I love to eat! So, when the Scripture’s speak of the kingdom of God in the terms of a feast, this resonates with me.
Of course it’s not just me, it’s most likely you. It’s most of everyone of every time of every place.
What do we do to celebrate holidays and birthdays and weddings and anniversaries and the special occasion that it happens to be Tuesday? We eat!
So, when the Scriptures speak of the Kingdom of God in terms of a feast, we can picture this. We can picture some family and friends that we know that throw a good feast and imagine that this would pale in comparison to the joy and feasting and laughter and conversation and satisfaction that would come from the feast our Lord has prepared for us.
And so when Jesus says today that a story about the kingdom of God in which a man throws a great banquet, a great feast and invites many and says, “Come, for everything is now ready.” We are perhaps a bit confused that as the story goes, They all alike began to make excuses.
Now, it’s not as though we don’t know what some of those excuses sound like – excuses to not join the feast, to not come to church, not believe in the heard and confess with the mouth that Jesus is Lord, not say your prayers and receive the Sacrament and try and lead a godly life
– we perhaps have heard these excuses all our life.
[intellectual, emotion, moral]
But we don’t understand because being a Christian, knowing even a foretaste of our Lord’s feast to come, having tasted and seen the Lord is good,
that in the midst of our suffering and sin and guilt and trouble in this world,
that the Lord is our support in the day of calamity [Introit]
that’s God loves us, and gives us forgiveness, life, and salvation and rich promises
and gives a peace that passes understanding and said from the cross, “It is finished,” so “Come, for everything is now ready,”
There are times we don’t understand how anyone could not believe!
Why this church isn’t packed with sinners who are suffering and need Jesus.
Why everyone isn’t in the Christian feast of faith, hope, and love – where “everything is ready,” and the Gospel proclamation says, “Come,”
Come, everyone who thirsts and receive the waters of righteousness, joy, and peace.
Come everyone who is hungry and receive the fullness that only the Bread of Life can give.
Come everyone who lacks sense, our Old Testament reading said, who is confused and needs wisdom and the light of God’s Word shining in the darkness of this confused world and confused soul.
Come and freely receive that which was bought and paid for by the slaughtered blood of the Lamb of God.
But we must realize that this story is especially toward the proud, the Pharisees, the ones who thought they had it all together and were more righteous and holy than others –
and we must realize that this is a special temptation the devil has for us Christians who do know how wonderful the feast is having tasted the foretaste.
They all alike began to make excuses.
We are not immune from excuses.
We are not immune for seeking the worlds honor rather than serving humbly.
We are not immune for seeking riches and goods and stuff and more stuff that we know, we know thieves can steal, moth and rust can destroy, and know we cannot take this with us – and who would want to at the Lambs High Feast where everything is glorious and provided.
We are not immune to following after our passions of lust.
We are not immune of being prideful and thinking we’re better than,
Of being too busy for the one thing needful,
of being so focused on family we neglect our praying to and praising of our Heavenly Father,
of being so worried about this body and this life, and what shall we eat, and what shall we wear, that we are anxious.
They all alike began to make excuses.
Do not come here today hiding your excuses to not fully join the feast, with all your heart and mind and soul and strength.
For this feast is not for the one’s who pridefully excuse themselves of their sins.
This feast is not for the proud,
not for the holy,
not for the got-it-together,
not for the exalted and honored by the world,
it’s not for the good who bring a pile of good works to say “Look what I’ve brought,”
This feast is a feast, Jesus says, for the poor and crippled and blind and lame.
This is a feast of mercy.
This is a feast of forgiveness.
This feast clothes our naked guilt and shame,
gives wisdom to our foolishness,
gives strength to our weakness,
gives hope to our despair,
gives humility our pride,
gives freedom to bound.
This is a feast for the dying and weak and sick and poor in spirit and fearful and guilty and worried and angry to be fed with the Bread of Life, for His flesh is real food and blood is real drink.
This is a feast that we don’t bring our goodness, but taste and see the Lord is good.
This is a feast for you,
and for all,
because our Lord desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth,
because His voice through the prophets and the apostles, His Gospel call has gone out to all the earth,
because He wants to feast with all, wants all to be saved, and wants all to have Him as their God.
Jesus wants to eat with all the sinners because He loves the world.
And we celebrate His mercy to us again today.
What should we do?
We should eat up His Words of eternal,
and take and eat of His foretaste of the feast which will have no end.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+23%3A5%3B+1+Corinthians+1%3A30%3B+Isaiah+55%3A1%3B+Revelation+22%3A2%3B+1+Timothy+2%3A4%3B+Romans+10%3A18%3B+Isaiah+45%3A22%3B+Psalm+81%3A1%3B+Luke+13%3A34%3B+Revelation+3%3A20%3B+Luke+14%3A25-26&version=ESV