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The Second Sunday after
Trinity, 2013
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
The Hymn # 361 O Jesus King 4.1
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 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
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon
Hymn #305 Soul, Adorn Thyself 4:23
Abundance of God’s Grace
The Communion
Hymn # 462 I Love Thy Kingdom 4.21
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 #657 Beautiful Savior 4.24
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 #657 Beautiful Savior 4.24
KJV 1 John 3:13 Marvel not,
my brethren, if the world hate you. 14 We know that we have passed from death
unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother
abideth in death. 15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know
that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. 16 Hereby perceive we the
love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay
down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoso hath this world's good,
and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from
him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? 18 My little children, let us not
love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
KJV Luke 14:16 Then said he
unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: 17 And sent his
servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things
are now ready. 18 And they all with one consent began to make excuse.
The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go
and see it: I pray thee have me excused. 19 And another said, I have bought
five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. 20 And
another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. 21 So that
servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house
being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of
the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the
blind. 22 And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and
yet there is room. 23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the
highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be
filled. 24 For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall
taste of my supper.
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Second Sunday After Trinity
Lord God, heavenly Father, we give thanks unto Thee, that
through Thy holy word Thou hast called us to Thy great supper, and we beseech
Thee: Quicken our hearts by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may not hear Thy word
without fruit, but that we may prepare ourselves rightly for Thy kingdom, and
not suffer ourselves to be hindered by any worldly care, through Thy beloved
Son. Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy
Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
Abundance of God’s Grace
This lesson was used in
Medieval times to promote the Corpus Christi procession, in which the
consecrated host was carried about and paraded among people. It was fading in
Luther’s time, so he recalled how this custom mocked Holy Communion by making a
big show.
Medieval Romanism was the
beginning of Entertainment Evangelism. Surprisingly, some Lutheran pastors
leave the Entertainment Evangelism of Fuller Seminary – in their synods, to
participate in the current Entertainment Evangelism of Roman Catholicism.
What other denomination has
their top official travel around the world for the public celebration of Holy
Communion? The idea of the papal consecration in various countries is to make
people despair that they do not have the true Body of Christ.
The pageantry is often well
done, but it leads people to turn away from the Biblical teaching of Holy
Communion because of the showmanship and emphasis upon spectacle.
This is not a parable about
Holy Communion as such but about the abundance of God’s grace.
KJV Luke 14:16 Then said
he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:
First of all, the Gospel of
Christ is a gracious invitation from God, very much like a great feast.
If a famous or rich person
wants to celebrate and include the community, he will throw a great celebration
where everyone is fed well. This invitation begins with the master, and people
delight in participating. Everyone likes a social built around food, because it
has a unifying effect.
Luther’s point is that this
is an evening meal, foreshadowing the Final Judgment. Christ has atoned for the
sins of the world, and God has sent His messengers into the world to announce
this, starting with the prophets and continuing to the end of time.
The Gospel went out to many,
but not to all in the Old Testament. The Jewish people heard the Gospel through
the Prophets and Psalms. Justification by faith was taught, and the coming of
Christ was indicated from Genesis 3:15 onwards.
Even though many heard this
Gospel, they rejected God’s gracious invitation.
Lenski:
The parable is thus seen to be historical, the “many” who
were invited thus early were the Jews. They had this invitation in the old
covenant and in the Old Testament; we might say that God sent them a written
invitation. But we should here again abide by the parable which has in mind the
Jews who were then living and their treatment of the invitation and does not
intend to cover the previous generations of the Jews. While it is thus plainly
historical, the parable is at the same time prophetic and reaches out to all
future generations, whether of Jews or Gentiles. This appears in what follows.
Lenski, R. C. H.: The Interpretation of St. Luke's Gospel.
Minneapolis, MN : Augsburg Publishing House, 1961, S. 777.
17 And sent his servant
at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now
ready.
The Gospel message of Christ
has the characteristics of a great invitation where everything has been done by
one party to benefit the others. Unlike any world religion, God gives to us,
instead of demanding from us.
The Great Supper is not
like a reward dinner, where a corporation rewards a few for their great merit.
The dinner invitation must be earned and the others are banned. The claim can
be made by the participants, “Look at what I have done. I deserved a place at
this table.”
18 And they all with one consent
began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of
ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. 19 And
another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray
thee have me excused. 20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore
I cannot come.
This is somewhat humorous,
because the clamoring began with everyone speaking at once. They all had an
excuse. As Luther said, nothing is wrong with these activities. God honors them
all, but that is the catch. They used their land, their oxen, and their
newlywed status to refuse the invitation.
I find it strange that
people focus on decision, and I am sure that many leap to the conclusion that a
decision must be made. But that is not so. The recipients trust that there is a
great feast and that they are welcome. They have enough faith to realize that,
but they mock what they believe by picking out something more important to them.
We see that in shallow
repentance, where someone says, “I realize all these things are wrong, but I am
going to do them anyway.”
This is even more dangerous
with Biblical doctrine – “I know that they are teaching error, but if I admit
that and give up my comforts, that will be worse for me. I would lose home and
position, family and friends.”
Luther responded to this by
saying, “If that is so, then let them go, because God will provide.” One Mormon
lost his wife when he became a Christian. She married a Mormon leader with all
the best characteristics and kicked him out of the house when he became a
Christian. “I didn’t marry a Christian,” she said. But God provided. She read
the literature he left behind and was slowly converted by the Word of God. She
became a Christian and welcomed him back.
I had two members from Hong
Kong who converted after many years of exposure to the Christian faith, which
they mocked as youth. When they became Christians, their families saw that only
as rejection of them.
It is not “make a decision,”
but weigh the real meaning of faith in Christ, attending the Great Supper with
the poor, the weak, the hated of the world, while the great, powerful, and holy
bask in earthly glory.
21 So that servant came,
and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said
to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and
bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.
When the Jewish missions
began to receive all these excuses, once the real persecutions mounted up and
the excommunications began, the Gospel had to move into the entire world.
The Apostles were only able
to get a foothold in the vast areas of the Roman Empire and serve as a tiny
minority before they all died, most of them violently from persecution. But the
missionary work quickly moved from the established, the wise, the holy members
of the establishment in Judaism to anyone who would listen – the blind, lame,
poor, the outcasts of society, often the common criminals.
The obvious sinners loved to
hear the message of the Gospel because they knew what they were. They were not
the great work-saints who looked to Moses as their Savior. They were like the
woman who cried at Jesus feet and wiped the tears with her hair, saving the
best perfume to anoint His feet.
The example of faith in the
Bible is utter trust in God while repudiating our trust in worldly wisdom and
our own merit.
22 And the servant said,
Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.
This shows the gracious will
of God, because He commanded His servants to go everywhere with the Means of
Grace, moved people to faith, and kept them within the fold with the Word.
And yet there is room. God
has moved people to go to the farthest reaches of earth to share this Gospel
message about Jesus.
When people get past the
message of denominational capital funds appeals, when they brush aside blame
for the material signs of ecclesiastical success, they have a portrait of Jesus
in the Bible, His kindness and love constantly extending His forgiveness and
motivating us with His Gospel.
23 And the lord said unto
the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to
come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I say unto you, That none of those
men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.
This should make us smile,
because we came from the highways and hedges. I know my ancestors wore body
paint and worshiped pagan gods. They were heathen, but men risked their lives
to give them the Gospel.
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Quotations
"But Christ was given for this purpose,
namely, that for His sake there might be bestowed on us the remission of sins,
and the Holy Ghost to bring forth in us new and eternal life, and eternal
righteousness [to manifest Christ in our hearts, as it is written John
16:15: 'He shall take of
the things of Mine, and show them unto you.' Likewise, He works also other
gifts, love, thanksgiving, charity, patience, etc.]. Wherefore the Law cannot be truly kept
unless the Holy Ghost is given."
Apology of the Augsburg Confession,
Article IV, Justification, Concordia
Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia
Publishing House, 1921, p. 159. Tappert, p. 125. Romans 3:31; John
16:15.
"But as the Confutation condemns us for
having assigned these two parts to repentance, we must show that [not we, but]
Scripture expresses these as the chief parts in repentance and
conversion. For Christ
says, Matthew 11:28: Come
unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Here there are two members. The labor and the burden signify the
contrition, anxiety, and terrors of sin and of death. To come to Christ is to believe that
sins are remitted for Christ's sake; when we believe, our hearts are quickened
by the Holy Ghost through the Word of Christ. Here, therefore, there are these two
chief parts, contrition and faith."
Apology of the Augsburg Confession,
Article XII (V), #44, Concordia
Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia
Publishing House, 1921, p. 263. Tappert, p. 187.
Need for Forgiveness
"For now we are only half pure and
holy, so that the Holy Ghost has ever [some reason why] to continue His work in
us through the Word, and daily to dispense forgiveness, until we attain to that
life where there will be no more forgiveness, but only perfectly pure and holy
people, full of godliness and righteousness, removed and free from sin, death,
and all evil, in a new, immortal, and glorified body."
The Large Catechism, The Creed,
Article III, #58, Concordia
Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia
Publishing House, 1921, p. 693.
