be rejected.
But our Lord God desires all to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. And so the parable: the invitation moves from those who had no time, only excuses, to the poor and crippled and blind and lame; out to the streets and lanes of the city, and further, to the highways and hedges beyond the gates, the Gospel invitation of the free and full forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ is sent out into all the world, compelling people to come.
And to all who did receive Him, who believed in His Name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were begotten, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word - that is Wisdom Incarnate - became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father full of grace and truth. From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace (Jn 1:12-14, 16).
For this the continued superabundance of God’s mercy and grace. The call, the invitation, continues to go out today, again and again. That even after the poor and crippled, blind and lame were brought in, there was still room! So that after the dregs and outcasts, the rejects of society were welcomed, there was still plenty of room for the like of us! You could not come on your own, but the Holy Spirit calls you by the Gospel, enlightens you with His gifts, sanctifies and keeps you in the true faith. He does this. Repeatedly. Continually. Again and again.
For the call, the invitation to come to the Feast of the Kingdom of God is not a one time thing. No one can say, “Oh, I did that years ago.” Coming to Jesus, or rather, being brought to Him by the Spirit in the Word, is a way of life, of dying to sin and arising to righteousness in Christ Jesus, abiding in the love of God for you.
The call, the invitation to the Feast is also a call to repentance, a call to turn from the corruptible things of this world to the eternal gifts of Christ Jesus. It is a call to become different from what you once were. To act differently than we now act, no matter how great, wise, powerful, or holy we may be. To leave your simple ways and live. For here, at this banquet, not one is holy with his own holiness. No one is wise with his own wisdom. The Lord saves a humble people, but the haughty eyes He brings down (Ps 18:2).
Another Psalm says, He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, [God stoops] to make them sit with princes, with the princes of His people (Ps 113:7-8). The invitation to “Come!” isn’t an act of your will. Rather, He who invites you has come down to you, in your place. He left His throne in His Father’s Kingdom and has come down to you in His incarnation. He has taken upon Himself your poor, frail, sin-crippled flesh, and put it to death in Himself. In His Cross and Passion He has made foolish the wisdom of the world. And now, in the Gospel call of that self-same Cross He is Himself your Wisdom and Power unto salvation. By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us!
And God is superabundantly generous in His grace and Gospel invitation: First through the spoken Word by which forgiveness of sins is preached in the whole world. Second through Holy Baptism. Third, through the Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Fourth through the Power of the Keys. Also, through the mutual conversation and consolation of the brethren. As it is written, Do not forsake meeting together as is the habit of some, but encourage one another all the more as you see the Day drawing near (Heb 10:25). For when you miss, not only are you missed within the fellowship of Christ’s Body, but you also miss out on the divine gift of fellowship with Him, together with all His saints, in the Holy Things of the Lord.
Therefore, come! Do not stay away. For the Banquet is prepared, the Feast of the Kingdom of God, the very Body and Blood of the One who is both Host and Meal, Jesus Christ, the Wisdom of God and our Righteousness. Fellowship in His Banquet is not merely to recline at Table with Him, but it is to be made full partakers in His divine life and love. To be blessed in the here and now as you eat the Bread that is His Body that is His Kingdom and to be blessed hereafter in the resurrection of the just to sit with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob the blessed, receiving the Lord’s invitation. Have mercy upon us, O Jesus!
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
The master of the feast made doubly sure that the guests received their invites. He issued two each. The first was to tell each one that he was invited. The second, on the day of the great supper itself, He sent his special servants, his messengers, to announce that the dinner is served: Come, for everything is now ready.
Already this shows us the nature of the Gospel and the superabundance of God’s grace. Firstly, the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is not so much a command, but an offer; not a demand, but a gift. Come! It is an invitation to share in the unfathomable joy of the kingdom of God. Second, God in His boundless mercy sends His call, the invitation, out again and again, in many and various ways by the prophets as you heard in the first reading from Proverbs, then by His Son, and finally in the Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, His special messengers, who carry His invitation to the Banquet, announcing it to all. Inviting all.
Like a shepherd that seeks out his lost sheep, like a woman searches for her lost coin, like a father who stands on the porch day after day looking down the road, waiting for his son to return, so is the fatherly heart and tender compassion of our Lord Christ; His earnest desire to have you, one and all, rich and poor, able bodied and lame, seeing and blind, everyone, to come and recline at His Feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
But what do you suppose was the response? They all began to make excuses: I have bought a field and I must go inspect it. I have bought five yoke of oxen and I go to examine them. I have married a wife and therefore I cannot come. Please have me excused.
The invitation, the gift of heaven is offered, but men are so preoccupied with the business and pleasures of this age that they simply have no time for the joys of the age to come. Even worse, by preferring the pleasures and occupations of this life, they show that they have no real desire for the kingdom of God at all. He came unto His own, but His own received Him not, for men loved the darkness rather than the Light for their deeds were evil (Jn 1:11;3:19).
I know it doesn’t seem as though their deeds are wicked. And don’t get me wrong - land and animals, a devout spouse, these and all other First Article gifts: house, home, money, goods, etc - they are not of themselves evil. They are good gifts of the One Good Giver, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Master of the Feast.
But standing behind all those excuses is the reality that men love the darkness. “God, we’ve got more important things to do in our lives right now than to eat Bread with You in Your Kingdom.” Camping, fishing, vacationing. Race cars, baseball, working on my house. Partying with friends. Sleeping. You name it. But it all comes down to this: Your offer isn’t as appetizing to us as the fun of this world. So, we give our hearts and minds to the things temporal, things we are bound to lose, and choose to neglect to our unspeakable detriment the things eternal.
But the Banquet of the Lord is a gift. First. Foremost. Always. Gifts are offered. Not coerced. The Lord offers them in freedom and without compulsion. We can reject them in freedom without compulsion. God will never force Himself upon anyone. But the invitation does not ring out over a person’s life indefinitely. There comes a time when the invitation moves on to others. Dr Luther said that our Lord’s Word and promises are like a passing rain shower. Take it for granted, misuse it, reject it, and it’ll move on. The sad reality is that if you harden your heart to the Lord’s invitation, in judgment He’ll harden it even more for you. Everyone is invited. But not everyone comes. The Gospel can be rejected.
But our Lord God desires all to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. And so the parable: the invitation moves from those who had no time, only excuses, to the poor and crippled and blind and lame; out to the streets and lanes of the city, and further, to the highways and hedges beyond the gates, the Gospel invitation of the free and full forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ is sent out into all the world, compelling people to come.
And to all who did receive Him, who believed in His Name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were begotten, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word - that is Wisdom Incarnate - became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father full of grace and truth. From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace (Jn 1:12-14, 16).
For this the continued superabundance of God’s mercy and grace. The call, the invitation, continues to go out today, again and again. That even after the poor and crippled, blind and lame were brought in, there was still room! So that after the dregs and outcasts, the rejects of society were welcomed, there was still plenty of room for the like of us! You could not come on your own, but the Holy Spirit calls you by the Gospel, enlightens you with His gifts, sanctifies and keeps you in the true faith. He does this. Repeatedly. Continually. Again and again.
For the call, the invitation to come to the Feast of the Kingdom of God is not a one time thing. No one can say, “Oh, I did that years ago.” Coming to Jesus, or rather, being brought to Him by the Spirit in the Word, is a way of life, of dying to sin and arising to righteousness in Christ Jesus, abiding in the love of God for you.
The call, the invitation to the Feast is also a call to repentance, a call to turn from the corruptible things of this world to the eternal gifts of Christ Jesus. It is a call to become different from what you once were. To act differently than we now act, no matter how great, wise, powerful, or holy we may be. To leave your simple ways and live. For here, at this banquet, not one is holy with his own holiness. No one is wise with his own wisdom. The Lord saves a humble people, but the haughty eyes He brings down (Ps 18:2).
Another Psalm says, He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, [God stoops] to make them sit with princes, with the princes of His people (Ps 113:7-8). The invitation to “Come!” isn’t an act of your will. Rather, He who invites you has come down to you, in your place. He left His throne in His Father’s Kingdom and has come down to you in His incarnation. He has taken upon Himself your poor, frail, sin-crippled flesh, and put it to death in Himself. In His Cross and Passion He has made foolish the wisdom of the world. And now, in the Gospel call of that self-same Cross He is Himself your Wisdom and Power unto salvation. By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us!
And God is superabundantly generous in His grace and Gospel invitation: First through the spoken Word by which forgiveness of sins is preached in the whole world. Second through Holy Baptism. Third, through the Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Fourth through the Power of the Keys. Also, through the mutual conversation and consolation of the brethren. As it is written, Do not forsake meeting together as is the habit of some, but encourage one another all the more as you see the Day drawing near (Heb 10:25). For when you miss, not only are you missed within the fellowship of Christ’s Body, but you also miss out on the divine gift of fellowship with Him, together with all His saints, in the Holy Things of the Lord.
Therefore, come! Do not stay away. For the Banquet is prepared, the Feast of the Kingdom of God, the very Body and Blood of the One who is both Host and Meal, Jesus Christ, the Wisdom of God and our Righteousness. Fellowship in His Banquet is not merely to recline at Table with Him, but it is to be made full partakers in His divine life and love. To be blessed in the here and now as you eat the Bread that is His Body that is His Kingdom and to be blessed hereafter in the resurrection of the just to sit with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob the blessed, receiving the Lord’s invitation. Have mercy upon us, O Jesus!
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
RSS Feed