Manuscript of the Online service and message for June 21

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church

+ June 21, 2020 +

P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C Amen.

INTROIT Psalm 18

The Lord was my support
in the day of my calamity.
He brought me out into a broad place;
he rescued me, because he delighted in me.
I love you, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer.
For you save a humble people,
but the haughty eyes you bring down.
This God—his way is perfect;
the word of the Lord proves true.
For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,
and sing to your name.

C Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost;

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

KYRIE LSB 186

C Lord, have mercy upon us.

Christ, have mercy upon us.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

GLORIA IN EXCELSIS LSB 187

P Glory be to God on high:

C and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.

We praise Thee, we bless Thee, we worship Thee,

we glorify Thee, we give thanks to Thee, for Thy great glory.

O Lord God, heav’nly King, God the Father Almighty.

O Lord, the only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ;

O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father,

that takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us.

Thou that takest away the sin of the world, receive our prayer.

Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father, have mercy upon us.

For Thou only art holy; Thou only art the Lord.

Thou only, O Christ, with the Holy Ghost,

art most high in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

COLLECT OF THE DAY

P Let us pray.

O Lord, since You never fail to help and govern those whom You nurture in Your steadfast fear and love, work in us a perpetual fear and love of Your holy name; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

 C Amen.

OLD TESTAMENT READING Proverbs 9:1–10

¹Wisdom has built her house;
she has hewn her seven pillars.
²She has slaughtered her beasts; she has mixed her wine;
she has also set her table.
³She has sent out her young women to call
from the highest places in the town,
⁴“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
To him who lacks sense she says,
⁵“Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed.
⁶Leave your simple ways, and live,
and walk in the way of insight.”
⁷Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse,
and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.
⁸Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;
reprove a wise man, and he will love you.
⁹Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.
¹⁰The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

A This is the Word of the Lord.

C Thanks be to God.

HOLY GOSPEL

P The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the fourteenth chapter.

¹⁵When one of those who reclined at table with [Jesus] heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” ¹⁶But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. ¹⁷And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ ¹⁸But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ ¹⁹And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ ²⁰And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ ²¹So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ ²²And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ ²³And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. ²⁴For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’”

P This is the Gospel of the Lord.

APOSTLES’ CREED

C I believe in God, the Father Almighty,

     maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,

     who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

     born of the virgin Mary,

     suffered under Pontius Pilate,

     was crucified, died and was buried.

     He descended into hell.

     The third day He rose again from the dead.

     He ascended into heaven

     and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

     From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

     the holy Christian Church,

          the communion of saints,

     the forgiveness of sins,

     the resurrection of the body,

     and the life T everlasting. Amen.

SERMON

Luke 14:15-24

Jesus Christ is the greatest preacher ever. He knew the human condition and how to address it, and how to fix it. He preached with truth and wisdom from on high. He wove in stories and anecdotes. So all these years later we have much to think on and take to heart each time we hear His preaching.

So let’s spend some moments, listening afresh to this parable He preached about the invitations to a grand banquet. It’s about the kingdom of God. But at the surface,

I. It’s about kindness.

 Jesus’ point is much higher, spiritual. The people and events portrayed in the story, stand for the real message. But let’s first just consider the event itself and the story Jesus told. A generous host sends a gracious invitation. “Come!” he says. I want company. I want my house filled with guests.” There was some special occasion, an unmentioned reason to celebrate and this man thinks, “There is nothing I would enjoy more on this special day than to share it with many friends.” But to his sadness, everybody he wants to have with him is busy. “Please, have me excused.” They say.

Now, granted, there are urgent things that come up, important business, family matters. But it was very clear what they were saying in response to the invitation: “There are things more important to me than you.” You ever said that to someone? “There are things more important to me than you.” I can’t imagine you would, but does it ever come across that way? Are the words, “Not now” over the years, beginning to sound like “There are things more important to me than you.” “Not now, maybe later.” Keep in mind, we are all running out of “later.”

But learn the lesson of graciousness from the man who still wants his banquet to be packed. “Bring in the poor and the beggars, the travelers and the foreigners.” With grace and hospitality, he is bound and determined to be generous.

Times have changed, and recently, they’ve changed quite a bit. We need to be finding creative ways to be kind. We need, each of us, to come up with ways to think of others. To be kind to others. To tell them with our words or our attitudes or our small deeds, “You are important to me”.

Jesus tells this story for his listeners to think about how to be kind, gracious and hospitable, but really, the message was for them to think about the Kingdom of God.

II. It’s about the Kingdom of God.

May it never be that any of us would say to God, “There are things more important to me than you.” Let nothing stand in our way from His gracious invitation to live in His Kingdom and dine at his banquet.

There is a feast planned of universal scope, on a cosmic scale. God Almighty wants to celebrate. The occasion is this: He is so pleased with His Son, Jesus. When Jesus died on the cross and rose back to life on the third day, He saved His Father’s creation. Now His Father, the master of the heavenly banquet says to all those He loves, “Come! You’re invited. I want you at my home, at my table. Come, for everything is now ready.”

Why would we let anything seem more important than that? But stuff does come up, doesn’t it? We have our daily obligations. Jesus listed off some people who asked to be excused from the banquet, oh, because, one guy was in the process of buying a piece of land, one guy just got some new livestock in, and one guy just got married. Is Jesus implying that we should leave all the selling and buying behind, that we shouldn’t spend time with our spouse and family? Shall we put away all the things and relationships of life in this world and be monks and nuns and live as hermits? Do the Amish have it right when they withdraw from so much of society and worldly ways?

Or better, can we live our days in such a way that all things and all events and everything about us is brought into the life we have been given by Jesus, and His Father who has called us into His kingdom. When we conduct our work and our commerce we are engaged in serving one another, by doing our work faithfully so that others benefit from it, and we pay fairly for the services others do to us. That is our daily calling because we are both at the same time, part of the Kingdom of God in eternity and part of this temporary order here on earth. And we love our wife or husband, mother and father and trust that it is a blessing to them that we are a part of God’s Kingdom and joyful celebration. And because we truly love our loved ones, we hope and pray for the most important thing for them, that they too receive with faith that blessed invitation from the Lord, “Come, for everything is now ready.” And just as we value our relationships with them now, our greatest desire is to have them with us in the eternal heavenly banquet in the age to come.

But Jesus didn’t just tell this story because it’s about the eternal future. It is important for us to hear and know it in the present time. This story Jesus tells is about kindness, it’s about the Kingdom of God, but finally, let’s consider this,

III.  It’s about the Bread of Life.

Jesus started this story in response to a statement some man made, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” A true statement indeed. This banquet, this eating and drinking and celebration that Jesus is laying out for us in this story, is happening already. Do you believe that? It’s not just for you to imagine some day in the far off future. It is now. The Kingdom of God is now. He is inviting you into it. “Come, for everything is now ready.” And this is how you should listen to that invitation. First, repent. Repent of all the times when you have let things be more important to you than God. You’ve heard me say such things like that a lot, I know. But it’s what we all need to hear, because we are all hesitant to repent. I mean, really repent. Tearing down the self preservation defenses that we have that makes us not want to look bad and say we were wrong. Repent that you haven’t loved God above everything else and that you haven’t loved other people like you should, because your stuff has seemed more important to you than they.

So repent and then hear what God’s got to say, “Come, for everything is now ready.” He wants to tell you “Come to my house. Eat the bread of life. Drink from the cup of blessing. I want you to rejoice with me, because you are important to me.” Amen.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

P Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.

Heavenly Father, by Your grace we who were once far off have been brought near to You by the blood of Your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Remove from us all pride and vanity, and give to us humble hearts that recognize that You have graciously made us members of Your household, without any merit or worthiness in us. Lord, in Your mercy,

C hear our prayer.

P Gracious Father, continue to raise up faithful servants among us, that the invitation to Your great banquet would be delivered in all places and Your banquet hall would be filled with sinners redeemed by Christ the Crucified. Lord, in Your mercy,

C hear our prayer.

P Merciful Father, look upon the poor, hungry, homeless and unemployed with compassion, and tend to their needs. Remove from us any excess love of earthly treasures, that we would be moved to aid when able. Bless the charitable organizations and social agencies of our land, that relief would be found in them for those who need it, especially those affected by the pandemic and the response to it. Lord, in Your mercy,

C hear our prayer.

P Loving Father, bestow Your blessing on the vocation of fatherhood, that fathers would love and provide for their children, and that children would respect and honor their fathers. Lord, in Your mercy,

C hear our prayer.

P Compassionate Father, have mercy on all who are suffering and desire Your aid at the present time [especially _____________]. According to Your gracious will, heal their infirmities and give them strength to bear all their crosses in Christian patience. Give continued wisdom to those who lead and those who serve, especially those in harm’s way. Lord, in Your mercy,

C hear our prayer.

P Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who has taught us to pray:

C Our Father who art in heaven,

     hallowed be Thy name,

     Thy kingdom come,

     Thy will be done on earth

          as it is in heaven;

     give us this day our daily bread;

     and forgive us our trespasses

          as we forgive those

          who trespass against us;

     and lead us not into temptation,

     but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom

     and the power and the glory

     forever and ever. Amen.

BENEDICTION

P The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you.

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and T give you peace.

C Amen.

570 JUST AS I AM, WITHOUT ONE PLEA

1 Just as I am, without one plea
But that Thy blood was shed for me
And that Thou bidd’st me come to Thee,
    O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

2 Just as I am and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To Thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot,
    O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

3 Just as I am, though tossed about
With many_a conflict, many_a doubt,
Fightings and fears within, without,
    O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

4 Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
Sight, riches, healing of the mind,
Yea, all I need, in Thee to find,
    O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

5 Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy promise I believe,
    O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

6 Just as I am; Thy love unknown
Has broken ev’ry barrier down;
Now to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,
    O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Text: Public domain

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Divine Service, Setting Three from Lutheran Service Book

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV^® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2018 Concordia Publishing House.