And He Bade Many

In Nomine Iesu!

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Sermon Text: St. Luke 14:16-24

“But He said unto him, ‘A certain man made a great supper; and he bade many: and he sent forth his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, “Come; for all things are now ready.”’”

Prayer in Pulpit before Sermon:

Almighty and Everlasting God, the Source of all life and joy, Who, by the glad sound of the Gospel, hast called us to have part in Thy Kingdom and glory: shine into our hearts, we beseech Thee, by Thy Word and Spirit, and draw us with the cords of Thy constraining grace, that we may heartily choose that good part which shall not be taken away from us, and give all diligence to make our calling and election sure; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.

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

My dear friends, the first three Sundays after Trinity Sunday are comprised of three connected themes: faith, hope, and love. Now it would stand to reason that since last Sunday we heard of faith, that today we would hear of hope. However, the Church, in order to instruct her children more fully, does not, as is often the case, follow our neatly conceived systematics; the Church in her wisdom teaches us according to her plan and wisdom. Therefore, today we hear not about hope, which comes next week, but rather we hear about God’s love for us, and of what he expects our love to be. 

It is not surprising then that since these first few Sundays after Trinity Sunday comprise faith, hope, and love, that in these pericopes is also clearly seen the Blessed Sacraments: Holy Baptism and Holy Communion. We also see the means by which these two Sacraments are daily and weekly connected so that they might bring comfort to the lost. The means to which I refer is the Office of the Keys and Confession. Therefore, my dear friends, in Holy Baptism, in Holy Communion, and in Holy Absolution, we see faith, hope, and love at work in and for us; three works of the Holy Ghost gifted to the redeemed and sanctified. 

Last week, we heard of the faith of Lazarus, who was held in the loving arms of Father Abraham after his poor, miserable life in this sinful life was ended. It was his faith that saved him and brought him into Heaven for all eternity. In this we saw a picture of Holy Baptism, for just as we are buried with Christ in the waters of Holy Baptism, and are resurrected out of those waters into a new life with Him. We saw Lazarus be buried and raised to eternal life with Father Abraham. The rich man was buried in his sins and trespasses—in his unbelief—and on account of it had to endure eternity in suffering in Hell. Next week, my friends, we will hear of the lost sheep and the lost coin, which will open our ears to hear of the hope we have in the forgiveness of sins and eternal life proclaimed from the lips of the ministers. 

Today, we hear of our Lord’s love, and His expectations of love for us—our fervent love of God and one another. To express this and show this love our Lord + Jesus Christ tells His disciples and us a parable (another similarity between these first three Sundays after Trinity Sunday—the Gospels are all comprised of parables; also, they are all from the Gospel of St. Luke, the Evangelist). The love of God is expressed in the Parable of the Great Supper. The Master of the House has prepared a Great Supper (how can we not but think of the Lord’s Supper when we hear this?) and He sends out His servant to say to those who have been invited, “Come, for all things are now ready.” Here is this Great Supper in which we receive the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation, and are both strengthened in our faith towards God and in fervent love toward one another through the workings of the Holy Ghost. It would stand to reason that those who have been invited, that is, all those who have been baptized, and have given public affirmation that they believe what the Church teaches, would gladly and willingly come to this Holy Supper whenever it has been prepared for our eating and drinking so that we might indeed be strengthened in love and faith and take comfort that our sins are forgiven, and be gifted eternal life and salvation. 

However, as we see in the parable, and as plays out in our world today, there are those among the invited who “have more important things to do.” These things involve worldly issues that neither save nor promote love in us. As the Blessed Apostle St. John states in the Epistle lesson, “let us not love in word, neither with the tongue; but in deed and truth.” That is to say, do not love only in words, but show your love by your actions. These invitees are an example of only loving in words but not in their actions, for they all have something “more important to do.” One has just bought a field he must look at and inspect, one has just bought a team of oxen he must test out, and one has just received a wife. 

Similar excuses are used today to avoid coming when invited and all things are ready: my kid as sports practice (or a game); we have a family gathering; there was a party last night, and I am too tired (or hungover) to come this morning; and the like. There is no end to the amount and variation of excuses to avoid coming to the Great Supper when all things are ready for us. But such excuses show our lack of love for God and for our fellowman with whom we are to share this blessed meal, for this meal teaches us how to love each other—we who suffer in this world on account of sin—and bear with one another’s burdens and sins, that we might love one another not only in word, but in deed and in truth. For when we gather at this Holy Altar, we are united as One Body, under our One Head, as beggars and sinners in need of God’s grace; we come to this Holy Supper united in our need as sinners to hear of our Lord God’s love for us. And He shows that love to us by inviting us to this Holy Supper and feeding us with His very Body and very Blood in bread and wine, so that we might receive forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation. 

In the parable this is exactly the sort of people who the Master of the House invites to His Supper when those who were originally invited refused. He invites poor, miserable sinners. The poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind are invited by the Master of the House to His Supper when others have refused. This shows us the Master’s love for us, for all of us who are gathered together today are the spiritually poor, maimed, lame, and blind. We are attacked on all sides from sin, death, and the power of the devil. We get no rest from within or without on account of the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh. We are plagued by these enemies of the Master of the House daily and often.  

We are tormented by our sins, both those we commit every day and those which we have done long ago; the guilt of which never seems to leave us. The world constantly attacks us, with its lying and deceiving, with its countless numbers who blaspheme the Church and all those are in her midst. The world also is constantly trying to tempt us away from receiving the true gifts of our Lord, by causing us to be so caught up in the things of our lives, so that we neglect the truly important gift of our Lord’s Supper which strengthens our faith and love toward God and one another. 

Then there is also the devil and all his agents who never leave us alone, accusing us of past sins, tempting us into new ones, doing everything in his power to draw us away from the One, True, Triune God into despair, shame, and other great sin and vice so that when our last hour comes, we do not take heart in our Lord and Savior, but despair over our wasted lives and manifold transgressions. 

Such was the case with the three individuals from the parable. These three are no different than the rich man of last week’s parable—they are all concerned with the things of the world and not the things of God. This stands as a warning to us for the things of this world will pass away. The rich man learned, and we should be taught by it, that Hell is indeed a reality for those who forsake the things of God, and make the things of this world—all those things which draw us away from the worship of the One, True, Triune God—our god. The individuals in the parable today also teach us that all those who reject our Lord’s invitation by their neglect and disregard of His love will in the end be barred from the eternal Wedding Feast of the Lamb in His Kingdom, for as the Master of the House confessed, “That none of those men that were bidden shall taste of my supper.” Therefore, take heed! Your field is not going anywhere; it can wait till after the Supper. Your oxen will survive until after the Supper; they can wait until after the Supper to be tested. And your wife? Well, she should be brought with you to the Supper. 

The same can be said of all those things in this so-called modern life which draw us away from the worship of the One, True, Triune God, they can wait until after you have received the Holy Mass, for apart from God we are nothing but poor, maim, lame, and blind beggars, full of sin, decayed in body and spirit and in need of His saving and loving grace. It is by this Blessed Sacrament that the Holy Ghost gifts us with love—it is not even something we have to strive for and work for in order to achieve it; the Holy Ghost gives us this love of the heavenly Father through these simple means. Just as we learned about faith last week, that it is a gift that the Holy Ghost gives through Holy Baptism and the other means of grace. Our participation in the means of grace then is how we are given and strengthened in faith and love; without the means of grace and the pure preaching of the Word of God, we cannot will or work ourselves to gain either faith or love. No matter how hard we try. 

Therefore, our Lord God shows us His great love for us by inviting us poor, miserable sinners to receive this Blessed Sacrament, and through it He teaches us that just as He has forgiven us our sins and trespasses by the shed Blood of His One and Only-Begotten Son + Jesus Christ on the tree of the holy cross, so too do we learn to love in deed and truth our brothers in Christ—our fellow sinners in need of God’s grace. For this is how we know that “all things are now ready” for it is by the once and for all sacrifice of our Lord + Jesus Christ on the holy cross, Who offered up His perfect sacrifice on our behalf, that we are invited to come to the Holy Supper and receive His Body and Blood given in bread and wine, and show by the eating and drinking of it, our love for God and those with whom we commune. 

So then, my dear friends, “come, for all things are now ready” for you to share in God’s love for you, and express your true fellowship and love for one another; rejoicing with each other that your sins have been forgiven and your heavenly Father has made you worthy to receive this Holy Supper by baptizing you into His One and Only Son’s death for your salvation, and raising you out of death into a new life with His Son + Jesus Christ, our Lord. In the Name of our Lord + Jesus, the Christ. Amen.

Prayer in Pulpit after Sermon:

Almighty God, be pleased to accompany Thy Word with Thy Holy Spirit and grant that Thy Word would increase faith in us; bring into the Way of Truth all such as have erred; turn the hearts of the unrepentant; and for sake of Thy Name grant succor to all heavy hearts and those who are heavy-laden, that they may through the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ be relieved and preserved so that they succumb not to the temptation of despair but rather that they gain the victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with the Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.

The Votum:

The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria!