[0:00] In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. It has been said that success in life is simply a matter of just showing up.
[0:24] But is that really true? Is success really just all a matter of showing up? For example, if a firefighter just simply shows up at a burning building, but has forgotten to bring all of his firefighting gear as well as any water to put out the fire, how successful do you think he's going to be?
[0:50] Or if a police officer shows up at a shootout, but has forgotten to bring his gun, forgotten to bring his bulletproof vest, his badge, or any of his equipment, how successful do you think he's going to be in both protecting himself as well as the public?
[1:10] Simply showing up isn't any guarantee of success. But being prepared often is.
[1:22] That's true of most things in life, and that is most certainly true for the kingdom of God as well. For in this morning's gospel, our Lord tells us that the kingdom of God is like a royal wedding feast in which many were invited.
[1:39] However, one guest shows up unprepared, not wearing a wedding garment. Therefore, the king sees this unprepared man standing at the wedding feast, and he says to him, Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?
[1:59] And the man was speechless. So the king told his servants, Bind this man hand and foot, take him away, and cast him out into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
[2:14] And I have to say that being bound hand and foot, and cast away into the outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, does not sound like much fun.
[2:28] In fact, it sounds like hell. Which is really where this unprepared guest went, and all because he showed up at the wedding banquet, not wearing a wedding garment.
[2:41] For success, both in this life, and in the life of the world to come, is not simply just about showing up.
[2:54] There are plenty of people around the world today who show up for church every Sunday, but not all of them are going to heaven. And there are plenty of people around the world today who pray regularly to God, but not all of them will be raised on the last day at the resurrection of the just.
[3:18] Some will hear the master of heaven's eternal banquet, tell his angels to bind them hand and foot, take them away, and cast them into endless darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
[3:31] And why? Why will the Lord tell his angels to do this? Not because they faithfully showed up, but because they unfaithfully chose not to wear the proper wedding garment of repentance, charity, and faith.
[3:50] And that is exactly what this morning's parable of the royal wedding feast is all about. It is about much more than just simply showing up.
[4:02] It is about being prepared. It is about those who are invited to the wedding feast, wearing the white right wedding garment. It is about all those who call themselves Christians, truly striving, striving to clothe their lives with the love and the mercy of God.
[4:22] For elsewhere, elsewhere in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says, Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven.
[4:37] Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? Cast out demons in your name and done many wonders all in your name?
[4:50] And then I, the Lord, will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. For lawlessness is saying one thing and doing another.
[5:06] For lawlessness is living like a saint on Sunday mornings while living like an absolute pig in the rest of the time. For ultimately, lawlessness is coming to the eternal marriage feast of the Lamb in his kingdom, but not clothing ourselves with the proper garment of charity, repentance, and faith.
[5:31] for that, that is lawlessness. But what does the master of the feast say? He says, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind.
[5:47] This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
[5:59] And please do not misunderstand me. That does not mean that our observation of God's law can save us. But that also does not mean that we should use God's grace or our presence at his feast or our presence at the mass as an excuse to sin all the more.
[6:25] All it means is that we should allow the eternal marriage feast of the Lamb and his kingdom to shape us, to determine how we live and to determine how we dress.
[6:38] We should let the feast clothe our lives with the wedding garment of charity, repentance, and faith. For without it, without the wedding garment of charity, repentance, and faith, we who are the guests at the marriage feast of the Lamb of his kingdom today may be told to leave the feast in the life of the world to come.
[7:05] For success, success isn't just a matter of us simply showing up. Success is a matter of preparation. So let us repent and prepare to meet our God aright today.
[7:21] For the kingdom of God is at hand and the feast of our salvation it is now. In the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Ghost.
[7:32] Do not pray And I will be Heath of God You are Holy Spirit