"Come, Everything is Ready!" (Luke 14:1, 12-24)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

 One man said at the dining table with Jesus: “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God” (Luke 14:15).

 

Yes, it is true that everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God is blessed. But it is also increasingly obvious that not everyone really regards God’s salvation banquet as something so wonderful.

 

In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 14, Jesus is where we would not expect Him to be. He is dining at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees. He is certainly in a place we would not expect, but Jesus invites everyone to the kingdom of God, including those unbelieving Pharisees. But what happens at this dining experience is expected: they are watching Jesus carefully to see if He will again break another Sabbath rule.

 

So, while Jesus accepts this invitation to dine with leading rabbis, He also invites them to His great banquet, so to speak.

 

So, Jesus tells them about a man who prepared a great banquet. This was a banquet prepared with no leftovers, not with paper plates, and not with warm pop, but with the finest of food, the richest of wine, the juiciest of steaks, with a host who spared no expense. It was a meal of pure gift. And since the banquet hall was ready, his call went out through his servant: “Come, for everything is now ready!” (Luke 14:17).

 

In today’s world, we often send out “Save the Date” notices. This is what this servant is doing. He is sending out these “Save the Date” notices, but not for the future. He is saying, “Today is the date! Come, everything is ready!”

 

The date is set! The banquet hall is ready! The supper of rich food and well-aged wine is ready! (Isaiah 25:6). The supper is lavish! Come, everything is ready!

 

But they all began to make excuses. One bought a field. Another bought five yoke of oxen. Another just got married. They each said, “Please have me excused” (Luke 14:18, 19). Hey, at least they were polite about it. Well, for maybe the exception of the third who just said, “I cannot come.”

Now, at least two of the excuses matched legitimate reasons from the Old Testament. In Deuteronomy 20:6-7, God’s Word proclaims: “And is there any man who has planted a vineyard and has not enjoyed its fruit? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man enjoy its fruit. And is there any man who has betrothed a wife and has not taken her? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man take her.” So, the guy who bought the field and the guy who had recently gotten married may have good reasons. However, did you catch the caveat? They could only refrain from military service. So, their excuses fall flat. They weren’t going off to war. They just didn’t want to go.

 

So, under their veneer of civility and polite excuses was a cold-hearted rejection.

 

Before we get into the Parable of the Great Banquet even more, it is essential to understand the custom of first century banquets. In the Mideast, an unexpected invitation must be refused, especially when one is a foreigner or outcast. So, who would be expected? The rich, the wealthy, the well-to-do. Who would be unexpected? The poor, the crippled, the blind, the lame, the Gentile. So, it is odd that the expected refuse to come and the unexpected later are compelled to come.

 

Back to the parable. The supper is ready, and no one wants to come. Instead, they make excuses. The first pleads necessity. The second pleads inconvenience. The third pleads pleasure. So, the servant returns and reports these things to his master.

 

But guess what, today’s parable is not about proper etiquette or first-century manners. It is about the Gospel. It is about the Divine Service. It is about you and me – and the dangerous foolishness of justifying why we refuse the Lord’s gracious invitation.

 

You see, the Divine Service is a banquet. Yes, today, we are sitting outside, and it looks more like a picnic, but believe me, the Divine Service is a banquet. It isn’t work where you must clock in, or a work that you must perform. It is a banquet. The Divine Service is a feast of grace. This is where God teaches us and where He serves us His grace. He serves us. He gives. And He does not give us table scraps. He gives us His very body and blood. He gives us forgiveness of sins, which begets life and salvation to you as His guests.

 

As poor, miserable sinners, we don’t often see the Divine Service this way. Yours and my Old Adam often looks at each Sunday morning and mutters: “Do I have to?”

But the problem isn’t with the Divine Service. The problem is with you and me. The problem is with our hearts.

You see, if you view the Divine Service as an obligation, you are already down the path of making excuses. And these excuses are not neutral. They are efforts to justify yourself. Each excuse is saying to God: “God, I’m not the problem here, it’s just that I have more important things to do.”

 

We are all experts at coming up with excuses. We are all great at justifying ourselves. We are all great at playing the victim. We are all too much like Goldilocks who says, “It’s too hot. It’s too cold.”

 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us not justify ourselves by avoiding God’s gifts. That is to say; when we make excuses to justify an absence, we are not only being dishonest – we are insulting the banquet and despising the Host. We are saying, “I have better things to do than to be in the presence of Jesus.” We are saying: “This gift is no gift at all.” We are saying: “The Divine Service is a burden.”

 

So, when we make excuses like this, it is not because of a scheduling conflict. To be perfectly honest, it’s idolatry. So, when you say, “I’d love to be at church, but …” we are putting God’s gifts on a scale and weighing them against our desires.

 

And when we do such a thing, we are exchanging the grace of God for the fleeting pleasures of the fallen world.

 

So, the message of today’s parable is clear: repent. Repent for all those times you have justified your absence from the Divine Service with excuses. Repent for treating the Divine Service like a burden. Repent for despising preaching and His Word. Repent for your apathy and excuses.

 

But be sure at this: not all excuses are the same. Yes, there are those excuses born of pride, but there are other excuses that are born of sorrow. So, there is a time when “I couldn’t come” is the right thing to say. Perhaps you are sick. Perhaps your work demanded it. Perhaps you are shut-in. Perhaps you didn’t have the strength – then come and contact me. So, you said, “I wanted to be at the Divine Service. I longed to receive Christ’s forgiveness, but I could not.” Now, that is not justification. That is a lament.

 

You see, a lament says, “Lord, I missed the feast, and I am hungry.” “Lord, I long for Your Word, for Your altar, for Your forgiveness.” You see, a lament is a cry of the soul. It doesn’t justify. It grieves. 

 

So, let there be no confusion. An excuse offered in lament is not a sin, but the groaning of a repentant heart. Justifying excuses despise the gift. Lamenting excuses desire the gift.

 

So, what is the Master’s response to justifying excuses? He says to His servant, “Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame” (Luke 14:21). He fills the banquet hall with the desperate and hungry. He fills the banquet hall with those who responded positively to the preaching of Jesus. But still there is room for more. The Master sends His servant to the rural areas, into the country lanes and roads not often traveled. The servant calls in people from the far corners of the earth.

 

Those who were first invited missed their chance. The door is locked, and they will not taste of the great banquet. They refused to hear the preaching of Jesus and now they find themselves excluded.

 

But thanks be to God that the door is still open, but one day the door will close. Right now, everything is ready. And He invites you to His banquet week after week – not to perform or impress – but to receive. And He does not grow tired of inviting. Sunday after Sunday, Monday after Monday, His call rings out: “Come, for everything is now ready!”

 

And when you miss a Divine Service in sorrow, He will not rebuke you. He welcomes your lament, and He strengthens your faith through His Word and Sacraments. So, when you are absent from the Divine Service, ask yourself: was my excuse a justification or a lament? If it was a justification, repent, and receive God’s forgiveness won for you on the cross. If it was a lament, bring that sorrow to the Lord.

 

Here, in the Divine Service, either inside or outside, God gives His best to you – Christ crucified for sinners, risen for your justification, coming in Word and Sacrament for you. So, receive what only Christ can give: forgiveness, life, and salvation. These are His gifts to you. Come, everything is ready! Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"The Question of Salvation" (Luke 13:22-30)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

 

“[Jesus] went on His way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. And someone said to Him, ‘Lord, will those who are saved be few?’ And He said to them, ‘Strive to enter through the narrow door’” (Luke 13:23-24a).

 

The question of salvation. Will those who are saved be few? That is a question that is often asked today. Who will be saved? Am I saved? Is everyone going to be saved?

 

So, Jesus gives this answer: “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able” (Luke 13:24). What kind of an answer is that?!

 

As Jesus gave this answer, He was on His way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. But His journey to Jerusalem was not a straight line. He wasn’t taking the expressway. But He took every detour route along the way. 

 

Instead of taking the short cut, Jesus took the longest way possible as He was on a spiritual pilgrimage. Surely, Jerusalem was His ultimate goal, but He knows Jerusalem will finally be reached. The city where the salvation of the world will be accomplished.

 

We, too, are also on a pilgrimage. And along this pilgrimage, we have a choice of two paths. There is a wide path and a narrow path. The wide path looks easy. It’s paved. It’s flat. It’s giving into the culture around us. It’s the way of the world. The narrow path looks difficult. It’s bumpy. It’s letting God lead. It’s the way of God. The wide path is the way to hell. The narrow path is the way to heaven.

 

Jesus says, “Strive to enter through the narrow door” (Luke 13:24a). Right now, as I am preaching to you, the narrow door is open, and many will try to enter it through their own means, on their own terms, but they will be unable to do so. They will think they have lived a good enough life. They will think they have given enough to good causes. They will think that they have just enough faith. 

 

But your life is never good enough for God. He doesn’t want “C” students of the faith. He wants perfection. You see, your belief – when it’s not completely true to Jesus – can never be good enough.

 

The narrow door is currently standing open, but the time is coming when that narrow door will be closed forever. When Jesus returns, bodily descending from the clouds, at that moment, the narrow door will be closed.

 

The current time of grace will end on that Day. The time of grace will end when the narrow door that has stood open all this time is finally closed. And everyone who did not enter through the narrow door will be left outside in desperation banging on that narrow door screaming, “Lord, open to us!”(Luke 13:25a). Then Jesus will answer from behind the door, saying: “I do not know where you come from” (Luke 13:25b).

 

Then those on the outside will scream, “We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets!” (Luke 13:26). This is like us saying, “We came to church when we felt like it! We sang hymns! Isn’t that good enough?” These are the words that will come out of your mouth as if what you have done can save you. As if just going through the motions of the Divine Service can save your soul. So, just a mere acquaintance with Jesus and His teachings will not save you. 

 

So, how can anyone possibly pass through the narrow door? To that Jesus says, “strive.” Now, a better word for “strive” is “struggle.” Now, this command to “strive” or “struggle” does not mean that it takes a moral effort to pass through the narrow door, nor does it mean that entrance is gained by a human responsibility. Rather, the struggle through which one enters is repentance, which is a work of God in the human heart.

 

You see, this struggle is produced when the Word of God calls one to repent and trust in Jesus Christ, but at the same time, the sinful human nature is warring against God’s Word. This is the struggle.

 

St. Paul told of his inner struggle in Romans 7. He wrote, “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me”(Romans 7:15-20).

 

So, those who follow their fleshly desires cannot please God. But if you are in the Spirit, you will live.

 

St. Paul’s inner struggle is our inner struggle. But the good news is that by having this struggle, you know that the Holy Spirit is in you. It is because of the Holy Spirit that you notice this struggle. It is the Holy Spirit leading you to repentance.

 

And entrance through the narrow door is gained by those who repent and see in Jesus the Lord of the banquet.

 

Right now, many will seek to enter through the narrow door and will not be able. These many are seeking to get through by their own merits, by their own deeds. These many refuse to repent of their sins. And so, they will not be able to enter.

 

So, getting back to the question of salvation: “Will those who are saved be few?” (Luke 13:23). And Jesus does actually answer that question. Yes. Very few, indeed. But Jesus doesn’t want to leave us in despair. You see, no single person can pass through that narrow door by his or her own efforts. The only way to enter through that narrow door is by grace.

 

So, how do we enter by grace? First, there must be atonement between God and man. The Son of Man must die. The Son of God must die. Jesus must shed His blood. He must continue His journeying to Jerusalem. He must reach Jerusalem, the city where the salvation of the world will be accomplished. He must atone for yours and my sins. He must die a shameful death on the cross. He must, because He is the Way through the Narrow Door. He is the Narrow Door. 

 

As the Narrow Door, Jesus doesn’t force us to labor on our pilgrimage or to labor upon reaching your destination. He calls us. He directs us. He leads us. 

 

Jesus, the Narrow Door, first called you to faith through a Baptism of repentance to the forgiveness of sins as He gifted you the Holy Spirit. But Jesus didn’t leave us to fend for ourselves. He also gave us proper worship through His Means of Grace so that we would remain steadfast “to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of the bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42).

 

You see, by your regular reception of the Lord’s Supper, by remaining faithful to God’s teaching and to your fellowship with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus’ Word of Law and Gospel changes hearts and with your changed heart, He bestows upon you the honored place at the heavenly feast.

 

God is, indeed, gracious to us. Each time you repent of your sins against God and your neighbor, He smiles at you and says, “I forgive you all your sins.” As you partake of the Lord’s Supper, you have a foretaste of the eternal feast of heaven, the forgiveness of your sins, the very Body and Blood of the sacrificial Lamb of God. He uses these Means of Grace to keep you on the path to, and through, the Narrow Door. He uses these Means of Grace to guarantee your salvation. So, when you continually receive His grace and live according to His grace, there is no longer a question of salvation. You now have the answer. And God never lies (Titus 1:1-2).

 

So, repent of your sins. Receive the Lord’s forgiveness that He won for you on the cross and enter through Him, who is the Narrow Door! Come, receive His forgiveness, rest in His Word and recline at His table! Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"The Way That Leads to Eternal Life" (Luke 12:22-34)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“[Jesus] said to His disciples, ‘Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing’” (Luke 12:22-23).

 

Worry. We are pretty good at that. If there is anything that we, as humanity, can claim to be an expert on, well, that is certainly worrying. And worry is always focused inward, to self.

 

In fact, an entire industry is invested in our worry. It’s called the news. “We begin tonight with a crisis in America.” “Tonight, millions of Americans are in the path of severe storms.” “Tonight, millions of college graduates worry on how they will pay back their student loans.” Worry. As a former journalist, I know that is how the news pays its bills. They know that Americans are attracted to worry.

 

And other industries have caught on to what the news feeds us. Other industries notice this worry mentality. So, they promote “gold and silver as a hedge against inflation,” or food storage with 25 years of shelf life, just in case a nuclear bomb wipes out our food supply. Worry. 

 

At once, they have us hooked on worry, there are so many people ready and willing to take advantage of whatever anxiety you and I may have.

 

Last week, you heard Jesus teach the Parable of the Rich Fool. In that parable, Jesus told of a man who was worried about his possessions. His money, his harvest, and the things money and abundant harvests could do for him were certainly at the top of his mind. He knew he had great riches, and he wanted to hold on to what he had. So, of course, he watched the news and its commercials, which convinced him in his worry to build bigger barns. His worry could only go away when he had all of his stuff in place, so then and only then, could he be finally content and say, “Soul, you have ample good laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry!” (Luke 12:19).

 

But that is not how the parable ends. It doesn’t end with him living in luxury with his gold and silver protecting him from inflation. It ends in the worry and dream stage. Before he could even tear down his old barns and build larger ones, God said to him, “Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” (Luke 12:20).

 

At the beginning of that parable, this man was a rich fool. By the end of the parable, he was a rich, dead fool. He laid up treasure for himself, but he was not rich toward God. He lacked faith in God providing for him. He focused inward, to himself. He lived by sight. He was anxious toward worldly things and possessions.

 

Now, most of us don’t have the problem of the rich fool. But we are often filled with worry, dread, and fear. We are often anxious. Now, you may not have stockpiles of crops and money with a worry about building bigger barns. But your focus may be more like Jesus’ disciples who instead worried about preserving what little they had. You see, with maybe besides Matthew, who was previously a tax collector, the disciples were not monetarily rich men. They often lived just day to day and sometimes from meal to meal. Even among the monetarily poor, that also creates anxiety. The question is often: will there be enough? Will there be enough money to get all the needed groceries this week? Will there be enough money to pay the utility bills this month? Will God really provide? How will God provide?

 

So, whether you may be monetarily rich or poor, or somewhere in the middle, anxiety is often our portion when we focus on earthly goods. That anxiety cuts us off from the heavenly Father. To this Jesus says, “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” (Luke 12:25). It doesn’t. Undue worry often subtracts from life.

 

As Jesus journeys toward Jerusalem, He continues to teach. He teaches us to be His disciples. He teaches about the love and care of God our Father in heaven. He teaches us that our Father knows what we need and leads us to live by faith and not by sight. 

 

Again, the rich man in last week’s parable is an example of someone whose barns and storehouses were filled to the brim and yet was not prepared for the future. The very opposite of the rich man are birds, and in particular, the raven. This scavenger is satisfied with leftovers and would not think of storing up food for the future.

 

For everyone who has a birdfeeder, or two, or three, when you watch the birds, you begin to realize that they do not store up those seeds. They come when they are hungry. They come trusting that seeds will be available to them. 

The opposite are the squirrels. Squirrels are akin to the rich fool. They stuff their little faces as they sit upside down and then attempt to store those seeds for the winter months. But notice, it is not the rich man, nor squirrels, that Jesus calls His disciples to imitate, but the birds, the ravens. So, Jesus sets before us birds, and later, lilies, or really any flower. Jesus calls us to look deeply at these things that seem so ordinary and take to heart the care they receive from the heavenly Father.

 

The rich fool needed bigger barns and was anxious until they could be constructed. Birds do not sow and do not reap. They have no barns – including our barn since it has been repaired – and apparently do not suffer from anxiety. God provides for them. He feeds them. He cares for them.

 

The same goes for the lilies. They don’t toil or spin, yet they are clothed with more glory than Solomon himself. Jesus calls on us to focus on birds and flowers, because they don’t stress about the details of life.

 

But there’s a problem. We aren’t birds and we aren’t flowers. We sow and we reap. We toil and we spin. We often find ourselves running after food, drink, and clothing for fear of not having enough. So often, we find our sense of worth by the brand of clothing we wear, by the make and model of the vehicle you drive, by the neighborhood you live in. Our sense of worth often comes from financial security. Our self-esteem comes from the things we purchase. So often, because we seek after worldly things, we overwork, by becoming absorbed in our work, so that you can afford your lifestyle. To this, Jesus says, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Luke 12:34).

 

When we find ourselves caught up in the fear of not having enough, by looking to our money, our possessions, our work to give us the things we need, we will eventually become pagans, unbelievers, as we turn that money and those possessions into your false god of comfort. Jesus reminds us, “Do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them” (Luke 12:29-30).

 

You see, God the Father knows our needs. He cares for you. He provides all that we need for both your body and your soul.

A couple of weeks ago, Jesus was asked in the Gospel lesson by one of His disciples how to pray, so He taught His disciples the Lord’s Prayer (Luke 11:1-13). In that prayer, Jesus gave them and us the Fourth Petition: “Give us this day our daily bread.”

 

In that petition, Jesus teaches us that God the Father created us and is watching over this world, as He always cares for it. He provides daily bread through food and drink, clothing and shoes, money and goods, a devout husband or wife, through good government and good employment. He provides.

 

Now, this doesn’t mean that we just have to sit back and do nothing. God works through means. But He certainly provides when we seek Him and His kingdom.

 

Now, back when I was a freshman in college, I was in a class that was known to weed out students. In this class, we had one assignment: a 90-page research paper. To pass the class, it had to be at minimum 90 pages. Thankfully, for me, the footnotes counted. As the class progressed, the professor would see how far along each student was in completing the assignment. Some were honest, others were not. As the final week approached, I felt pretty good. I had met each deadline. I was pretty relaxed. That was not the case for most of my class. A good majority pulled all-nighters in getting their paper complete. My point is this. First, I had faith that Jesus would lead me to finish my paper on time. Secondly, I had to actually do the work. This also goes with all those other things that cause anxiety. We must have faith that God provides, and we must trust in Him as He leads us to Him providing through a homework assignment, paying a bill, or anything.

 

Thanks be to God that He does not work from a distance. Though we often pull ourselves away from God the Father, He continues to show His love for us through His only begotten-Son Jesus Christ. He sent Jesus to shepherd His flock by gathering us back to Him as He laid down His life for us, His sheep, and rising up again, so that He could give us His kingdom. And long before we could even have the idea to seek the kingdom of God, the Triune God sought us and gave us His kingdom and all by His grace through faith in Him. In Baptism, the kingdom was given to you, and in His Means of Grace – His Word and Sacraments – He provides us with all we need to remain His dear children.

 

Now, throughout the ages, there has been a misunderstanding about these words of Jesus. One of those famous men who misunderstood today’s text was St. Francis of Assisi, who lived a life of total poverty. 

St. Francis did many things well, but this wasn’t one of them. So, we need to read these words of Jesus in the context of God’s total revelation. Jesus, here, is saying what we must hear and hear often. He is calling on His disciples to distance themselves from the attitude of the world that glorifies this earthly life and its possessions. Our attitude ought to always remember that the end is coming, so our priority in life must be to be rich toward God. This means we are called to seek the treasure of the kingdom. 

 

And guess what? He provides adequate earthly treasure to sustain us and for us. In Christ, He provides eternal heavenly treasures, as He washed us through Holy Baptism and feeds us with His Body and Blood in the Supper and tends us with the guidance of His Word.

 

Our value does not come from what we have, but from what God has done for us. Our money and possessions will wither and fade away, but our treasure – our real treasure – is secure. So, walk by faith and not by sight in the way that leads to eternal life. Amen!

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +