Sermon for 3/29/23: Midweek Lent 5 (Lord's Supper series)

This continues our sermon series for the season of Lent: our series on the Lord's Supper. It is never a bad thing to return to the Catechism so that we may continue to grow in faith toward God and appreciation for His gifts to us.   

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Worthy Reception of Holy Communion
Matthew 22:1-14

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Can you imagine a wedding without some sort of a reception? The two seem to go together like a hand in a glove. This was as true in ancient times as it is today. Jewish weddings always included a festive celebration. These celebrations would go on for several days, and there was no lack of eating and drinking. Marital imagery runs deep in the Scriptures. Over and over again, the relationship between God and His people is depicted in marital terms. God is the Husband and His people are His Bride. Consider these words of the Lord, spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you; and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.”

It comes as no surprise, therefore, that when the people of Israel turned to other gods, it was as though they had committed adultery against God. It was spiritual infidelity. In many places, the Lord likens their attachment to idols to the lust of an adulterer. As the Lord says through Hosea, “Though you, Israel, play the harlot, let not Judah offend.” This helps us to understand what God means when He says: “I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God…” His jealousy is the jealousy of a husband who expects his Bride to forsake all others and remain united to Him alone. And it gives us a picture of just how serious of a sin it is to break the covenant that God has established between Him and His people.

Marital imagery is not limited to the Old Testament. We see this in the New Testament as well. Jesus is the Bridegroom, and the Church is His Bride. Marriage itself is to be a reflection of Christ’s relationship with the Church. Husbands should love their wives “as Christ loved the Church,” and wives are to “be [subject] to their own husbands in everything,” as the Church submits to Christ. Not only is God’s relationship with His people described in marital terms; salvation itself is likened to a wedding feast. “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come.” This reminds us that God has prepared a grand banquet for those who believe and are baptized into Christ. To “come to the wedding feast” is to participate in the end-times salvation God has prepared for you at great cost to Himself. The price for this great banquet of salvation was the blood of His dear Son, who was offered up into death for sinners on Calvary.

As the betrothed Bride of Christ, we look forward with longing eyes to that day when Christ will come again to gather us to Himself. God’s Word teaches us to look forward to that day when we will sit at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, when we will see the Lord face to face. Every wedding has its wedding feast, and it is no different with the marriage of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, to His holy Bride, the Church.

And the best part about this wedding feast is that it will have no end! In the wedding hall of heaven, there will be no end to the joy that is ours in Christ Jesus. But you should not think of this wedding banquet to be something far off in the distant future. You should not think of this nuptial feast only in terms of a “not yet.” Already now, in the salutary gift of the Lord’s Supper, Christ gives you a foretaste of that eternal wedding feast to come. Already now, as Christians gather at the Lord’s Table, you receive the body and blood of your crucified and risen husband, Jesus Christ.

You prove yourself to be the eager bride of Christ when you approach the altar with an eager heart—not reluctantly, not as an obligation, but recognizing that God has great gifts and power for you in this Feast. The words of His Testament are truly words of life immortal: “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” In faith, you open wide the door of your heart to receive and adore Him. And truly He is with you always, to the very close of the age. In this Holy Supper, prepared by the Lord Himself, you participate in “the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom, which has no end,” as the Communion liturgy confesses. Since our Lord and husband, Jesus Christ, graciously invites you to this wedding feast, make no excuse, for such excuses are not pleasing to the Lord, nor are they fitting for those who are members of Christ’s body.

Let there instead be joy and thanksgiving, for the Bridegroom has given His body and shed His precious blood for you, His Bride. In your Baptism, you have received the proper wedding garment of faith, the blood-washed robe of Christ’s righteousness which makes you a fit partaker of this joyous feast. You have been cleansed by the “washing of water with the word.” In Christ, you stand before the Father holy and blameless, “without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.” The host of this feast has Himself made you His worthy guest. As you receive this marriage feast, God grant you a glad heart in the presence of your heavenly Bridegroom, Jesus Christ.  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.