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"And He said 'A certain man was giving a great supper and he invited many;
and He sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, 'Come,
for everything is ready now.'" (Luke 14:16-17)
In the name of Jesus. Amen. Our Lord Jesus' invite to His people to His great
Supper is rejected. He had come to save His people from their sins, to shepherd
the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
But they would have none of it. He was despised, rejected of men, a man of
sorrows acquainted with grief.
They have all sorts of good excuses - I have bought a field and I must go see
it. I've gotten some new oxen - five yoke - and I need to test them out. I have
married a girl.
But the result is the same: He is rejected. They had better things to do -
things which ranked higher on their "to do" list than His Feast, His salvation.
Better things than the Son of Man answering for all their sins.
So, He invites others - the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind, Gentile
sinners, and then people off the street - even you and me. What was meant for
His people, the Jews, has come even unto us! Jesus has shown us the love of God.
The Father has sent His Son, to suffer and die for the sins of the world.
The love of God is seen in His invite to His Feast - The Gospel goes out to all
- that's everyone. It's for you, for the person sitting next to you, for the
person who looks just like you and for the person who doesn't.
He died for all - that's for you and for the next poor sinner - For the poor,
the maimed, the lame, and the blind. The love of God has come to those who
cannot save themselves - even to you and me. This is the love of God: He laid
down His life for you.
So, today's parable is first and foremost about the rejection of Jesus by the
Jews and salvation for the Gentiles - even us in Conroe.
But the Law of God doesn't simply speak against someone else's rejection of the
Gospel, but always first against our own.
He has gathered us today around His Supper. He gathers us every Sunday around
His gifts. How often do we despise these gifts? How often does the invite come
to us and we have a good excuse?
"I have bought a field. I have found a job. I have found a wife." It's not the
field. It's not the job. It's not the wife that's the problem, it's that His
gifts are tossed aside.
The Lord will not suffer Himself to take a second seat in your life. What you
hold as more important than Him, He calls an idol - whether job, money,
property, people, and even your own life.
It's not a matter of just not letting anything get in the way of receiving the
Lord's gifts in the Divine Service. We can't even do that and yet His Law
demands that and so much more:
His life, His love, is seen not in how you order your life for Him, but how you
treat the next person - not simply the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind
in your midst, but the person sitting next to you, who lives in your home, or
who works with you. How do you show His love to them?
Christ has shown you love by laying down His life for you on the Cross. St. John
says today in the Epistle that you too should lay down your life for your
neighbor.
But, but...I can't give up my life for you... I mean... I have bought a field. I have
a new pair of oxen. I have a wife.
We deserve to hear the condemnation from the Lord: "Go and compel strangers off
the street to receive my gifts, anyone but these people who reject me daily and
much." What hope could we possibly have?
The Cross. He did for us what we could never do. He showed the love of God to
sinners - He put their life, He put your life ahead of His own. He alone could
accomplish the task of truly loving God and truly loving His neighbor. He did
that freely, without finding anything lovable in you.
All that He did counts for you: His keeping of the Law is your keeping of the
Law. His suffering in place of the suffering you deserve. His death in the place
of the death that you have earned by your despising of God and your neighbor.
His resurrection is your resurrection.
Today, His invite is to Supper. Here at His table, our Lord invites you to
receive all that He did for you on the Cross. Eternal life is given into your
mouth in the Body and Blood of Christ given and shed for you for the forgiveness
of all our sins.
Dear Saints of God, don't miss all that this parable teaches us today. For the
Gospel is a gift not to be taken for granted. The people invited to the Feast
despised their invitation, so it was given to someone else.
You have been given a precious gift. Right now the Gospel is preached in your
midst. Every Sunday you hear again that God has shown His love for you in the
giving up of His Son on the Cross.
Don't despise this gift while it is here. It may not always be here.
His Supper is offered to you today. We don't deserve His Heavenly Banquet. There
may be a time in which He we are unable to have His Supper or where it is taken
from us.
Pray that the Lord continue to invite us to His Supper - not just twice a month
but every Sunday. Pray that He continues to feed you.
And Rejoice, for today, His Supper is here and His invite has come to you. In
just a bit you will be joined by angels and archangels and all the company of
heaven who laud and magnify His glorious name as His heavenly feast, when the
Lamb's High Feast, comes among us this morning.
His Body given for you. His Blood shed for you for the remission of sins. Come
and eat eternal life. The dinner hour has come and all is prepared.
"Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!" In the name of
Jesus. Amen.
Edited on: September 06th, 2005 11:45 pm
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