Preached to the saints at Trinity Lutheran Church of Layton, Utah.
Dear people and friends of Trinity,
For whatever the opinion of this lowly little pastor in the wilderness of Utah is worth, I think today's Gospel lesson and sermon on Luke 14:15-24 is very important for the people and the kingdom of God. Please give it a listen by clicking on the MP3 link above or read the preaching manuscript that follows my signature below.
Disclaimer: The MP3 audio file includes the audio entire Divine Service. If you just want to hear the sermon, drag the tracking curser of your audio program to the 23:35 mark. The preached sermon contains some explanatory and illustrative material not contained in the manuscript.
Welcome to the table of the LORD!
Soli Deo gloria!
Rev. Kurt Hering, Pastor
Trinity Lutheran Church
Layton, Utah
www.trinitylayton.org
Here is the preaching manuscript.
TEXT: 15When one of those who reclined at table with [Jesus] heard these things, he said to him, "Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!" 16But he said to him, "A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. 17And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.' 18But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.' 19And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.' 20And another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.' 21So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said 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.' 22And the servant said, 'Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.' 23And the master said to the servant, 'Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 24For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.'" Luke 14:15-24
Dearly beloved of the Father,
You are welcome to the table of the Lord, that is, a seat at the heavenly banquet, NOW!
This is really that simple and straight forward of a Gospel parable to understand and preach.
Many are called. Few are chosen. The few who are chosen feast forever with the Father, His beloved Son, and His Holy Spirit and have every blessing He has to offer through His Word for them in the kingdom of heaven. The many who are called yet have better, more pressing things to do and spurn the invitation will have none of it.
And this is not the worst of it as we remember from last week's Gospel illustration of the rich man begging for a drop of water from the depths of Hades where he watched poor Lazarus feasting with Abraham at the heavenly wedding banquet.
That's it really. Easy and straight forward to preach, but not necessarily so easy or pleasant for hard headed, freedom loving, recreation minded, independent souls to hear, to accept, and especially to live. After all, our world today is so full of fields for us to see and pleasures to experience, oxen for us to examine and weekend chores to do, and wives for us to marry and people to visit and keep happy—not to mention pillows to hug--that are all so much more compelling, urgent, and appealing than the Word and Sacrament of our Lord in the Divine Service of the Church. And without Sunday mornings, the weekends simply are not long enough to accomplish and enjoy them all fully.
But anyone who does not like the Gospel and the kingdom of heaven as it is for what it is, that is their choice and they will get to live with it—forever. But God will not be there and they will not be part of the heavenly wedding party. It really is just that simple.
Luther doubted the Christianity of anyone who did not receive the Lord's Supper at least 4 times a year. Not that he was claiming to be able to read anyone's heart, but that their behavior was indicative of not keeping God's gift of the Sabbath day, that is they be guilty of despising preaching and the God's Word as per the Third Commandment.
Now you must remember the time and conditions in which Luther lived as well. Getting to church was a much more difficult and time consuming proposition than it is today when just about anyone can hop into a car or make use of some other transportation and find themselves at a place where the Divine Service is being offered according to God's Word within a couple of hours at most. Not many of us these days even have the excuse of having to tend to the daily needs of livestock, as the oxen master of our parable. It is without doubt or argument far less burdensome and time consuming for us to keep Sabbath Day holy in 21st Century America--even given our high fuel prices--than ever before. How many of us could really in all honesty and good conscience argue that we could not reasonably be expected to attend church once a month, let alone 4 times a year?
But that is to talk and think according to the Law. The truth of the matter--or as Jesus would say--"Verily, I tell you the truth," according to our parable, the wedding banquet of the Sabbath Day's Divine Service is a gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast. We have received the call and invitation of the Holy Gospel. We have been given the wedding clothes of Holy Baptism. We have been gathered in God's holy congregation of people at Trinity Layton (or whatever faithful congregation gathered around God's pure and holy Word and Sacrament to which you may be blessed to be a member). And we have set before us on a weekly basis the wedding banquet wherein we sup in the very presence of God, indeed are given to eat of His very body and blood at the holy table of His altar. All compliments of our heavenly Host --God the Father, in honor of His Son Jesus Christ the bridegroom of the Church, through the work of His Holy Spirit the helper of baptized sinners like you and me.
Thinking of it in those terms—feasting in the very bodily presence of the Lord our God at His heavenly table—and truly believing it to be so according to God's holy promise and good and gracious will for us, what in the world could be more important, more appealing, more beneficial? If you really believe what our Lord God promises and gives us in His holy Word, that is. And talk about bang for your buck, there is no admission fee, hidden tax, or baggage charge. Our Lord Jesus Christ has bought it all for you with His holy precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that you may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity.
But the seats are limited. There is a capacity number for this banquet as represented by the 144,000 of Revelation, a perfect and complete number of God's elect though unknown number, which is indeed countless to men. But it has yet to be reached. Tickets have been unclaimed. Invitations remain to be sent. Until they are, the Church remains to distribute them to the world. And you, dear people, are the ones given to do it as the Lord has prepared for you—even lives in you to do.
So welcome to the table of the Lord, where God forgives you all of your sins and gives you a seat at the heavenly wedding banquet here today; every Lord's Day and other holy days until the Last Day; and even forevermore. Oh, and by the way, why not send out a few invitations to family and friends so that His house might be filled and they too might taste His banquet? It is the neighborly thing to do--in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Insofar as this sermon is a true proclamation of the Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ, it belongs to Him and His Church. Therefore its use is free to all who deem it worthy and beneficial.
Send Rev. Kurt Hering an email.
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