"AN INVITATION"
Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost
October 9, 2016
Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church
Glenshaw, Pennsylvania
TEXT:
"Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Isaiah 55:1 (ESV)
Many years ago, when I was serving a congregation in Baltimore (before the new baseball stadium was built, of course) pastors could write to the Orioles' office and receive a clergy pass, which entitled them to get a general admission seat at no charge (except, of course, the inevitable state sales tax). Games that featured a giveaway of any kind and games in which a sellout was anticipated were excluded, but it was still a pretty good deal. You just went to the ticket window, showed them your pass, paid your seventy-five cents tax, and they gave you a ticket. Clergy of all denominations were extended this courtesy, but I'd still like to think that this kind gesture had something to do with the fact that the Orioles' general manager at the time, the late Mr. Hank Peters, just happened to be an active Missouri Synod Lutheran! As far as I know the American Civil Liberties Union never made any noise about it, and I have to admit that it was nice to know that the organization thought so much of clergy that they extended that privilege to us.
What does any of this have to do with today's sermon text? Well, that clergy pass was, in fact, an invitation--an invitation to receive something as a gift. The sermon text for this morning is also an invitation--a far more valuable and important one, as well as a far more costly one. The words of Isaiah that lay before us this morning are the Lord's invitation to sinners like us to receive the joys of salvation free of charge to them because these joys have already been purchased by the Son of God Himself, especially for sinners, by the shedding of His blood on the cross. This gift of God, given to us freely by grace through faith (which is another gift of God) is what we are really receiving and celebrating today and every time that we gather together in the name of our Lord around His means of grace. As we meditate this morning on God's invitation, let's give special consideration to how Isaiah's words answer two questions in particular: (1) To whom is the invitation extended? and (2) What is it an invitation to?
To whom is the Lord's invitation extended? Isaiah says that it is extended especially to the one who "who has no money." This may seem a bit odd, especially since that sort of person is invited to "come, buy and eat." This is different than any other invitation that you or I have ever received. I don't know about you, but during every election campaign I receive all kinds of invitations to hear various candidates speak and perhaps even meet them. I've even been invited to share my opinions with the national committee of the political party that I am registered under. But you know what? The acceptance of any of those invitations required a financial contribution. Some of the ones that I got even specified a certain dollar amount. And I doubt very seriously that any of those invitations were knowingly sent to people who have no money. By contrast, the invitation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is extended especially to people who are spiritually bankrupt--people like you and me (and every other sinner) who have no righteousness or merits to place before the altar of God--nothing but our sin. It is to these that the Lord says, "Come." The people who no one else is interested in are welcomed by the Creator and Judge of all.
The invitation comes to "everyone who thirsts." Those who are not thirsty are not interested in water or any other beverage. Those who are not hungry are not interested in any kind of food. In the same way, those who are not hungry and thirsty for forgiveness have no interest in what the Gospel of Jesus Christ has to offer. Like the Pharisee in Jesus' parable, they are content with their own righteousness, thinking that they are sufficient in themselves to merit God's attention and favor. But those who the Law of God has made aware of their own sin and its consequences long for some Word of comfort--some Word of hope--some Word of forgiveness and acceptance. While God's invitation is extended to all sinners, it is to these that it is especially welcome, because they are the ones who know their need and therefore appreciate what wonderful things the Savior has to offer.
And just what is it that the one "who has no money" and "everyone who thirsts" are invited to? They are invited to acquire, at no cost to them, the things that they need to survive and grow--things like water and milk. The invitation extended to you and me and every other sinner in the Gospel of Jesus Christ is an invitation to acquire, at no cost to us, the spiritual necessities that are lacking in us--the things that we must have if we are to survive in God's presence and escape the judgment that we so richly deserve. And what is it that we need? We need reconciliation with the God whom we have offended, which requires atonement for our sins and the perfect righteousness that the Law of God demands of us. Without all of this we have nothing to look forward to but the wrath of God against our sin. God's invitation calls us to be freed from that and to receive the blessings of His acceptance and love, offered to us for the sake of the One who lived and died to save us.
But there's even more. It's not just the necessities that we are invited to receive. Isaiah's prophecy also mentions wine. In Scripture wine means one thing: celebration. It's not a necessity; it's an added luxury--something that transforms an ordinary event into a real celebration. The forgiveness and acceptance of God through the merits of Christ are garnished with countless other blessings as well. The Savior who was crucified for our sins was raised to life again--not for His own benefit, but so that we might know for sure that God has accepted the sacrifice that He offered for us and that resurrection and everlasting life await us as well. The Spirit who gives us faith and causes us to grow in that faith does it through means--not for His own benefit, but so that we can experience the grace of God with our senses. He gives us the Gospel in, with, and under things that we can hear and see and feel and taste--things like words and water and bread and wine. He does it so that we can personally experience the God who became flesh to save us from sin and death and to give us everlasting life.
All of this assures us that great things are in store for us--and all of it is free. At least it's free to us, having been purchased for us by the Son of God with His own blood. That may be a difficult thing for us to believe in this world where dreams are made to be broken and where there is no such thing as a free lunch. But the Good News of Jesus is not defined by this world or confined to this world. On the contrary, it transforms this world. As we celebrate the redeeming love of God in Jesus Christ we especially remember its greatest treasure: the confidence that we have in our Lord and Savior--confidence that we have been invited, free of charge, to the marriage feast of the Lamb of God--a feast of comfort and joy that knows no end.
Amen.
May the Lord bless your hearing of His Word, using it to accomplish in you those things for which He gave it. May you be enriched and strengthened in faith that you may leave here today to go out into our world armed with the whole armor of God, prepared to be able ambassadors of your Savior Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, and He will do it. Amen.