Send Out The Invitations!
Jesus' revelation to John, and us, in Revelation 22:12-17, 20 shows us that Jesus wants us to join Him for the most wonderful celebration: the banquet of the Lamb. It is the eternal feast of His love and we have been told to invite others, so Send Out The Invitations! May 20, 2007.
Were you ever at a wedding reception where you had to wait and wait and wait for the bride and groom to arrive? Either the pictures took an extra long time, or they decided to drive to Lake Park or the Domes for extra pictures, or they just wanted to get their money’s worth from the rented limo. Meanwhile your stomach is starting to growl because the three broccoli spears and two baby carrots you ate during the cocktail hour can only sustain a person so long. Finally, the bride and groom arrive and the dinner and reception begin. Then something wonderful happens. The meal and conversation were so delightful that you forget about the delay. You were thrilled to have received an invitation. You were thrilled to join in the celebration. You were thrilled just to be there.
In first century Israel, wedding practices were a bit different. After the engagement the groom went off to prepare a home where the couple would reside. When the time for its completion drew near, wedding guests were invited to come and wait for the groom to arrive for the actual ceremony. The guests didn’t know exactly when he would show up, but when he did, there would be a grand celebration. I’ve often wondered how they could convince wedding guests to show up and wait around for maybe a couple days. I suppose the wedding invitation would have to make the celebration sound like the greatest event since the rededication of Jerusalem’s temple.
Jesus wants us to join with Him in the most wonderful celebration of all. It’s the wedding banquet of the Lamb. It’s the eternal feast of His love which we get to enjoy in heaven. We know we will be there. Our place has been reserved. That’s what the Easter message is all about. But you know what? There’s room for more. That’s why we devote this final Sunday of the Easter season to the great privilege Jesus has given us. We get to invite others to the celebration.
How are we going to convince people that His wedding banquet is worth waiting for? The Lord Jesus solves that problem at the conclusion of the vision He gave to the apostle John. He describes for us what we have now by His love and what we will enjoy forever at the banquet of His love. So, Send Out The Invitations!
Receive the Reward of Christ
Anyone who knows Lutheran doctrine knows we don’t earn heaven by how we behave. So what’s with verse twelve, “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with Me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done”? Let me explain. What are your chances of winning an Olympic gold medal in the 100-meter dash? I know of only one Grace member who might be even remotely close, and he’s really an 800-meter runner, not a sprinter. Now let’s say you received tickets to the Olympics, and you were witnessing the 100. At the award ceremony the medals are being handed out, but the winner’s stand is vacant. Suddenly the P.A. announcer calls out your name and declares that you are the winner.
Jesus did that for us. On the last day, when the books are opened, there will be a page with your name on the top, but printed below your name will be all the good that Jesus did! He ran the race, but we are declared to be the winners.
The Christians who lived near Ephesus in the first century felt like losers. They were getting picked on and persecuted. They were told in so many words, “You Christians are a bunch of ignorant, irrelevant losers! You worship a God who is dead and gone. He can’t help you. Your lives are miserable, and there isn’t a thing you or your God can do to change it.” John had good news for them. “Jesus won the award and gives it to us.” That’s what he meant when he quoted the message from Jesus, “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with Me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.”
Do you know anyone who feels like a loser? Do you think he or she would like to know that because of Jesus he or she is already a winner and has received first place in God’s eyes and has a trophy in heaven’s trophy case, that there is an award stand in heaven with his or her name engraved on it? Do you know anyone like that? Then send out the invitations so that many more may receive the reward of Christ!
Enjoy the Presence of Christ
When you were still knee-high to a grasshopper, you learned your ABC’s. It didn’t take long to figure out that a letter of the alphabet can’t stand on its own. Maybe a vowel like “a” or “I” can do it but not usually a consonant. You can’t just put an “M” out there in the middle of a sentence. It would be too lonely. It needs other letters to surround it, support it, sustain it and make it into a word.
The Christians who lived near Ephesus in the first century often felt all alone. Many of them had been cut off from their families because they no longer worshiped the mythical heathen gods of their ancestors. Mom and Dad even refused to attend their Christian wedding. Many of them lost their jobs because they no longer participated in the Friday drinking and brothel bashes sponsored by corporate headquarters. Many of them lost touch with their neighborhood friends because they walked their children past the public schools to a Christian school which would offer moral values that matched what they taught their children at home. They became disconnected, disenfranchised, and felt all alone, like a consonant of the alphabet standing by itself.
What a comfort to hear from the apostle as he wrote the words of Jesus Himself, “I am the Alpha and Omega [the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet], the First and Last, the Beginning and the End”! Jesus was telling them, “You aren’t stuck out there all by yourself. When you are connected to Me, you are never alone. I’m the whole alphabet. I’m around forever. I’m with you forever.”
Do you know anyone who is lonely? Do you think he or she would like to feel surrounded, supported, and sustained when life gets torn apart by death or divorce or is filled with a sense of discomfort about being all alone? Then Send Out The Invitations! so that many more may enjoy the presence of Christ!
Live in the City of Christ
Seventy years ago, people in American began moving in droves from farms to the city. Thirty years later their children started migrating from the city to the suburbs. Now their children are moving in two directions. Some are moving farther out to a gentrified rural setting, not farms, but large houses with lots of lawn to mow. Others are moving back into the city to be closer to their business and the action of the city. It would be inappropriate to offer a value judgment which is better, living out in the boonies of Saukville or living amid the action of Milwaukee’s Eastside. Some prefer the one; some prefer the other.
In ancient times many people may have lived in a rural setting, but all knew the advantage of a city. It was the place of refuge and protection from enemies and predators.
The Christians who lived near Ephesus in the first century needed protection not just from enemies on the outside, but especially on the inside. While they had to deal with all the temptations common to everyone, they also had to deal with the temptation to let their Christianity drop and go back to their previous lifestyle. It surely would have made life easier. So the apostle redirects their thinking and solidifies their resistance to temptation. He points them to the fact that they are wearing the uniform of Jesus’ blood, which is the admission ticket to enter the gates of the holy city of Jesus’ power and pardon. As the Root and Offspring of David, He is the true King who rules over us and protects us. Listen, “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. I, Jesus, ... am the Root and the Offspring of David.”
Do you know anyone who needs protection, who is attacked by temptation and has trouble saying “No!” to sin? Do you think he or she would like to sense the safety of an unburdened conscience and walk with the confidence that nothing can separate him or her from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ our Lord? Then Send Out The Invitations! so that many more may live in the city of Christ!
Bask in the Light of Christ
The shepherds of Israel had a difficult job. They not only had to guide their flocks to pasture and guard them from predators each day. They also had to keep watch at night. How would they pass the time? They probably watched the stars. If you were a shepherd, and if it was your turn to stay up all night, as the hours of darkness passed and as your eyelids grew heavy, you would be longing for daybreak. What a relief to see the morning star signaling, “Light is on the way!”
The Christians who lived near Ephesus in the first century lived in a world darkened by sin. They had to deal with neighbors who flaunted alternate lifestyles as if there was nothing wrong with it and called Christians intolerant if they objected. They had to deal with crime and killing and social injustice. What a relief to hear Jesus state, “I am ... the bright Morning Star who shines rays of hope into your hearts and lives”!
Do you know anyone who is in the dark, someone who is ignorant of the truth of God’s word and wonders whether there really is such a thing as moral right and wrong? Do you think he or she would like some light on the subject, some direction, some brightness for the path of life? Then Send Out The Invitations! so that many more may bask in the light of Christ!
Drink from the Well of Christ
There is a church of our Lutheran denomination in Stephensville, Michigan, which participates in the town’s annual parade in a unique way. Their church is near the end of the parade route. As the marchers and bands and observers pass by, they have a booth that looks like a well, and they hand out free glasses of ice water. The sign on the booth reads, “Come to the WELS [the Wisconsin Evangelical Synod] and drink the Water of Life [meaning, the gospel].”
The Christians who lived near Ephesus in the first century had to face up to the fact that, while they received the reward of Christ, enjoyed the presence of Christ, lived in the city of Christ, and basked in the light of Christ, they were in danger of growing apathetic and taking it all for granted. They needed constant spiritual refreshment and renewal. John’s message hit the spot, just like a cool glass of water on a boiling hot day, “Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.”
Do you know anyone who is becoming stagnant in spiritual life, someone who says, “I think my faith is drying up”? Do you think he or she would like to have a consistent source of spiritual refreshment and renewal so that every day is a new day filled with a “Wow! Jesus is great!” Then Send Out The Invitations! so that many more may drink from the well of Christ!
Easter isn’t just a one day celebration. The Easter season lasts seven weeks and culminates with Jesus’ commissioning words which He gave to the church at His ascension, “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). But when Jesus disappeared at His ascension, He really didn’t go away. He promised to be with us invisibly, and He promised to return in visible form. He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” So from the day Jesus made Himself invisible to the day He comes again in glory, we have one main task, to win souls for His wedding feast. That wedding banquet will be so awesome that we will forget what it was like to wait. And don’t worry about it ending and having to go home. We will be home, home with the Lord in a celebration that will never end. Won’t it be wonderful? So, Send Out The Invitations! Amen.
Preached at Grace Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, WI (www.gracedowntown.org) on May 20, 2007
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