2nd Sunday after Trinity
June 14th,
Year of Our + Lord 2026
Our Redeemer and Our Savior’s Lutheran Churches
Custer and Hill City, SD
Based on Proverbs 9:1-18 and Luke 14:15-24
Audio of the Sermon can be accessed HERE.
The Master of the Banquet says: 'Come,
for everything is now ready.'
Banquets, banquets, banquets. Yesterday I enjoyed smoked meat with a bunch
of Lutheran men. We are having a potluck
today (at Our Redeemer), and this evening at youth group we have planned a
special meal in honor of our two graduating youth, Logan Olson and Joy
Anderson. And, very helpfully for me,
the Holy Spirit stayed on theme to make the preaching task easier, by filling
our readings with banquets and meals.
From Genesis 1 to Revelation 22, God’s Word
speaks of eating: delicious, healthy fruit, hearty bread, rich meats, and many
other edible blessings. The people of
Israel received their daily bread, come down from heaven, the Manna that
appeared on the ground morning by morning, tasting of coriander and honey. And Israel was headed to the Promised Land,
which flowed with milk and honey. There
the Israelites reaped grain they did not plant, and harvested grapes from vines
they never tended.
Comestible blessings can also be abused, and
sadly they were abused, and still are.
From the first bite of the apple, (or whatever type the forbidden fruit
was), to meat sacrificed to idols, against which Paul warns, to the overeating
that nearly defines our culture today.
The Spirit in the Proverbs warns against gluttony, and against eating
stolen delicacies in secret, which is really a warning against all kinds of
sinful appetites.
Along with bread from heaven, hungry Israel
received quails in the wilderness, which settled over the camp, ready to be
taken and eaten. But their meat rotted
in the teeth of the grumblers who did not trust that the Lord God to provide, a
grotesque banquet that calls sinners to repentance.
Worship and eating have been connected, at
least from the time of Noah, when, after the flood, the LORD gave permission
for the eight surviving people to eat meat, and they rejoiced and thanked
God. I assume they marked the occasion
with a barbeque.
Portions of certain foods offered in
sacrifice at the Tabernacle and Temple went to feed the Priests and Levites,
some of it was burned as a pleasing aroma to the LORD, and some of it was
returned to the family making the offering, for them to eat in joy and
peace. Banquets and feasts, everywhere
we turn.
Eating and religion continue to go
together. The Black Hills circuit of
LCMS churches held an Elder Workshop at Peace Lutheran in Rapid yesterday, and
it was well attended, by 46 lay leaders and pastors. Now, to be totally honest, I’m pretty sure
the attendance was driven by the promise of brisket and pulled pork for lunch. Still, gathered by the meats, we got to know
one another and wrestled with God’s Word a bit.
Praise the LORD!
There are many meals and feasts and banquets
in God’s Word and in the history of His Church.
Or, are there only two?
Proverbs chapter nine seems to point to just
two banquets, two that matter eternally, at least. How did you find this poetic
proclamation? Jesus’ straightforward
declarations are much easier to grasp, such as “whoever hears my word and
believes him who sent me has eternal life,” (John 5:24). But even if it is hard for us to comprehend,
King Solomon in Proverbs is proclaiming Christian Doctrine as much as St. John
or the Apostle Paul, because the same Holy Spirit is behind all their
words. So, we do well to dig in a bit to
this poetic doctrine.
Lady Wisdom prepares her table, in a divine
hall of seven pillars, each place setting filled with the richest meat. And, of course, she offers bread and her
special mixed wine. I wonder what that
foreshadows?
Importantly, Wisdom does not stop with a
feast, but also has a Word for her guests, calling the simple to walk in the
way of insight, the way of life. Her
meal is not just about sensory pleasure and full bellies; it is tied to God’s
Truth, to right and wrong, and holiness.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of
the Holy One is insight. This is
what Wisdom offers, in her words, and at her table.
Wisdom’s table offers truth and life, even life
with God. But wherever the Holy Spirit
builds a Church, right next door the Devil throws up a cheap chapel, an
imitation holy place, seeking to deceive and draw away the faithful. Such is Dame Folly’s banquet. Note that she uses the same call as Wisdom: “Let
the simple come in here!” But Folly
appeals to the basest desires, seduction and thievery and secret
pleasures. Folly’s banquet is no
festival of life. She hides her dead
from the new recruits, who will dine to their own demise, as they join her
earlier guests in Sheol, that is, in Hell, cut off from the LORD and His
Wisdom, forever.
What is Solomon teaching? There are just two options. There is Wisdom’s joyful feast, which leads
to righteousness and life, eternal life.
Or there is Folly’s forbidden food that rots in your mouth and pulls you
down into darkness that never ends.
Is this poetical proclamation of doctrine
clear for you? If not, you are not
alone. But, as is so often the case with
the hardest Biblical questions, the Sunday School answer is the right answer:
Jesus. That is, Wisdom represents Jesus
Christ. And Folly is Satan’s
minion. In case you are wondering about
Wisdom being a woman, but Jesus being God’s Son, who took on human flesh as a
man, this is because of Hebrew grammar.
Most languages give gender to nouns, male or female or neuter. Wisdom personified is portrayed as a woman
because in Hebrew the word for wisdom is a feminine word. And so, we do well to remember that Proverbs
is poetry, not history. Proverbs is
still God’s true Word, but the literary form is poetic and symbolical, which
can challenge us. But that’s good.
Scripture interprets Scripture, and the rest
of God’s Word makes it clear that Wisdom personified is Jesus the Christ, the
Son of God. Wisdom, like God’s Son, was
working with God the Father at the Creation, (see Proverbs 8:12-31). Wisdom knows and expresses the mind of God,
just like Jesus does. (see John 8:28,
12:49, 14:10) And Paul declares in 1
Corinthians, ‘Christ Jesus has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our
righteousness, holiness and redemption.’
(1 Corinthians 1:30)
John’s Gospel starts this way: In the beginning was the Word. ‘Word’ in Greek the ‘Logos,’ and the Logos was
with God. This ‘Logos’ also
is God. And, this Logos, this
Word, became flesh. (see John 1) Now, ‘Logos’
means a bit more than simply ‘word.’
Logos is the reason, the logic, the force behind the way everything in
the Creation hangs together and functions.
Which is to say, Logos is a lot like
Wisdom. Jesus is the Logos, the Wisdom
of God, the true and eternal Son, who was conceived and born of the Virgin
Mary.
Just as Wisdom’s banquet leads to life in
Proverbs 9, so also Jesus declares “I am the way and the truth and the life,
no one comes to the Father, except through me.” (John 14:6) Proverbs chapter 9 says the same thing as
John 14, only through poetic language, using the image of banquets, instead of
a journey.
So, are there many banquets, or just
two? Maybe the best way to wrap our
minds around this is to understand that there is only one heavenly banquet, and
as God’s people, we are to consider earthly meals, religious or not, through this
lens. We should choose to either
participate or abstain from whatever other banquets we encounter with the truth
and promise of God’s heavenly banquet in mind.
For, like the parable Jesus told us this morning, you are
invited to the Master’s feast. In fact,
as non-Israelite, 21st Century Christians, we are clearly among the
unworthy guests that the servants of the master found on the byways and
highways, and compelled to come into the banquet.
And yet, the same warning Jesus was making
in the original moment to the Jews who were rejecting His invitation also
applies to us. It is frightening to
consider, but the sinner in each of us is still more than capable of despising
God’s banquet and prioritizing other things.
Our newly purchased oxen, or even just a new lawn tractor. Our honeymoon with our new wife, or simply
relaxing at home. So many good things
can tempt us to despise God’s banquet.
To relate back to Proverbs, whatever earthly goods tempt us to neglect
God’s gracious, wonderful banquet are simply modern versions of the woman of
Folly, calling men to come to her table, so she can eat them alive.
There is a neat moral choice taught by both
our readings this morning. Be wise, and
value God’s true banquet over everything else, or face destruction. This is a true word. But it is not yet good news for us hungry
sinners, because of the sad fact that we daily choose banquets of folly. We need to hear the truth about the two
banquets, and God is right and just to expect us to come to His Table with
thanksgiving. But we struggle to
actually do this, consistently.
Distraction and busy-ness are two great threats to Christians
today. The good that we know and want to
do, this we find we cannot do, again and again.
The evil banquet that we do not want to indulge, there we find ourselves
seated, far too often.
We cannot and do not choose wisdom over
folly, not consistently, certainly not perfectly, as God requires. We are always in danger of stepping into one
of Folly’s traps, because sin still stains all that we think, say and do. We cannot do what it takes, and so on our own
we are bound for Folly, and far worse.
And yet, God, who is love, does not give up on His plan to fill His
heaven with people, despite our sinfulness.
And so, there is another banquet: the banquet of the Cross.
Jesus is Wisdom Incarnate, the Son of God
made man, to fulfill God’s desire that perfect faith, wisdom, prudence and love
be found in humanity. Jesus always chose
wisely, and He always served selflessly, as God requires. Jesus never failed, and He kept that perfect
record in our stead. For us. The perfect life of wisdom and love fulfilled
by Jesus Christ is credited to you, and to all who believe in Christ. All His good works, all God’s commandments
that He kept, were for you. His perfect
fulfillment of God’s call to love is credited to all who believe in who Christ Jesus
is and what He has done.
And then, after living the life of perfect
wisdom, Jesus ate one last meal, of sorrow and woe. The night before, He had transformed the
Passover of Israel into His own miraculous Supper. Then on Friday, Jesus drank the cup of God’s
wrath against all the sin of mankind. He
buried the sins of the whole world, swallowing them into His own body, nailing
them and their accusation against us to the tree of His Cross. I thirst, He groaned, as He hungered and
thirsted to win righteousness for us.
Jesus’ glorious resurrection from the dead
on the Third Day reveals the good news that forgiveness, redemption, freedom,
rescue and new life are now freely fed to all who look to Christ crucified with
eyes of faith. And the banquet of the
Cross goes on. Transformed by Jesus’
death and resurrection into a victory feast, the fruit of the Cross is served
up to the faithful, whenever they gather around Christ’s Word and His Holy
Supper. Invisible to physical eyes,
faith sees the bread and wine, hears the Word of Jesus, and trusts that what we
eat and drink here is His true Body and Blood, giving forgiveness and strength
for today, and being our entrance ticket into the heavenly banquet to come,
which never ends.
This glorious banquet of Christ is hidden
under humble things, because God calls us to live by faith, not by sight. We are still drawn toward flashy things, and
forbidden delicacies, to things that seem exciting to our fallen nature. But the true food of forgiveness is served
here, in, with and under the bread and wine.
This little banquet is truly the holiest thing on earth, which God in
His wisdom leaves looking so simple.
As you eat this bread and drink this cup,
you make a common proclamation of the Wisdom of God, poured out in the Blood of
Jesus. Here sinners come into direct
contact with the Holy, Holy, Holy Lord.
Only a true, repentant faith in Christ, in His identity, in His work,
and in His true presence, only such faith can prepare us sinners to receive
this mystery safely.
These hidden realities are why we practice
closed communion, only giving the Supper to baptized souls from whom we have
heard the good confession of the faith.
We, like God, want everyone to receive the Body and Blood of Christ for
their forgiveness and eternal benefit.
But, while the Spirit knows the hearts of all, we can only teach the
faith, and then hear people profess their faith. We call this public confession
‘confirmation.’ At Our Redeemer, we have
been blessed over the last three Sundays to witness five souls make this good
confession. God be praised!
To keep the teaching of Christ clear, out of
concern for the well-being of our guests, and in reverence and faith toward the
real presence of Christ, we humbly ask guests to honor our practice. To all who are not yet part of our
fellowship, we invite a conversation, a shared investigation into the Wisdom of
Christ, a study of God’s Word, which the Spirit uses to make us wise unto
salvation, and to bind us together in the One Body of Christ, which is His
Church.
The Master’s guests come to His banquet
humbly, confessing our sins, seeking grace and strength. The invited also come rejoicing, knowing that
this humble banquet delivers forgiveness to our mouths, the Gospel that we eat
and drink, a foretaste of the feast to come, where with angels and archangels
and all the company of heaven we will forever laud and magnify our wise and gracious God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.
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