They Would Not Come

In Nomine Iesu!

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

Sermon Text: St. Matthew 22:1-14

“‘The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a certain king, who made a marriage feast for his son, and sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the marriage feast: and they would not come.’”

Prayer in Pulpit before Sermon:

Lord God, heavenly Father, we thank Thee that, all things being prepared for our salvation, Thou didst call us to the marriage-feast of Thy dear Son, the Bridegroom of our souls; and we beseech Thee, cleanse and direct our hearts, that we may not reject Thy gracious invitation, but willingly follow Thy Word and, being clothed by faith with the garment of righteousness, obtain eternal life with all Thy elect; through the same Thy Son, + 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 in Christ, our Lord is continually sending out an invitation to come. He is inviting the world, especially us, to join the great wedding feast in heaven. He wants to gift us with a grand eternal celebration. The feast to which He invites us is the wedding feast of the Son of God, our Lord + Jesus, the Christ, to His bride, the Church. As it is with every husband and wife, they will be made one. We will be one with our husband, our Lord and Savior + Jesus, the Christ. What that means is that we will be just as He is. He is righteous and holy, so we too will be righteous and holy. At the marriage feast of the Lamb in His Kingdom—at the great wedding feast of the King; in heaven—all that is sinful and corrupt in us will be done away, and we will be utterly free from the bondage of sin and death. No longer will we be tormented by sin. No longer will we see death, for we will live forever and ever in eternity.

This is the wedding feast to which our Triune Lord God wishes to invite us. This is the wedding feast which our Lord God wishes to invite the whole world, but they would not come. The glorious rewards of eternity in heaven delivered to all those who cling in faith to the Lord God are met by the unbelieving world with apathy at the least, and hateful persecution in the extreme. But as the parable from the Apostle and Evangelist St. Matthew shows, our Lord God continues to invite all to come. He continues to send out His servants—His ministers—to invite all who are bidden to the feast. That invitation is for all mankind, for it was first given to the parents of all mankind, Adam and Eve. 

He promised that from their seed, there would be a Savior Who would cover over their transgression, and rescue them from their sin, and the resulting death that their sin caused. This Seed would crush the serpent’s head, even though the serpent would bruise His heel. He was bruised and killed on the tree of the holy cross, but His death atoned for the sins of all mankind, and His death defeated death and Satan once and for all. He has been sending out His servants to proclaim this salvation since the beginning of the world. Adam and Eve proclaimed this promise to their children, Noah proclaimed it to the unbelieving world before, and after, the flood. This promise was delivered anew to Abraham, and to Isaac, and to Jacob, the Patriarchs. The prophet declared it to King David, that through his Seed, One would rule forever, and establish an eternal kingdom, where the Lord God would rule and reign. The prophets continued to be sent by the Lord God to proclaim that a Messiah, this Anointed One from the seed of King David would come and deliver them from sin and death.

The Old Testament Prophets invited the people of old to the great wedding feast, promising a Coming Savior. Then our Lord + Jesus, the Christ appeared in our flesh. He did the will of His heavenly Father, and fulfilled the Law perfectly for us, and took upon Himself our punishment for sin. He suffered and died, and defeated that serpent of old called Satan and the devil, once and for all. Having accomplished all that was necessary for our salvation, our Lord + Jesus sent out His Apostles into all the world to proclaim that there is salvation in the Lord + Jesus alone. Only through faith in Him can we have the forgiveness of our sins. Only through Him can we have salvation and eternal life with Him. Only through the Son of God, Who became man for us, can we enter into the eternal wedding feast.

This invitation continues to go out into all the world. Wherever the pure preaching of the Word of the Lord God, and the Blessed Sacraments are administered according to the Christ’s institution, there the Lord + Jesus is in the midst, inviting us through His called, ordained, and sent ministers. They invite us to the great wedding feast of the Lamb in His Kingdom. They invite us to enjoy life eternal with our Lord and Savior.

But the world, and many in the Church, disregard the invitation. The world is apathetic about the invitation. They just do not care that the invitation is given at all. They are too consumed with the things of this world, to care about the things of the life to come. They rarely consider their death, or what is to come after it. One goes to his farm, another to his merchandise. The unbelieving world is too consumed with the things of this life; they are consumed with the procurement of money; of growing their business and property. In their minds, the world has more important things to attend to. They have real, immediate needs. All that other stuff can wait until another time. So, they ignore the invitation all together.

Others, are even more vile, in that they not only disregard the invitation, but persecute and kill those sent to invite them. They “treat them shamefully, and killed them.” Today is the Festival of St. Luke, Evangelist. He is the writer of the Gospel bearing his name. He shared in this oppression. Many ignore the words that he writes in his Gospel. St. Ignatius of Antioch, the saint we celebrated yesterday, was one those who the haters of the Word of the Lord killed because of what he believed, taught, and confessed. He was fed to the lions, for inviting the unbelieving world to the wedding feast of the Lamb in His Kingdom. This has been the case throughout history, where the prophets and Apostles were either treated shamefully, or killed for their message.

But our Lord God shows His hatred for this unbelieving attitude. We are told in the parable that the King sent out His armies to destroy “those murderers” for that is what those unbelieving person are who disregard the invitation, and who kill the ones who are sent to them to invite them into eternal wedding feast. This is also how seriously the Lord God views the rejection of His invitation. He has shown this throughout history. 

He sent ten plagues upon Egypt, because of their enslaving of the people of Israel. They eventually let them go, but even then, Pharaoh hardened his heart, and pursued them to the Red Sea. He, and his host, were drowned in the Red Sea, while the Israelites walked through it on dry ground. The horse and its rider were drowned in the sea. The Canaanites, on account of their unbelief, and disregard for the invitation, were also destroyed by the armies of the Lord God. The Israelites discomfited the Canaanites, and took their land for a possession. The same land that was promised to their father Abraham, and is a foreshadowing of the true Promised Land in heaven; the eternal Promised Land that belongs to all the saints. This same punishment of unbelief befell both the Northern Kingdom of Israel, which was conquered by the Assyrians, on account of their rejection of the Lord God, and led into exile. As well as the Southern Kingdom of Judah, who were conquered by King Nebuchadnezzar and were led into exile in Babylon, because they too rejected the Lord God.

These are just foreshadowings of the eternal destruction of those who continue to remain in unbelief, and who continue to reject the invitation of the heavenly Father to come to His eternal wedding feast in heaven. Those who remain in their unbelief and reject the invitation will endure His eternal wrath and displeasure in hell. But although this punishment awaits all those who through apathy or open persecution attack the ones who have been sent to invite them to the great wedding feast, our Lord God, in His love and compassion, continues to send His ministers—His servants—to invite us to His wedding feast.

The prophets, Apostles, and ministers of the Lord have been given command to go “unto the partings of the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage feast.” We today continue to invite through the pure preaching of the Word of the Lord God, and through the Blessed Sacraments, which are the Word of the Lord God attached to a visible element. Through these means of grace, the Holy Ghost invites and makes wedding guests, gifting them with faith in the One Who has invited them to the wedding feast. Their eyes are opened to no longer be apathetic, or to be openly hostile to the servants who invite them, but they cling in faith the One Who can give them hope in an eternal life. They do not look to the things of this world, but look constantly to the life of the world to come.

We are those who faithfully receive the invitation to come to the marriage feast. We look to the day when we will be without sin. We look to the day when death will no longer give us trouble and sorrow. We look to the day when we will be with our Lord and Savior for all eternity in heaven. When we will be joined with all those other invitees who now wear the white robes of righteousness—the eternal wedding garments that is a mark of their possessing the righteousness of the Lord + Jesus, the Christ. We will be with all the saints and martyrs who endured the apathy and wrath of this unbelieving world. And we will no longer endure the suffering and pain of this world.

But until that day, we remain in this world. We remain in the Church, which nourishes and sustains our faith in the Lord + Jesus, through the continual preaching of His servants. We remain in faith because we continue to hear the invitation, and rejoice that we get to attend the marriage feast of the Lamb in His Kingdom which will not end. There is howbeit, a warning given to us in the parable. For, there was found among the guests, one without a wedding garment on. This one was cast into the outer darkness, where there shall be the weeping and gnashing of teeth. 

This is warning for us to remain faithful to our Lord God. For the one without the wedding garment is the Christian who only is a Christian in name only. He goes through the motions, he attends church, but his heart is indeed far from the Lord God, for as soon as he leaves this holy place, he returns to clinging to the ways of the world. He goes back to his farm, and his merchandise, and only has time for the Lord God for an hour, or two at the most, once a week. This is our warning to not become complacent in the things of the Lord God, and if we have, that we might repent, and cling not to the things of this world, but to the things of the life of the world to come. 

So then, my dear friends in Christ, let us hear the invitation to come to the marriage feast of the Lamb in His Kingdom. He has redeemed us, and saved us from sin, death, and the power of the devil. Our Lord + Jesus, the Christ, continues to invite us, “Behold, I have made ready my dinner; my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come to the marriage feast.” Come, my dear little children, for we get to enjoy this day a foretaste of the feast to come in heaven. May we remain faithful unto death, that we may enjoy that glorious, eternal wedding banquet in heaven with all the saints, martyrs, and angels. 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!