Jesu Juva

“The Feast That Has No End”

Text: Revelation 19:1-9; Matthew 25:1-13

In the Name of (+) Jesus. Amen.

In this reading from Revelation we heard the themes of our first two midweeks: of the marriage of the Lamb and His Bride, and of the saints clothed in linen pure and bright, that is, in their righteous deeds, for all our sin and sinful deeds have been washed away by the blood of the Lamb, our Bridegroom. And so what awaits wise virgins is the marriage supper of the Lamb. A feast we want to be ready for! And that, as we often say in one of our post-communion prayers, is a foretaste of the feast to come, in the Holy Supper of the Son’s true Body and Blood.

We say that. We believe that. And yet still many fear the Day when that will come.

So here’s the point for you this evening: Your Good Shepherd isn’t going to stop being your Good Shepherd just because it’s the Last Day! He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). He isn’t suddenly going to morph into an angry judge. The one who cares for you now will care for you then. The one who feeds you now will feed you then. The one who made you to lie down in green pastures and led you to quiet waters still will. Now, to those not in His care, not in His flock now, there is a judge waiting. But for you, a Shepherd. A Good one. One who laid down His life for His sheep.

This is the life and salvation you receive in His Supper, for indeed, as we read from the Catechism, forgiveness, life, and salvation are given us through these words, with the bodily eating and drinking. And believing these words, you have exactly what they say. His Body and Blood are placed into mouths that are hungering for righteousness and thirsting for forgiveness. This feast prepares you for that feast. As often as you eat this here, and forever you will eat it there.

And blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb, the angel said to John.

And this blessing is three-fold for us now, as we await our Bridegroom’s coming. For there are three aspects to this Supper we here receive, that tie all of time and eternity together: we remember the past, we receive in the present, and we look to the future. This is the fullness of this Sacrament that some in other churches or confessions sadly often miss.

First we remember the past. This do in remembrance of me, Jesus said. So we remember. We remember the Passover Lamb, the exodus from Egypt, the manna in the desert - all types of Christ. For Christ is the Passover Lamb, the one who rescued us from our slavery to sin, and the Bread of Life who feeds us now. We remember and proclaim the death and resurrection of Jesus, the cross from which comes this Body and Blood and by which we pass from death to life.

We remember all that He has done for us and that, second, He gives to us here and now. What we remember of the past we receive in the present - His promised forgiveness, life, and salvation. We eat our Passover Lamb for our exodus from this world and life to the next.

So that, third, in this eating and drinking we look to the future, to what’s next, the feast that this feast is preparing us for. All of time and eternity focused here for us in time.

We confess that awesome reality in the liturgy we sing. In the Sanctus, we confess that we stand in the presence of the Holy God. And we confess that reality in the Agnus Dei, that we receive that awesome God’s, the Lamb of God’s incarnate Body and Blood. And that is no small thing! It is no small thing to be in the presence of the holy God, and no small thing to receive Him like that!

So who is worthy to be in His presence and receive Him like that? It is not those who rely on their own holiness or goodness. Those lamps don’t light! It is rather, those who have faith in these words: Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. It is by faith that we worthily receive. Faith by which we enter the Feast.Faith that is given us by the Spirit through these words.

And that all might have such faith by hearing those words, and then believing that truth, and so receiving those gifts, is why we are here. To proclaim that Gospel here where God has put us, and to be merciful as our heavenly Father is merciful. Until Revelation’s great multitude is complete, our Bridegroom returns, and the wedding feast begins.

And just as the feast of the Lord’s Supper prepares us for that great wedding Feast, so too every Sunday is a day of joy that prepares us for that great day of joy that will last for eternity. So the Last Day is not a day to be feared. It’s the day we’ve been practicing for and getting ready for all along. For in Word and Sacrament, in the Gospel, Baptism, Absolution, and Supper, the eternal is here in time for us, that we in time might live eternally. In Word and Sacrament, past, present, and future all come together here for us. So that today our past be forgiven, our present be blessed, and our future be glorious. And what else can we say to that but Come, Lord Jesus! Or as we sang,

Come, then, O Lord Jesus,

From our sins release us.

Keep our hearts believing,

That we, grace receiving,

Ever may confess You

Till in heav’n we bless You (LSB #333 v. 4).

Yes, come Lord Jesus! Come quickly. Come soon.

In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.