Jesus tells a parable of a master who prepares a great banquet. The food is ready. The table is set. The wine is poured. The candles are lit. Everything is prepared. There is nothing left to do.
The master tells his servant to invite people to the banquet. They are to say to them, “Come, for everything is now ready.” The guests are not asked to bring anything. They are simply invited to come. Our Old Testament reading from Proverbs 9:5 put it this way, “Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.”
The master in this parable represents God the Father. The servant represents you and me who are sent to proclaim God’s Word. The banquet represents all the blessings of salvation in Christ. Afterall, Jesus fulfilled the Law perfectly in our place. He carried our sins. He suffered God’s judgment against our sin. He died upon the cross as a payment for our sin. He rose from the dead. He conquered our enemies of death and the devil. Through Christ, we are reconciled to God. Everything is now ready. That is why Jesus cried from the cross, “It is finished.” The work of your redemption in Christ is complete. There is nothing left for you to do. This is good news!
Yet the sad thing in this parable is that the invited guests refuse to come. They all make excuses. One says he bought a field. Another says he bought five yoke of oxen. A third one says he has married a wife.
None of these things are evil. Fields, oxen, and marriage are good gifts from God. God instituted marriage. He created the family. He established work. He fills creation with good things for us to enjoy. All good and perfect gifts come from God.
But the truth is that these three men simply do not want to come. They are not hungry. They have plenty of food. And so, they reject the invitation. They say, “No thank you.” In the end, none of these three will taste the master’s supper.
These excuses are a picture of those today who reject the Gospel. They do not see themselves as sinners in need of forgiveness. They refuse to believe in Jesus as their one and only Savior. They value the things they own more than God Himself. They desire temporary blessings more than eternal blessings. They love created things rather than their Creator. They reject God’s gift of free salvation. They refuse to hear Christ’s life-giving Word. The Gospel is offered to them, but they said, “No thank you.”
We hear many excuses today. People say: “I am too busy.” “I have work to do.” “I have family obligations.” “I need some rest.” “I have other priorities.”
What competes with God’s Word in your life? What threatens to take God’s place? What has become more important than hearing Christ and His Word?
Dearly beloved in the Lord, family, work or pleasure are good things. They are blessings to us from God. But do not put them above God’s Word. Make Church on Sunday morning your highest priority in the life. It should be a regular habit and not an occasional thing. It especially sets a good example for children. Jesus says: “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all that you need will be added to you.”
What is taking place here this morning? This is where Christ comes to you and serves you with His gifts of life and salvation. This is where you receive forgiveness. This is where your faith is strengthened by God’s Word. Here the Holy Spirit teaches you how to love the neighbor.
Why would we willingly absent ourselves from such gifts? We absent ourselves from such gifts because of the temptations from the world and our sinful flesh. They tempt us to think that we don’t sin that much. They tempt us to think that we don’t need forgiveness. Lord, have mercy upon us.
The parable contains a severe warning. The master says, “For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.” Hell is real, and unbelief has eternal consequences. Those in hell are there because they rejected God’s Word and resisted the Holy Spirit. They refused God’s grace and mercy in Christ. They would not humble themselves as poor sinners in need of a Savior. It’s their own fault. This is a warning for all of us.
God desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Christ died for all. The Gospel goes out to all nations. Yet many harden their hearts. It is sad, but unbelief is a reality.
After the three men rejected the invitation, the master sends his servant elsewhere. He says, “Bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.” These are people who know they need help. The poor have nothing to offer. The crippled have no strength. The blind cannot see. The lame cannot walk. They contribute nothing toward the banquet. They simply receive.
And that is exactly how salvation works. We contribute nothing toward our salvation. We come empty-handed. We come as beggars. We come as sinners. We come confessing that we cannot save ourselves.
Spiritually speaking, we are the poor. We possess no righteousness of our own. Yet Christ has clothed us with His righteousness. We are the crippled and lame. We cannot by our own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ our Lord or come to Him. Yet through the Gospel, God has brought us into His kingdom. We are the blind. We cannot understand truth on our own. Yet God opened our blind eyes to see the Gospel with the eyes of faith.
The poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame have come to the feast, yet there is still room. So, the master says to the servant, “Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.” God desires His house to be filled. The mission of the Church is not only to reach out to the community with the Gospel, but it is also to feed and nurture the flock with the Gospel and Sacrament.
At this point, I want to share with you something on a more personal note. When I came here in August of 2023, I had time on my hands, so God has given me the ability to introduce myself and our congregation to the surrounding community. My goal was to identify those who were unchurched, speak the Gospel to them, and invite them to church.
About thirty-five percent of those I met were unchurched. Some were not interested in Christianity. They gave many excuses of why they do not attend church. It broke my heart. But, again, unbelief is a reality. Others, however, were willing to talk with me. They were open to hearing more about Jesus. Some never grew up in a church and know little about Jesus.
Personally, it has been a great joy to speak with people about Jesus. The Word has been planted. I pray that in God’s own time, they may someday see their need for the Gospel and attend a church. Isaiah gives us the promise that God’s Word does not return void. It prospers and bears fruit in God’s own time. We are simply called spread the Gospel.
I say all this to encourage you to speak with the unchurched about Jesus. Simply tell them who Jesus is and what He has done for us and for our salvation. Talk with them about the cross and open tomb. Don’t worry about saying the perfect words, the Holy Spirit converts sinners from unbelief to faith in Christ, and He does it through the Word you share.
Philip invited Nathanael to come and see Jesus and he did (John 1:46). In the same way, invite your family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors. Invite them to church where they can hear about Jesus. Offer them a ride if necessary. Do not be ashamed of the Gospel. Joyfully share it with others. We want others to receive it as well. For there is still room.
We live in a broken world, and people are searching for truth, meaning, and hope. We have what they need: peace with God and comfort in the Gospel. There is great joy in speaking to the unchurched about Christ’s death and resurrection. There is also great joy in seeing the Holy Spirit convert people from unbelief to faith in Christ through the Gospel.
In our Holy Gospel for today, Jesus tells a parable of a great banquet. And this banquet points beyond itself. It points to the Lord’s Supper. Today we partake of Holy Communion. The table is prepared and everything is now ready. Come for everything is ready. We need this meal. Here Christ gives His true body and blood. He gives forgiveness. He strengthens our faith. He comforts our troubled consciences, and He nourishes us on our journey to heaven.
And this feast points beyond itself. Every celebration of the Lord’s Supper is a foretaste of the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom which has no end. One day we will sit down with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and with all the saints in glory. We will partake of a heavenly banquet forever in the presence of our Savior.
But while we remain here on earth. Enjoy the good gifts which God has given you, work, family, leisure, but especially the church. Continue to live a life of repentance and faith in Christ. May you continue to be a light in a dark world proclaiming Christ as your one and only Savior. Amen.
