Shepherd of the Springs
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod

Text: Matthew 22:1-14

Theme: You Are What You Wear

But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, "friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?" And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, "Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.

The parable that Jesus tells in our Gospel marks the beginning of our lessons that will be turning our attention increasingly to the end times and the coming fullness of the Kingdom of God. The lection which presents the Gospel for these last Sundays in the Church Year will invite we to ponder the true extent of the riches of God’s grace in our Lord Jesus Christ - what it is and will be like to live with it . . . and conversely what it is, and will be like to live apart from it. Today we have a parable with just such a note and it ends as most of Jesus’ Kingdom parables do - with a punchline. Many are called, but few are chosen. The called have grace extended to them, the chosen have grace received and lived with. On the basis of the parable of the Wedding Feast as recorded in Matthew, you are invited to consider the difference - the difference between being called and being chosen.

Jesus intimates that all seem to be called to join Him in the fullness of His victory over sin and death, but to be chosen involves the matter of our attire - what we show up wearing in the Kingdom of God for the big party that the Father is going to throw for His Son. The first part of the parable wants to stress the point that at the Great Feast to come, there will be many empty seats. Many whom God has invited, will not be there. And for that reason, we can conclude that at the Great Feast there will be leftovers. There will be more Bread of Life and jars of Living Water than guests to partake of them. Moreover, Jesus intimates that many who refuse the invitation will treat the Servants of the Word who extend the invitation shamefully, even killing some of them.

Some will not be there, because they have no interest. Others will have too many other priorities that get in the way of things eternal. They will make excuses and turn down the invitation because it would compromise their life style and their other time commitments. Such as these will end up with a date in Hell even though it may not have been on their appointments calendar.

But, showing up or desiring to be there is not the whole story, nor is it the focus of this parable. This parable does not dwell on those who will not show up, rather it centers on one particular guest who does show up, but who is improperly attired. He doesn’t have the proper clothing. He has no wedding robe. Perhaps the individual thought that he was not the kind of person who would need such a thing, or maybe, he was just trying to make a statement about his own individuality and preferences. Nevertheless, he is tossed out on his ear with the door slammed behind him. This is a really tragic thing. It is not simply that he misses out on a good party. Its not that he now goes down to Wendy’s and has to settle for a bowl of chili, a big fry, and a Coke. No, he is cast out into the outer darkness where people are gnashing their teeth in utter despair. A vision of Hell is provided here for this poor fellow.

The challenge of this parable for you this morning is to both understand and appreciate that it is the intent of the Lord God to celebrate with great joy His victory over sin and the restoration of His creation, and especially the restoration of the crown of his creation, the likes of . . . well, the likes of you. The many parables that Jesus told likening the coming fullness of the Kingdom to a great feast or a wedding banquet reveal to us that Creator of the universe is no stick-in-the-mud, emotionless, brute power. He is out to have a great and joyous time celebrating His victory over sin and the powers of evil. Moreover, He has gone to great effort to accomplish this goal, including the suffering and death of his own Son. But the sober truth here is that there is only one way that you are going to be able to be a part of that plan and join in His great celebration. First of all, you must make this date for the Great Feast your top priority in life. It is going to have to shape your values, your priorities, and your decisions about what is important in life and how you live it. It is going to have to shape what must be pursued, and what must be sacrificed. You are going to have to seek first the Kingdom of God, letting all other things, commitments, and interests fall into place behind what Jesus told Martha was the better part . . . or you will risk losing everything. Secondly, you are going to have to see that you do not imagine that there are individually designed plans on how your place can be secured. The idea of blessed diversity or, I did it my way, is not going to be either affirmed or tolerated by our Lord as a wonderful creative way to become chosen.

There is a bit of a paradox here. On the one hand, by the call and the invitation of the Lord God for you to join in this His Great Celebration, it seems to say that you are pretty important to Him. Perhaps you may even question the matter at times: why does he want the likes of me? The simple truth is, He does. Yet, on the other hand, while He calls you to be his honored guest at His Great Feast, you are not fit to be there, just as I am. You are invited . . . but not fit to be there. The Kingdom of God is for the righteous, indeed possessing a righteousness that exceeds the scribes and pharisees, and that is not you, is it? Reflecting on this parable and this hapless fellow with the wrong clothes, its it not true that Jesus seems to reinforce a popular saying in our success-oriented culture: Dress for success - You are what you wear. In other words, the clothes make the person.

Regardless of what you may think of this saying in the business world or in general, there is much wisdom here when applied to life with God. Stripped down naked unto yourself, you are a wretched and disqualified sinner, unfit for the Kingdom of God, much less attending any of its celebrations. Regardless of how you might choose to dress this condition up by measures of your own doing and style, you remain unfit for the Kingdom - called but not qualified, invited but not fit. However, through the Gospel blessing of your baptism, God has dressed you in a very appropriate and stylish wedding garment - a robe of righteousness. He has wrapped you up in the righteousness of Christ which you wear and live in through faith. The forgiveness of your sins has brought you what Luther called an alien righteousness. To put on the righteousness of Christ is to put on Christ. You are clothed with the righteousness of Christ, a constantly worn garment with which you have status and life with God as His child. With his righteousness you are outfitted; you are made totally fit for citizenship in his Kingdom - and it is the stuff of your chosen-ness that makes not only welcome, but an honored guest at the Great Wedding Feast - the Great Party celebration to come.

So here you are . . . unfit by what you are - a poor miserable sinner, but made fit by the Divine Tailor who has decked you out in a righeous wedding garment fashioned by your Lord for the Great Party. You have been clothed appropriately by Christ, as you have been outfit with His righteousness. Never forget: it is the clothes that make the Christian. They make you fit and ready to be received into the great celebration. This is the only fashion statement that wins the approval of your Heavenly Father. In your baptism, you have been both called . . . and chosen. By the water and the Word you have received the robe of righteousness that makes you an honored righteous guest in waiting. You are what you wear. So . . . let’s get ready to party!

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. A-men.