Twentieth Sunday after Trinity

The Twentieth Sunday after Trinity

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time

The Hymn #  39        Praise to the Lord                              3:1

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual       

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed             p. 22

The Sermon Hymn # 370            My Hope Is Built              3:11     

Wedding Garment – Grace and Faith

The Communion Hymn # 246            Holy, Holy, Holy             3:35

The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn # 309                 O Jesus Blessed Lord             3:70

KJV Ephesians 5:15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. 18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; 21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

KJV Matthew 22:1 And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, 2 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, 3 And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. 4 Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. 5 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: 6 And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. 7 But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 8 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. 9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. 10 So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. 11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: 12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.

Twentieth Sunday After Trinity

Lord God, heavenly Father: We thank Thee, that of Thy great mercy Thou hast called us by Thy holy word to the blessed marriage-feast of Thy Son, and through Him dost forgive us all our sins; but, being daily beset by temptation, offense, and danger, and being weak in ourselves and given to sin, we beseech Thee graciously to protect us by Thy Holy Spirit, that we fall not; and if we fall and defile our wedding-garment, with which Thy Son hath clothed us, graciously help us again and lead us to repentance, that we fall not forever; preserve in us a constant faith in Thy grace, through our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Wedding Garment – Grace and Faith

KJV Matthew 22:1 And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, 2 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,

This parable is one where God’s grace is taught for the purpose of increasing faith in the Gospel, but it also warns that any other righteousness than the righteousness of faith is absolutely rejected.

The King and His Son – these are clear indications of the parable being about the Father-Son relationship and the sending of the Gospel. Many like to turn this exclusively into an evangelism text, but the parable involves far more than that.

For some denominations, evangelism is a program that must be constantly emphasized, even to the point of making every worship service a time for recruitment. That naturally turns worship as receiving the Means of Grace into an event where everyone should be doing something.

In fact, I was told recently, and given this quote, that pew sitters should not be couch potatoes! And I quote –

“Christians, too, can become burdened by the general affluence of society so that we become apathetic to the crying needs of the world around us.  And the greatest need is that of hearing the gospel message.  Since there is only ONE WAY that happens - through the church (small letter c) - it means people MUST be actively involved, not apathetic.  Pew sitters are not to be couch potatoes. Church members are to be excited about using all that God provides to proclaim the good news of Christ...”

From Law demands there are no fruits.

So what happened to Christianity being the only religion where man receives from God instead of giving to God or appeasing God?

The wedding feast is a pointed reference to Christ being the groom and the church being the bride. As everyone knows, a royal wedding is something that everyone would love to attend. Anyone would consider such an honor that the invitation is not a demand but a welcome request.

It is fun to turn words around. People are commanded to appear before a judge, but they are invited to a special event. Judges do not invite – they command.

This shows us the gracious nature of the Gospel. It is sent out to everyone, no matter what their standing. This is the core of the primary meaning of the parable.

The second emphasis of the Gospel is the lack of faith in the gracious message.

3 And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. 4 Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. 5 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: 6 And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. 7 But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.

Grace is shown in the very people refusing getting another chance to come to the feast. Some made light of it. Others went back to their own business. Still others responded to this grace with spitefulness and murder. So they received what they handed out to the servants.

This encapsulates what happened with the first evangelists, the Old Testament prophets. They taught contrition for sin and faith in the Messiah. Many ignored them. Others abused and killed them. Israel departed so much from the Old Testament Gospel that only a stump was left when Jesus was born, and their country was ruled by a non-Jew, Herod, an evil man.

8 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. 9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. 10 So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.

The second stage of invitation matches what Paul said, “to the Jew first and then to the Gentile.” The first recipients of the ministry of Christ were the Jews, and most of His attention was focused on teaching them and developing believers among them before His death and crucifixion.

Paul also spent a lot of time among the Jews and made great progress in converting them to the faith, as the disciples did. The Word was so successful that all of them were banned from synagogues and persecuted for their work.

Paul’s believers included the dregs of society and the wealthy merchant of purple, Lydia. Dealing in purple dye was like being a jeweler. It involved a lot of money and provided good profits. And yet many of those first believers were drawn from the streets, converted homosexuals and all kinds of criminals – as long as they left their former ways.

This is a contrast with the emphasis on the Torah and the outward righteousness of the Jewish believers before they were converted. Therefore, Jesus showed during His ministry what would develop in the apostolic era.

11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: 12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.

This parable was going so well – and then it went dark, as they say. Why not have a happy ending?

Any section of the Scriptures will have Gospel Promises and Law warnings in them.

This warning is beautifully clear, but it stuns those who are not well informed about the Gospel. That is the idea. The parables are for the edification of believers. They are puzzles to non-believers, which can be seen when rationalists try to deal with them. The rationalists admire the parables as ideal short stories but they do not grasp the meaning. Only a believer can do that, and this is the work of the Holy Spirit.

The wedding garment is the righteousness of faith.

What is more important than being properly dressed at a wedding, even a rather informal one. I was invited to perform the marriage of a friend and fellow Photoshop fanatic. When he had his going away party, he invited us to it. When he got married, he asked me to perform it. I gave up suits a long time ago in Phoenix, where they were never worn, so I had to go out and get something while Chris fussed over the right thing to wear.

People are likely to wear their best clothes to a wedding, and it should be appropriate. A tux would not be appropriate at most weddings, and the women do not want to out-dress the bride. So we think about clothes and a wedding.

So here is a man without the proper clothing on. He is tossed out.

What was he lacking? The righteousness of faith, which only comes from faith in Christ.

The man is speechless – why? He has no idea that he has done anything wrong. I had one prospect tell me, “I know I am going to heaven, because I am a good person. He got that from his liberal pastor, who said the same thing.” That is always going to be popular, to get people involved in works-righteousness. This parable shows that people may be in church but not in Christ, since only those who believe in Christ for their salvation will be properly clothed.

Holy Communion

What is the proper way to prepare for Holy Communion? There are many traditions associated with preparing for communion, as Luther wrote, but the singular form of preparation is faith in Christ.

The graciousness of God is shown in His desire to bring the Gospel to us in visible form. Doubts are removed by this parable. Are we part of the chosen race? No, but the large-scale rejection of the Gospel led to most converts being our pagan ancestors, people who worshiped trees and rocks and tattooed themselves (much like today’s cultural leaders).

If people wonder about whether they are good enough or have done enough – the servants gathered the good and the bad to fill the wedding hall with guests.

And we are guests. God made sure we received the gracious invitation, from servants He appointed and trained.