The Church Season of Trinity
The Twentieth Sunday after Trinity, One Year Series
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (October 05, 2008)
“the Banquet Feast”
Readings:
Psalm 27:1-9
Isaiah 55:1-9
Ephesians 5:15-21
Matthew 22:1-14
Sermon Form Deductive
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Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen
The text for today is as recorded in the Gospel Lesson from the 22nd chapter of St. Matthew, especially the following verse:
Matthew 22:1-14
22 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come. 4 “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’ 5 “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless. 13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
The king in the Gospel parable prepared a great feast for the wedding of his son. With the dinner prepared the servants were sent out to notify the guests that the dinner was ready. If this parable was about a Jewish wedding feast in Jesus’ time, this would have been a big deal. These kind of parties lasted for many days sometimes for seven days. And while various places in this country may argue over what is meant by dinner...for an example ask a few people if dinner served at noontime or at around six p.m. and if you ask enough people you’ll get different answers, like breakfast, dinner, and supper or breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But in Jesus’ time the word for dinner used in this parable occurred from anytime between 9:00 in the morning to around noon, but most certainly the first meal of the day. And if it was the first meal of the day you can see how early the preparations had begun. You can’t just cook a herd of oxen or fattened cattle on a single skillet. No, much more goes into the process to prepare this kind of feast, a lot more than opening the freezer and frying up a few steaks on the grill. And incredibly the invited guests who had not even lifted a finger to receive such a fine meal, ignored the announcement that the banquet was ready, and they ignored their king, they refused to come.
We all recall that when Noah was 500 hundred years old, “12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. 13 So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.”(Gen. 6:12-13) And following this discussion Noah did as God commanded him and he began to build an ark. Noah worked on that ark for 100 years. We can only imagine all the people whom he must have warned in that time, that the earth was going to come to an end. That God had spoken to Noah. And Noah was speaking to them to tell them what was going to happen, yet the die was cast. The people had heard the invitation, but they did not listen. On the 10th day of the second month the doors of the ark were closed, and on the 17th day of that same month, “the floodgates of the heavens were opened. 12 And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.”(Gen. 7:11-12) And all that had been moving and living about Noah for 600 hundred years came to an end, except those whom God chose, all who had turned away perished, for we are told that, “Every living thing that moved on the earth perished—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind. 22 Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. 23 Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; men and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.”
In the 600 years before the flood Noah lived a righteous life in and amongst a wicked people. In this parable today the King set out the finest quality meal and in great abundance for the wedding banquet. The people in Noah’s lifetime, and the people in the parable were the same. Both groups heard the invitation but refused to listen.
In the same way today God calls sinners to enjoy all the blessing of His grace, He offers them His forgiveness. And God’s forgiveness in turn brings forth peace of heart and peace of conscience no matter what the past anyone’s past may be. And God’s peace, which passes all understanding brings, comfort and joy. God’s peace brings strength for every task and trial, eagerness and strength to worship and serve God, and His son our savior, Jesus Christ. And even more comforting God in Jesus Christ offers the sure hope of eternal life in heaven.
Whether the parable today is found in the people who watched from the outside of the ark, or whether it be the Jews and the crowd who saw themselves revealed in Jesus’ parable. Or whether it be the times in our own lives when sickness, depression, illness, loss of friends or family the result is always the same. For in all time, God has left nothing undone to make sure that the all would hear His invitation. He sent Moses and the Prophets, Noah, Abraham and all the patriarchs, and the world heard but did not listen. So God sent Jesus Christ to this earth to live and walk amongst God’s people. And they heard Him too and still did not listen, for He was crucified. Yet even in the crucifixion Christ’s message was still proclaimed, but not heard by all and not believed by all.
But, the offer does not end there for after Jesus had risen from the dead and ascended into heaven many witnessed His presence and His continued work on this earth. And because of Christ’s work the heavenly banquet is already prepared, the invitations have been sent out. You need do nothing to earn His favor, no work of your hand, or word from your lips. Jesus has completed all that is necessary and He draws you to Himself, He draws you to the heavenly banquet feast. God has freely placed your faith in you and so we place that faith that trust in Him.
And for all who believe and are baptized we need no longer worry about God’s wrath. For God promised to no longer flood the earth with His wrath, rather He sent the flood of His wrath upon His own Son Jesus Christ in our place. No matter how much you have sinned. No matter how mean spirited you have been. No matter how sick you are, no matter how great your despair for the well being of those whom you love...God tells us for all who, “confess their sins, He who is faithful and just will forgive our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”(1 John 1:8)
For we too have endured the flood in the water combined with God’s word of our baptism and our sins have been forgiven. We take part of a heavenly wedding feast here on this earth prepared by our King as we eat and drink the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. He invites you to come to this meal and join with Him and all who are part of this feast. But even greater still He invites you to come join in the heavenly feast which He has prepared for you. All the work is done, yet the invitations still go out. Jesus will not be kept from sending forth His loving, caring invitations to you, and so many others. And, if in your weakness you see a failing body, or if you see something you have done, and you question whether you are worthy of the invitation to Christ’s heavenly banquet feast let me assure you of this. There is nothing you can do to make yourself worthy, but at the same time you can be certain that you are worthy. Look not to yourself in times of stress, pain, and distraction, rather recall that you are a baptized child of God. And there your invitation was made certain, there by God’s grace He looks at you and sees you not for what you are, rather He looks at you and sees full forgiveness of sins as won by Jesus Christ. And so your invitation has been signed, sealed, and delivered, no RSVP required. So in all things be calmed and comforted in the knowledge that Jesus Christ has prepared you through the forgiveness of your sins and so He has prepared and called you to participate in the eternal banquet feast. Amen.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
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