Let us
pray, Gracious God, You have prepared a banquet for we Your servants. But we make excuses why we cannot attend. Yet, You know our excuses are a result of sin
in our lives where we are looking out for ourselves and seeking worldly fame
and glory and not honoring You with our hearts.
Enable us to respond in faith as Your called saints here at
Emmanuel. AMEN.
Recently
I was watching the first of the Harry Potter movies where Harry was receiving
an invitation to Hogwarts. If you have
seen the movie you remember that Harry’s Uncle uses any means necessary to
prevent Harry from receiving the invitation to come to the greatest school of
wizardry. From nailing the mail slot closed
to burning the letters in the fireplace to going to a remote deserted house to
prevent Harry from receiving the coveted invitation.
Our
Gospel this morning unlike the response of Harry tells of the people who were
to busy with the tasks of man to attend a banquet put on by the master even
though they had received an invitation. What
did the people do who had received the invitation they “began to make
excuses.” Whether it was new land or
animals for working the fields, a recent marriage or any number of excuses,
this enraged the master who was giving the banquet. So the master determines to call in the poor
and crippled, the blind and lame and anyone who would not normally receive an
invitation to this banquet. In
desperation the master wants to compel the people to come so his house will be
filled with laughter, joy and celebration.
But what
of those who had received the invitation first and rejected it, Jesus says it
clearly, “For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my
dinner.” This parable is told for three
reasons, to convict, to convince and to change.
This
parable is told to convict each of us here this morning. We are the people who make excuses why we
won’t come to hear and take part in the banquet that Jesus Christ offers us
around His table like this morning. We are
the people who sometimes put our life, our wallet and our prosperity in front
of all the blessings that God promises to and for us. We are not unlike the new land owner checking
our fields or irrigation wells. We are
not unlike the new owner of the oxen, but today it is John Deere, Case, New
Holland or Massey Furgeson or Ford, GMC or Dodge trucks. We are not unlike the newly married saying
our vacation is more important than receiving Jesus Christ precious Body and
Blood. We are rightly convicted because
we are sinful creatures, conceived in sin and concerned only with the image
that others see and not what God wants to give us.
Jesus
told this parable to His disciples to convince them that the gifts of God are
better and greater than anything they could imagine. Jesus wanted to convince the disciples that
their view did not need to be on the things of this world, like land, oxen or
image, but on the greater gift in the banquet.
Jesus was trying to convince them and us today that we can receive and
be blessed beyond our wildest dreams when we willingly listen and heed His call
to us. Jesus Christ through His own
death on the cross made this a reality for all of mankind. With the words, “It is finished” the plan of
salvation was complete and we through our baptism into Jesus Christ life, death
and resurrection are grafted into the greatest gift our world has, eternal life
through Jesus Christ.
Ultimately
though we are convicted in our hearts and convinced that something needs to
occur, we, you and I through the power of the Holy Spirit are the only ones who
can change our own decisions. We have to
change our attitudes, our priorities and our focus from being inward and upon
ourselves to being focused on others and God.
We through and by the power of the Holy Spirit are the only ones who can
change and make God a priority and not the things of man that will pass away.
This past week our
Vacation Bible School learned clearly about Grace and what it is and what it
really means. The kids learned very plainly
that God offers us grace beyond measure even though we may not deserve it. God through the grace offered to each of us
through Jesus Christ sacrificial death on the Cross of Calvary, gives us
eternal life and this not only means Jesus conviction for our sin, but is the
means by which we can be convinced of God’s great love for each of us. And in, through and by the Holy Spirit be
changed children of God enabled to understand that God did this through Jesus
Christ life, death and resurrection for all of mankind, including all the
children in Vacation Bible School and all of us saints gathered here this
morning. AMEN.
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