Jesus speaks to you today, from His own Gospel, saying,
“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding
feast for his son:”
Jesus is everywhere, because He is God, but He doesn’t want
you to see Him as everywhere and neither do I. In fact, He took the trouble to
be born of a virgin in order to prove that fact to you. What we see in the
Gospel today is this king, who acts just as the kingdom of heaven does,
destroying and setting fire to people and cities.
If Jesus is everywhere, we start to get a bit uncomfortable
when He does these sorts of not-so-popular things. Because then, He is there,
in, with, and under the destruction and the inferno. Not exactly a Jesus that appeals
to the crowds.
Now, we don’t want you to ignore that part or brush it off
as “incomprehensible-god-stuff”, but we want you to see Christ fighting for
you. You need to not side with the world when it accuses God of wrath and
vengeance, in a social justice sort of way. Instead see that the true enemies
of God are sin death and the devil and whenever God “goes to war” it is always
against these things even though people are usually causes and casualties.
In this light, we want you to see this as righteous,
unfortunate violence, because the real event is this wedding and the violence
is only done in response to this wedding. And we understand weddings.
The main event centers around a man and a woman who love
each other and are prepared to go in front of God to declare it. All the
traditions associated, then, flow from that fact. The engagement party where
the bride-to-be is congratulated on how big her ring is. The bridal shower
where dreams of sparkles and beauty fill the bride-to-be’s head and where other
brides reminisce as to their own fantasies and dreams come true.
Minds are filled with dazzling whites, long-flowing trains
and robes, and flowers. Not one thing goes wrong. Everything is perfect and so
planning becomes a breeze. Catering, venues, seating. Favorite foods are
imagined and ordered. Scenes that have filled the dreams of young girls are
sought out and reserved. Family and friends that have been at odds or far off
come near and get along.
The invitations are sent out, crafty and full of glitter.
None are any different than another. They all say, please come. Come to
celebrate my dreams coming true. Do not hesitate. Do not worry about food or
transportation or clothing. Just come and be with us.
All things put in order, the last celebration before the
wedding takes place. Regardless of how out-of-hand some of these get, there
comes the Bachelor and Bachelorette parties. The final times that these two
people will be living life as boy and girl and finally make the jump to man and
wife. And then, the big day.
Ushers stand in waiting. Attendants are occupied with
anything having to do with bride and groom. Anticipation mounts. The hymn
sounds on the pipes. The crowd rises. The Bride is here.
This is the celebration set up for you, dear Christians. In
your own baptized life, you are being prepared to receive this honor. Your
Savior has made the preparations. He has sent out His invitation, inviting not
just some, but any and everybody. He is so excited and in love that He makes it
so that anyone can come to the wedding.
No expense is too grand. All are pampered, washed and
clothed. Earth is too small a venue for this event, thus heaven and eternity
will have to do. Cows, pigs, or lambs? Not good enough. The very bread of
heaven: the flesh and blood of God will only do for this feast of eternal
happiness.
Thus you, the Church, comes and the whole universe rises in
reverence. You dazzle in your baptismal garments, shining as brightly as your
Lord. The whiteness and size of your train is enormous and practically fills
the whole space. You are adorned. You are beautiful. You are loved.
This is the moment Jesus has prepared for. Though all the
honor and glory and wisdom and power and blessing are His, He has given it all
to you to show you off. He has showered you with all His kingdom has to offer.
You are crowned with the sun and the stars, with the moon at your feet.
It is the sinner that has come through great tribulation and
has washed his robes in the blood of the Lamb. It is the Beloved. The Called.
The well-cared-for. The Church. The Bride of Christ. The trumpets blare. The
organ on full. Heavenly choirs soar in anthems which never on earth were
recorded.
And this is what incites violence? This is the cause of
neglect and hatred? How can that possibly be? How in the world could this perfect
scene be ruined?
Only sin and death could be so crass and so coarse. It is
only sin that sees such a wonderful gift and hates it. In our own
Jesus-Derangement-Syndrome, we run from so wonderful a wedding, even though it
is all for us.
But worthy is the Lamb that makes us worthy. Praise be to
God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, that this resplendent, perfect
wedding is not dependent upon our acceptance and neither is it dependent on our
reaction to it. It all depends on Christ and His Holy Spirit.
For it is His Spirit Who calls us, baptizes us, and dwells
with us in order that, when the time comes, we will go to the wedding, because
it is Faith that leads us. We trust not in ourselves, but in the Invitation and
Calling Jesus sends. We look not inside of ourselves to find if we are well
enough, or good enough, or free enough. Jesus calls. The Spirit obeys.
But as we have unfolded the heavenly scene, it is not
obedience in drudgery and begrudgery, but love. Pure, unconditional love moves
us, because that is what Jesus has given to us in His flesh and blood. His
wonderful sacrifice which paid for us and redeemed us has ensured not only our
participation, but the place of honor.
Unbelief is the only thing to prevent entrance and reception
of so wonderful a wedding. What Jesus wants you to see is not unbelief, but
belief, so that each wedding you attend, you not only see others being honored
and loved, but you see yourself.
You see yourself at the time when Jesus comes for you. That
you will be the Bride and He will be the proud and loving Groom Who has speared
no expense, even His own life, in order to create this very perfect state of
affairs for you.
This is not imaginary. This is reality. You do not have to
pretend and be disappointed later. This is what your reception into heaven will
be like. This is what your arrival will set off. This is what your Savior has
planned for you and He has been so kind that He has left out all sin, all
death, and the devil. Nothing will ruin your moment. Nothing will stand in your
way. Nothing could be more perfect than you, the spotless bride of Christ.
And Jesus wants you to see and to know that He will be
there, at this feast, for you.
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