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| Norma A. Boeckler |
The Twentieth Sunday after Trinity, 2018
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
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
Invitations and a Singular Dress Code
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
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
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| Norma A. Boeckler |
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.
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| Norma A. Boeckler |
Note - Baby Andrea is having a difficult time as a preemie. Please pray for her and her parents, Randy and Ivy.
PS - We are changing phones and Internet. The phone number does not work now but should work soon.
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Sermon Background - Analogies, Parables
There is quite a difference between an analogy which some writer has created and one from the Bible. Likewise, a Biblical parable is quite different from an ordinary anecdote used to illustrate a sermon.
The Biblical examples are the revealed Word, and they serve to make the Scriptures more easily understood and remembered. Forgetting that, many people use their own illustrations and try to make them equal to the Word and immune from the Word. For example, Luther's example of a man inheriting an estate and not knowing it is used to proclaim Luther was saying the whole world was forgiven whether someone believes it or not. True, a true could inherit an estate and not know it, but the story does not include everyone in the world inheriting an estate and not knowing it. That is one flaw. But a greater one is Luther's Biblical references to preaching the Gospel Promises creating and building faith.
A common excuse is "two sides of Justification are like two sides of a coin." Justification is never a coin in the Bible, and Justification does not have two sides.
An old saying is "all analogies limp," which is not a Biblical quote but true to the Bible. Comparisons, illustrations, stories, and analogies have to be tested by the Word to see if they have any weight.
Likewise, no book or man has any authority over the Scriptures. The person arguing against the Bible is wrong, no matter what his title, office, or esteem in his group of people. There is no slander in calling someone a false teacher. I am called that, with guilty by association (Calvinist! Baptist! Catholic!) all the time. It gives me a chance to explain Christian doctrine rather than phone our church attorney about a potential windfall - Jackson vs. Anonymous Blogger. The Bible encourages spiritual discernment, therefore a continuous discussion and study of what is truly taught in the Word.
Today's Gospel is an interesting example of an extensive analogy in the Scriptures - marriage. Ephesians 5 uses the same theme to write about marriage in this life, while Jesus spoke about marriage as an illustration. Marriage is basic to all cultures, so what the Bible teaches is not only significant, but also an important way to view our relationship with the Savior.
The Wedding Feast of the Son
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 draws upon what we know from this life and explains the work of the Father and Son. Marriage was so important in Judaism that everyone was expected to be married, and parents drew up contracts about supporting the married couples in their first years of marriage.
Although marriage itself is often overshadowed by a big display, the wedding is a major event and people look forward to attending. Since many society weddings are power couples or from powerful families, an invitation is coveted, even begged by some. Photographs of the guests are very important for the future.
This marriage concerns Jesus as the groom and the Church as His bride. Jesus referred to Himself as the groom when the disciples were criticized for being too jolly. He blessed the wedding at Cana, which he attended with His disciples, showing that He favored marriage and did not despise the union God created through the Word.
The idea of celibate monks and priests came from outside of Christianity, based on pagan ideas. The situation today shows how turning away from God's plan is always going to generate evil. The disciples were all married, including Peter, "the first pope."
This relationship between Jesus and the Church is used the opposite way by Paul, using the same lessons, showing how husbands and wives should regard each other. Thus we can see that the intricate relationships in nature are just as true in our human society, though few see Creation at work but run to their sociology books and advice columns.
The parable is clear - the Kingdom of God is like a King celebrating the marriage of His Son.
3 And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.
God began promising the Savior when He drove Adam and Even from paradise because of their sin - Genesis 3:15. From that time on, Promises of the Messiah were preached to the Old Testament denizens. Faith in Christ did not begin with His earthly ministry but with the First Gospel Promise of Genesis 3:15. This gave the Jewish people - and gradually the pagans - time to learn about and believe in all the attributes of the Messiah.
The pagans? Yes, the pagan world became weary of its gods and goddesses, the way Western people are weary today of Christianity. Those educated pagans in the Hellenistic world after Alexander the Great could read the Old Testament in Greek and see the Promises of the Old Testament. Thus God through Alexander, prepared the world for the Gospel in Greek, preached by Jesus and His disciples in Greek. If they had been limited to Aramaic, as some insist, it would have been as influential as Finnish is today.
Contrary to the notion that God did not offer salvation to the Jews, He did so through the prophets, generation after generation, and yet they fell away continuously. Look at how our nation has repudiated its Christian foundations and any study of the Faith in our country's history, as if atheists founded it and worked to reform it. What is the "city set on a hill"? if not a Christian image? Christianity was the leading force against slavery, for example. And Christianity was the idea behind our charities, hospitals, nursing homes, and adoption agencies.
When people say what they do not like about the Bride, I have far more information and experiences than they do. What I know would have them running out of the door or loosing their breakfast.
What is visible is deeply flawed and corrupted, not by God, but by man.
Luther:
4. These words beautifully picture to us and teach how we should make use of the life of the saints; namely, to introduce examples by which the doctrine of the Gospel may be confirmed, so that we may the better, by the aid of such examples and lives, meditate upon Christ, and be nourished by and feast upon him as upon fatlings and well fed oxen. This is the reason he calls them fatlings. Take an example: Paul teaches in Romans 3:23f. how the bride is full of sin and must be sprinkled by the blood of Christ alone, or she will continue unclean, that is, she must only believe that the blood of Christ was shed for her sins, and there is no other salvation possible.
How can the Church be improved without the correct, Biblical understanding of forgiveness through faith? Have you ever contended with children whose parents imagine their offspring can do no wrong? They are born forgiven and act like it. That is our society.
That increases spiritual blindness and hardness, which is why so many refuse to listen to the Gospel. The Kingdom of God is not a congregation, not a denomination, not a minister. So what they offer as reasons have nothing to do with the eternal Gospel.
I know many people disturbed by events around them. They have studied those issues on their own and found the truth of the Scriptures. They are best armed against all doubts because their trust is in the Word, not human institutions.
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:
This is a references to the cross of Christ. He is the great sacrifice, the end of all animal sacrifices because He died without sin to give us His righteousness through faith.
This is where God went another step beyond proclaiming what would be true (which also granted forgiveness through faith). He demonstrated before their eyes, to the Jews and Romans, that the Son of God died in innocence and rose from the dead. As Hebrews reveals, there is a cloud of witnesses proclaiming these truths, going back century after century. In fact, the practices of the Jews embedded those lessons in them, from readings and from the sacrifice of the Passover lamb.
Though some listened, watched, and believed, many went back to their businesses and farms.
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.
What a church history lesson this is - all in advance. Jesus sent out His apostles to teach the Gospel, as eye-witnesses of the resurrection. If that had been a fraud, everyone would have known soon enough. Even today the rationalists fall silent about the Empty Tomb and the closet atheists avoid the topic altogether - "It's not important to Christianity." - Disciples, yes, seminary student. How ironic.
The unbelieving world violently suppressed the Christian Faith and killed the apostles. Perhaps one lived to old age - John. However, they were more interested in preaching the Gospel to a hostile world than keeping a lot of historical notes.
Jerusalem was destroyed, not once, from the Zealot revolt, but twice from a later false Messiah.
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.
This is the funny part, because we are those people. Our ancestors were worshiping trees, stones, fertility gods. The Picts in England were named because of their tattoos Some did not bother with any clothing, even in battle. Western Christianity did not come from the nobility but from the dregs of society. And the leaven of that Gospel kept the Word alive and elevated ancient languages as well.
Constantine disliked the pagan city of Rome, which fell about 100 years later, and built a new Christian capital in Byzantium, later called Constantinople after him, Istanbul today.
Christianity grew throughout Europe and then spread to the Americas from exploration and the quest for spice.
The Wedding Garment
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 sounds completely off topic and alien in this parable, but it fits completely with the complete Biblical message. The image is the wedding garment being the righteousness of faith. The verbs for putting on and taking off (Paul, last week) refer to no longer living as the Old Adam, following our instincts, but living as believers who are forgiven through faith in Christ.
Robes are special, because they make everyone the same in some respect and cover what is beneath. Graduation robes say "everyone graduated from this school." Academic robes tell people "this faculty member with three stripes has a doctorate and went to a certain university."
I saw children graduate from pre-school and wear robes and a mortarboard hat. Cute but odd.
Luther wrote about Christ covering our sins, so we should cover the sins of others and not be gossips.
The robe of righteousness means this righteousness comes from the Savior through the Means of Grace, even though the person beneath is still a sinner and will be on this mortal earth.
The wedding guest in this parable wore his Masonic garb or the equivalent. Masons teach that they go to Paradise because of their good deeds. So we have many in the visible church which are in the wrong garment, sometimes rented through riches, and do not belong. But that will be settled later.
Many are called but few are elect. This is a warning from Jesus that one cannot fool God while gathering the praises of man.
So this reflects back upon marriage, that the husband love his wife the way Jesus loves His Bride, the Church. The Church (invisible) is preserved through Justification by Faith. Marriage and the family are preserved and bless by forgiveness as great as God's forgiveness of our sins, complete and free.
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| Norma A. Boeckler |
