A good father provides for his family. He doesn’t do this by giving what he likes, or by doing what only happens to be convenient. No, he provides for his family by making sacrifices. The father sacrifices his time, pleasure, and personal preferences to provide for his wife and children. And from all that a father gives, he makes sure that he provides food for the table, so everyone gets his daily bread.
And so if a child asks his father for bread, would he give him a stone? If a child asks for a fish, would his dad give him a snake? If a child asks for an egg, would his father give him a scorpion? (Luke 11:11-12) Now, if we fathers are honest, we must admit that we don’t always act in the best interests of our families. And yet, even in our fallen condition, we know how to give good gifts to our children. How much more, then, will our Father in heaven give His Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? (Luke 11:13)
And that is what we see being lived out, in part, in the parable in today’s Gospel reading. In that parable, Jesus tells a story where we learn about the character of God. He wants us to know that our heavenly Father gives us good gifts. But Jesus also wants us to know that we are not to spurn the gifts that our Father offers to us.
In the parable, Jesus simply uses the word “man” to describe and refer to His Father. But then Jesus goes on to describe a “great banquet” that this man is hosting. Because this man is generous, He invites many people to the banquet. And if the Holy Spirit has tuned our ears, we then realize that this “great banquet” is our Lord’s feast in heaven, not some giant party here on earth. Scripture calls that feast “the marriage supper of the Lamb” in eternity (Revelation 19:7-10).
But the parable goes on, and we meet another character. At supper time, the man, our heavenly Father, sends out His servant. The servant says to those whom the Father has invited to the banquet, “Come, for everything is now ready.” But notice that Jesus says the man sends–not several servants–but only one.
And so if this parable is telling us about the character of God, and we hear the Son tell us the parable, and we meet the Father in the man hosting the banquet, where then is the Holy Spirit? Ah, He is the servant whom the Father sends! He is also the same Spirit whom God the Father sent to us through His Son. For didn’t Jesus say before He returned to the Father, “The Helper whom I will send to you from the Father will come” (John 15:26)?
And when does this One, who is the Spirit, go out? When does the Father send Him? That doesn’t happen until everything is ready, just as Jesus says in the parable. The Spirit won’t come until everything is in place, when the Chef preparing the meal says: “It is finished. Now the people may come to the banquet.”
And so you see that our Father hosts a Banquet, a Supper. And our Lord Jesus, not only tells the parable, but also becomes the Chef preparing the meal. Here’s how. We see that happen within human history during Jesus’ crucifixion. On the Thursday before Jesus was crucified, that was also the day of Passover. That day, which began on Thursday evening by the Jewish way of counting days, began with the slaughter of thousands of Passover lambs. But that’s not how that day ended. It ended on Friday afternoon, when our crucified Lord, THE Passover Lamb, cried out, “It is finished.”
When Jesus cried out those words on the cross, He told us that He had finished what He came to do. He was then THE Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world. Yet, Jesus did more. Through those words, He also told us that the Supper is ready. And by being THE Passover Lamb, Jesus also became the food for that Supper. And so He becomes the Lamb of God who fulfills and supersedes all the previous Passover lambs.
That gives us some idea just how grand this “great banquet” is. It exceeds all the suppers we have ever had. For what supper is greater than the Supper of Christ’s body and blood? And what meal exceeds the meal where you sit down in the Lord’s kingdom and taste of His goodness by eating and receiving Christ Himself?
For when you’re at God’s holy table, eating Christ’s body and drinking His blood, you are also sharing in the divine nature and communing in and with God Himself. And so, on this side of heaven, there is no better meal. For if you eat this Supper in true faith, recognizing the body, you will live forever.
And so Jesus says: “It is finished. All is now fulfilled. The Supper is ready.” And the Son sends the Spirit, who proceeds from the Father, to say, “Come, for everything is now ready.” And then the Spirit sends out His own agents–apostles, and today, pastors–who announce this blessed invitation.
But woe to those who think little of this invitation to “come and eat” of the banquet. For when someone chooses not to come to the Supper, he does more than simply miss a remarkable meal. For when he misses the Supper–or even chooses not to come–he despises the Father who gives the Supper, and the Son who is the Supper. He also despises the Holy Spirit, who announces the Supper. And as Jesus tells us, it is not good to despise the Spirit of God (Mark 3:28-29).
Yet, that’s what takes place in the parable. Many think little of the Lord’s Banquet, and so despise the Spirit who invites and calls them. In the parable, Jesus tells us, “The master of the house became angry” when so many had excuses and good-sounding reasons not to come to His banquet. It displeases God when you reject His invitation.
Yet, many think that they can turn down our Lord’s invitation and Supper, and act as if it doesn’t matter. After all, they can always come some other time. And so they take for granted that another time will come for them to eat of the Supper. They even take for granted that God the Holy Spirit will send out another invitation. That doesn’t happen in the parable.
You see, such thinking misunderstands the character of the Lord’s Supper and how that ties into the marriage supper of the Lamb in eternity. For the Lord’s Supper is a participation here–on earth and in time–of the eternal heavenly feast in the kingdom that never ends.
We are to see the Lord’s Supper, not as a series of suppers, but as a participation in one, never-ending, and eternal event. Why? It’s because, in the Supper, you receive Jesus Christ who is eternal and one. And because Jesus is eternal, and we receive Him in the Supper, that means when Jesus unites us to Himself in the Supper, He brings us into an intersection of where time and eternity meet. That’s why, when it comes to the Supper, there are no yesterdays or tomorrows–there is only the now of eternity.
That’s why when you are “Jesused” in the Supper, when He joins you to Himself, you are also with the angels, archangels, and the saints of heaven who are worshiping Him. They are in eternity, outside of time, with our Lord. And so your union with Jesus, and His union with you in the Supper, brings you to that intersection where you join them in their worship of God.
Every Sunday, the Church’s liturgy teaches us that. The liturgy rings out: “Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify [God’s] glorious name.” So don’t make excuses to turn down our Lord’s invitation to His Banquet–not if you believe Jesus’ words that He gives you His body and blood for the forgiveness of sins!
Yet, don’t come to the Supper just because you might not live to see tomorrow. Don’t come to the Supper just because you feel obligated to because it’s offered every Sunday. Come because this Supper is offered only once, even though there may be many times when you can come forward to receive what Jesus gives you. For the Supper is offered only once because the many Suppers we experience here are all part of the one, eternal, marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom in heaven.
That’s why the Lord’s Supper is a meal that has no end. That’s why it gives us everlasting food. Didn’t Jesus say that those who eat this bread will live forever? Didn’t He say that whoever drinks from the cup will never thirst? And so, when the Spirit–through His preachers–calls and invites you to the Supper, don’t turn away or make excuses as many did in the parable.
After all, think of what the Father invites you to receive? Take to heart His gracious invitation. For He extends His invitation in mercy. When He says, “Come, now all is ready,” He invites you to take part in the divine life that He gives you in His Supper.
Indeed, our Father is good–the best of all fathers. He gives us the daily bread of His Son’s body and blood. He does so, not only to save you from Satan, but that you may be brought into the marriage Supper of the Lamb, even after death ties to claim you as his own. And so, through His Son, God the Father sends out His Spirit to invite you to receive and believe that His meal is the greatest of all suppers.
May God the Father, through His Son, in His Spirit, continue to grant such mercy to us always. Amen.
