Honored Invitees
Grace to you and peace from
God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
The servants are sent out into the streets to invite as
many as they find, both the good and the bad. No respect is paid to rank,
class, or privilege. Everyone, apart from works or genealogy, gets the same
invitation. In a world with no free lunches, the offer of an endless banquet in
paradise seems too good to be true. But it is true. All things have been paid
for; all things necessary have been sacrificed. The meat, the milk, the wine—the
best parts are on the table. It is prepared for you with no cost to you. It is
pure gift.
But many reject the invitation. They know the invitation is
from the King, but they don’t care. They hate the King. They want to rule
themselves. Some don’t believe the invitation is actually is from the King;
some deny that a King exists. They have lived in delusion for so long that it
has become comfortable. They are afraid of change, afraid to risk anything,
afraid to come out of the darkness and be exposed. They don’t want to be
noticed. They want to hide, keep their blemishes secret, and pretend they are
better than they are. They are afraid to face the Word of God.
That is because the Word of God is a threat. The Word of
God wields divine power. It changes things. It kills…and it makes alive. What
they have always thought is wrong. What is comfortable, what makes sense, what
they know from experience—all of it is wrong. What they think about God, what
they think about man, what they expect from life—all of it is wrong. God
beckons them to a position of vulnerability, of faith in things that they
cannot see. But what they can see—a man hanging on a cross, His followers
persecuted and martyred—that, they do not like. So they scurry back to the
darkness. They think they made the wise choice. But the wisdom of men is folly,
and the foolishness of the cross is the only true wisdom.
Thanks be to God: a few are so desperate, so lonely, so
tired, so hurt that they come anyway, despite the foolishness. They are the
meek. But they inherit a kingdom. They are brought into the wedding hall,
clothed with righteousness, and embraced as long-lost children. They are home
at last. The loneliness and heartbreak, the weariness and fear, the frustration
and pain of their time in the kingdoms of men is removed. They have been found
and restored, forgiven and cleansed, filled with joy.
Repent. Seek the Lord while He may be found. Hear His Word,
and your soul shall live. Let His Word have its way with you. Let God speak for
Himself. His thoughts are not our thoughts, nor are His ways our ways. But His
Word is Truth. It does not lie. It is good. It will accomplish that for which
it was sent. Let it break your heart and change your mind. Let it make you
vulnerable. Allow yourself to be lonely outside of this fellowship. Be weary
enough, hurt enough to give up on your own strength; then you will be strong.
In defeat you will find victory; in hunger, satisfaction.
You are a citizen of the Kingdom by virtue of the
invitation. It doesn’t matter if you were good or bad. You are His. He has
bought you. That is what matters. What you are displaces what you were. But you
are still in a foreign land, and there is temptation along the way. Many beckon
to you from their dark doorways, and some have been seduced into depravation.
Be warned. Be vigilant in prayer. Forsake the ways of men. God has placed way
stations like this along the way for you, places of His presence, of His Word
and Sacrament, of His regenerating love. God is here for you.
And there is one more surprise. When at last you arrive at
the wedding hall, you will find that you are not merely a guest, an honored
niece or nephew, even a brother of the Bridegroom. You are the very Bride, the
one for whom He did it all…the one He loves. In the name of the Father
and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
The peace of God
which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus
always. Amen.
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