Sermon Index
Invited by Jesus to the Wedding Banquet
October 12, 2008
GOSPEL LESSON: Matthew 22:1_14 [The kingdom of heaven is like a wedding banquet.]
And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying, _Tell those who are invited, "See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast."_ But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, _The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find._ And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.
"But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, _Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?_ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, _Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth._ For many are called, but few are chosen."
P: This is the Gospel of our Lord.
C: Praise to you, O Christ.
There is a lot of preparation for a wedding. First, the date is set. Then the reception is planned. The guest list is written and the guests invited. When everything is ready on the day of the wedding, the guests arrive. They wear nice clothes, because a wedding is special. People coming from a long way are met at the airport. A taxi or lemosine might be sent to pick up special guests. The people who attend are there to pay respect to the wedding couple and to their parents, if someone doesn't attend when invited, it is seen as an insult to the family.
In today's Gospel lesson, there is a wedding banquet prepared by the King for his son. Of course, everyone in the Kingdom knew about this and the important people had been invited long before. According to the custom of that time, when the roast beef and everything else was ready, then servants would be sent to the homes of the guests to escort them to the party. "Everything is ready now, please come!" People would put on their finest clothes and march through the city to the castle.
But in the parable, when they were called to the wedding feast, they didn't want to come! They gave a lot of flimsy excuses. "I have to go to my field." "I have business to do." Their real business was to go to the King's Banquet. They didn't want to go because they didn't like the King. They didn't want the King or the Prince to rule over them. So they tried to make excuses. When the servants were insistent, "Hurry up, you have to go to the King's party!" the people got irritated and angry. They seized his servants, mistreated them and even killed them. The King saw this as an act of rebellion. In those days before democracy, the king was swift to action: The king was enraged. He sent his soldiers and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
Then, because the feast was ready, he found people who would love and be loyal to their king. He sent his servants. They went out to the streets of the town, then into the country roads and brought in everyone they found, the good and the bad, the great and small, poor and middle class. And everyone came in and ate and drank and congratulated the groom, the bride, and the proud king. Ah, but there was a dress code! It was the custom that the host gave proper wedding clothes to the guests. One guest refused to put on the clothes that the king provided. This too was an act of rebellion, a refusal to accept the king as his lord. And so the king had him thrown out of the party. Then the man would regret his mistake and suffer the consequences.
Now this is a parable. The King of course is the Lord God Almighty. The Son is Jesus. The Wedding Feast would be Eternal Life in Heaven. Those who were first invited were the people of Israel. But, they refused to accept Jesus as the Son of God. They refused to believe him as their Savior. The Servants would be the Prophets of the Old Testament, John the Baptist, and then later the Apostles. Some of the Prophets and Apostles were killed when they invited the Jews to come to God. The King's wrath is probably shown in the destruction of Jerusalem, first by the Babylonians in 586 BC, and then by the Romans in AD 70. After the Jews refused to believe that Jesus was the Prince, the Son of God, the Apostles preached the Gospel of the Kingdom to the poor and to the Gentiles, who believed in Jesus as their Savior and so were saved. We'll talk about the man without the wedding clothes in just a moment.
The modern day servants of the King are the people doing evangelism in the church. The invitation to come to the celebration of salvation goes first to the Jews, then to all the rest of the world, starting with our neighbors. The history of the church shows that although many people have come to believe in Jesus as their savior, many have refused the invitation. Maybe you have asked someone to come to church and they refused. Perhaps they were polite and gave some flimsy excuse, but some people are quite rude. Missionaries and evangelist have been killed all over the world from time to time. But it is interesting to note some of the excuses that people give. We say, "Please come to church." Please note, "Please come to church" means, "Please believe in Jesus and be loyal to him as the Lord of your life and give your life to him." I have collected a few excuses that people give:
1. "I have to work on Sundays."
2. "Sunday is my only day of rest."
3. "8:30 AM is too early."
4. "I like to sleep late on my day off."
5. "I have soccer practice."
6. "I have to go scuba diving while I'm in Okinawa."
7. "Sunday is the only day I have for being with my family, and my husband will be lonely if I go to church."
8. "Church is for weak people."
9. "All the church wants is money."
10. "I like to watch cartoons (or sports) on Sunday morning."
11. "There are bargain sales on Sunday!"
12. "I want to go to the flea market!"
In the parable, the King sent his army to destroy those murders who were disloyal to the King. Is Jesus giving the warning that God will do the same to those who do not believe in him as their King and Lord? I think so. And that is why in love for our friends and neighbors, we want them to come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ! That is why the messengers of the church, "doing evangelism," spread the Good News, in the hope to bring them to the feast of eternal life.
Today we are at this service. We have accepted the invitation from God. Now we go to the next problem which is about us: the guest without a wedding garment. We are not talking about wearing a suit or dress to church on Sunday mornings. Some people at this service are pretty casually dressed today! The garment Jesus is speaking of is faith. Galatians 3:27 says, "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." Revelations 3:5 "He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life." This garment is from Christ. When Christ was crucified, the soldiers stripped off his robe and gambled for it. Then in nakedness and shame, Jesus was nailed to the cross for our sins. He shed his blood on the cross. And in this blood, our sins are forgiven. Our souls are washed pure. We are given a new garment that is clean and presentable to God. It covers up our sin. It hides the foolishness and rebellion of our hearts. It covers it up, it forgives it. And only in this way can we stay in the presence of God. And so we enjoy the feast of eternal life. We receive this garment in faith. We did nothing to earn it. It is the gift of our wonderful King, the Lord Almighty! Therefore we praise his wonderful name!
Amen!
Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church