In the Name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit
They were not willing to come. They made light of it and went
their ways. Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?
For many are called, but few are chosen. Harsh words from our
Lord’s parable in Matthew chapter 22. A certain king arranges a wedding
feast for his son. Those invited are not willing to come. They don’t
give the invitation due consideration. They think the king a fool. The
king sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.
Wedding feast, take two, this time with uninvited strangers along
the highways. One among the many filling the wedding hall isn’t wearing
the proper garment. The king says bind him hand and foot, take him away, and
cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then
comes the difficult saying for many are called, but few are chosen.
Jesus’ saying is hard to understand, especially in today’s
politically correct environment. It is offensive to leave anyone out of
anything. The world says, “What do you mean many are called, but few are chosen?
Either all are called and chosen or none are called and chosen.” To say
all are called and chosen is universalism, the belief that all mankind
will be saved whether or not they believe in the Triune God. To say
none are called and none are chosen is declaring the Christian faith a
lie. There will be no eternal life. There will be nothing to look
forward to after death. Dead is dead.
Those who refuse our heavenly Father’s call are dead in their sins.
They cling to their vocations as their salvation. They treat the King’s
messengers spitefully, seize them, and kill them. Holy Scripture has
many examples of the prophets being treated worse than heathens are.
The apostles did not escape poor treatment. Christian tradition has it
that Saint John the Evangelist is the only apostle of the first twelve
to die a natural death. The others were martyred for their bold
confession of Jesus Christ crucified.
Part of the martyr’s confession of Christ is the stern preaching of the Law.
Isaiah says in the Old Testament reading why do you spend money for what is not
bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Saint Paul says in the Epistle
See
then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise…do not be
unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be
drunk with win, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit. Notice
that Paul calls walking outside the will of the Lord unwise and those who do so
are called fools. Nevertheless, Christians seem to be the ones called unwise
and fools for proclaiming the immortal and exclusive God.
Our Lord’s hard saying means that heaven will be full, but not as
full as our human minds might think. It does no good to talk about
those who refuse God’s call to the wedding feast because they aren’t
here. No matter what you and I say or do, they won’t be persuaded by
God’s Word. They have their own gods. They have their own comfort in
people and things that will be destroyed on the Last Day. What the mind
can’t get around is this business of those who act like Christians on
the outside, but on the inside care nothing for the kingdom of heaven.
That’s what the expulsion of the man not wearing a wedding garment is
about.
Christians wear two garments. One is the robe of righteousness put
upon you at your Baptism. Christ’s garment of incorruption covers your
sins and makes you a new creation. The other garment we wear is the
garment of the New Man who hates walking as a slave to sin. Daily you
cast off the garment of the Old Adam so the New Man may emerge and walk
in righteousness, innocence, and blessedness. Casting off the Old Adam
is what it means to live in your baptismal grace. As a new creation,
you want to love God and your neighbor. You despise sin and want to do
better.
When the Old Man’s clothes cover up the robe of righteousness, or
when the Old Man’s clothes are worn exclusively, you are not clothed
properly for the King’s wedding feast. You love your own way rather
than the Lord’s Way. You say and do all the right things on the
outside, but inside there is no renovation of the heart. You mouth
prayers and praise to God, but the heart and the mouth are not in
harmony. The heart is set on worldly things. The heart is set opposite
God’s will for you.
Who then can be saved? You and I have cast off our wedding garment many times.
If Christ’s Word is true, and His Word is true because the Scriptures cannot be
broken, then there is no hope for a Christian. Where Christ is, there is no
lack of hope. Though many are called, but few are chosen,
there still is room in the heavenly mansions. There still is hope for
the hopeless, even when you believe heaven’s doors are closed. You are
here to receive God’s precious gifts of forgiveness, life, and
salvation. You come to God’s House with a repentant heart that longs to
cast off Old Adam and put on the New Man. You seek the Lord while
He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake
his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the
Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will
abundantly pardon.
Did you hear those words? The Lord has mercy and pardons those who
return to the Lord and forsake the way of wickedness! Saint Paul writes be
filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to
the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ. God’s standard default position
with sinners is mercy. He has mercy on you when you stop walking the
way of death and return to the Way of life.
The preaching of the Law is a preaching of repentance. It is as if
you are about to walk off the side of a cliff and someone cries out for
you not to walk any farther lest you die. You don’t have to trust the
person crying out for you to stop. You can trust yourself and take your
chances. On the other hand, you can heed the call of safety and return
from whence you came.
The Collect for the day bids the Lord to grant His faithful people
pardon and peace. These things are yours because Jesus Christ is the
One Whose Father arranged a marriage. The marriage is when the Holy
Spirit in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary conceives Jesus. God and
man come together in her womb. God and man come together and is born
without sin, yet suffers the death you deserve. God and man come
together out of the grave so when Jesus returns to judge the living and
the dead, you will come out of the grave leaving your old grave clothes
behind. You will be the new creation that is yours through water and
the Word of God in Holy Baptism.
See, the Lord has prepared a Supper before you in the presence of
your enemies. All things are ready. Come to the wedding feast that is a
foretaste of the eternal wedding feast of the Lamb in His never-ending
kingdom. Eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance. Hear,
and your soul shall live. The
eyes of all look expectantly to You, and You give them their food in
due season. You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living
thing.
In the Name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit
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