Why Are You Here?

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for His Son. The kingdom is not the feast; the kingdom is the king. For where the king is, there also the kingdom. And so, this king gives a wedding feast, and he sends out servants to invite the guests. The invited guests say no. The king still has a feast to give, so he sends out another round of personally delivered invitations, and this time the invited guests go off to their fields and their businesses, and some shame and kill the messengers. Enraged at their insolence, the king sent his troops and they destroyed the wicked invitees and their city.

Those invited were thus deemed not worthy, so the king instructed his messengers to go out into the roads and gather anyone they found, the good and the bad. In this way, the hall of the wedding banquet was filled with guests.

But then the king came into the hall and saw a man there not in suitable attire. How did you get in here dressed like that? But the man was speechless before the king. So the king commanded his servants, and they threw the man out, into hell. “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Two warnings ring forth from this parable, both grave threats, but perhaps one more than the other. Firstly, if you reject the king's invitation, you will be destroyed. This is easy to understand. Don't be stupid; don't reject the king. Secondly, even if you accept the invitation, if you will not wear the wedding garment, you will go to hell. This ought to give you pause.

What does this mean, that you must wear the wedding garment? After all, you got into the feast, right? You received the invitation, and you accepted the gracious call of the king. You have been called by the Holy Spirit to faith. You have been baptized. You should be good to go.

But this guy gets into the banquet hall without the wedding garment. Obviously, he heard the call and answered the invitation. But he decided not to wear the required garment that made him acceptable in the presence of the king. He did not do enough to be right with God. Do what the Law says, and you will prove yourself worthy of the king's invitation. If you are not doing good works, then your Baptism mis-fired somewhere along the way.

False. Your Baptism is true and valid and certain because the Lord who swore that oath to you, who called you into that water, who drowned you and raised you, He is true and certain. Yes, it is true – Baptism bestows and creates faith and faith in turn spawns good works for the sake of your neighbor. However, good works do not make Baptism work. The Word of the Lord does that.

Good works are truly pleasing to God, but they do not make Him love you. If they did, it would not be love. You do not say to your children that you brought them into the world as a freebie, but they must earn the privilege of staying in your family. Your spouse does not merit the right to come to the dinner table every night. No, the Lord God loves you because He chooses you, and nothing you can do or fail to do can earn or disqualify that.

The king threw out the man without a wedding garment. He had heeded the invitation, but chose to come not by the king's bidding, but on his own terms. You are a guest in the king's hall, just like everyone else. A guest – not the host. The king makes the rules, not you. His invitation gets you in, but on his terms, not yours. He has made you worthy, but you disqualify yourself by wrapping yourself in your own works and self-confidence and self-righteousness.

Good works do indeed flow out of the heart of faith. The love of God has been poured out into your heart and mind, transforming you for service to the Lord and to others. The curse of the Law has been lifted, and so too its bondage. Therefore, you will naturally love and serve those to whom God calls you. However, these works will not make you worthy to stand in the kingdom of heaven. Your works are filthy rags in the hall of the king. They are worm-eaten and torn, stained and stinking. All your good works are corrupted by the sin that poisons your motives.

Why did you come here today? Very likely, you came to perform a good work. The Third Commandment demands that you honor the Sabbath and gladly hear and learn God's Word. So you are here. Maybe there was a touch of guilt. You have not been as faithful as you ought. You have sinned in your inward dealings or outward actions. Some of you are here because you want something from God. Like Santa Claus, you figure that if you are a good Christian and show up when commanded, you will get what you want when you ask. Maybe it is something that seems very noble and pious, but you are still negotiating with God. Some of you are probably here because you do not know what else to do with your Sunday morning. You have the habit of turning up here at this time, and that's the way it's always been. This is your church, and your parents' church before you, and maybe your grandparents' church before them, and somebody better be dying to keep you from it.

You came to do a good work. You came to offer up your presence in the house of God as some sort of great gift, as though God needs your rear in His pew. But then you corrupt it with your sinful inclinations. The hymns are not to your liking, so you tune them out. The readings are long, and the sermon drones on. So you get bored listening to the Word of the Lord. You daydream about less-than-pious things while parked in the House of God. Some good works.

Your good works fail. They must fail, and they will. Repent. But do not despair! For when you recognize this, you are become worthy to sit at the feast of salvation. The stronger your faith, the weaker you will feel. You have been called to the feast on God's terms, and not your own, for precisely this reason. The faith given to you in your Baptism lives on its knees. There, in humility, you receive the gifts that the Lord has to bestow upon you. That brokenness you feel when your works fail, when your sin haunts you – that serves to drive you to confession, and confession leads to absolution. The Law breaks you of any notion of your own goodness, and instead drives you to the One who is good – the Lamb of God. Confession drives toward the absolution, because your sins are forgiven.

It does not matter how you got here, or why you came today. What matters is that you are here, in the House of God, in the banquet hall of the king. He called you here, from whatever ditch He found you. He called you to faith, and gave you the washing of regeneration and the robes of righteousness. He put His name upon you and swore an oath to forgive your sins. God wants you here, and He made you worthy to be here. He died on a cross so that you could come to His banquet. He gives His own Body and Blood to be the banquet meal. The Holy Cross is the portal by which you enter the feast, and the sign which marks you worthy to remain.

The king sends out His messengers, calling all whom they find. He calls the good and the bad, the pretty and the ugly, the desirable and the wretched. He calls you. And He calls you good. He calls you worthy to receive the words of eternal life. He calls you to His table, where He spreads before you a feast of rich foods, of choice meats, of well-aged wine. He spreads before you a banquet table in the presence of your enemies. He anoints you with His blood, and your cup overflows. Surely, goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life. And that is why you are here.

O God, let us hear when our Shepherd shall call

In accents persuasive and tender,

That while there is time we make haste, one and all,

And find Him, our mighty defender.

Have mercy upon us, O Jesus! (LSB 510:2)

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.