Come to the wedding banquet. But they paid no attention and went off- one to his field, another to his business…Then the King said to his servants, “the wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.

I noticed that many of the stores are full of Halloween costumes, costumes for little people and big people, costumes of all sorts. You can be a pirate, a bride, a Star Wars character, a princess, Spiderman, or Snow White. There are also witches, devils, streetwalkers, and ghouls of all kinds. Sometimes we like to dress up as someone or something we are not. Other times we like to hide behind a mask or cover up who we are. I pondered those costumes and masks and thought about today’s lesson, about the masks and costumes we wear. I pondered how we even try to wear masks before God thinking we can somehow deceive or hide from Him.

In our Gospel lesson, two men are wearing the mask of being “too busy.” One had fieldwork to do and the other, well, he had a business and “after all those things don’t run themselves.” In Luke’s Gospel this same parable tells us there is a man wearing the “new possession’s” mask. He has five pairs of oxen and he needs to check those “bad boys” out and see what they can do. Luke also tells of us the man who is newly married and he wearing the “ preoccupied” mask.

The King is very angry at being put off by these excuses. The masks don’t cover up that these people snubbed his invitations. That would be like not returning a phone call to the IRS, ignoring a grand jury subpoena, or not coming in when your mother has called you in for dinner and she used “that voice” with your middle name.

As I pondered this I thought about how God invites us to be in His Word and to be at His House to join with His Son, who is called the Bridegroom. I thought about the masks we sometimes wear, the times we snub God, and the excuses we try to hide behind.

How often do we put on the mask of “busyness”? I have this to do or that to finish; I have this deadline or that studying to do. This is my only day to sleep in or catch up on things around the house. I’m too tired from all that I did yesterday but next week I’ll make it up …...“I cannot come.” (a line from the hymn we sang before the sermon)

Some of us wear the mask of being “over committed.” I need to take some time for myself or this is our family time. Trust me, I’ll make it up to You later.”….. “I cannot come to banquet.”

There are other masks and costumes, too. There is the costume of “sinful pride”- “I may be bad but I’m not as bad as him or her.” Some of have eyed the costume of the Buddha, claiming enlightenment from within, and others wear masks not to be something they aren’t but cover what they are: hurt, discouraged, lonely, and confused. …“I cannot; I cannot come to banquet. Don’t trouble me now.”

Just like we wear costumes at Halloween to be something we are not or to cover up something we are, we often wear costumes and masks before God. Of this behavior the Father, the King, says in Galatians The acts of the sinful nature are obvious. (Gal 5.19) “You aren’t fooling Me; You aren’t hiding from Me.” By nature, you desire what is contrary to Me. (Gal 5.17) You spurn My invitation.

In our parable the King when snubbed sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city, and God will do that again on Judgment Day for those who have rejected His invitation, BUT in His great mercy He sent Jesus to warn us, to provide for us, and to invite us.

Jesus laid aside the royal robes of a heavenly prince and took up the rough cloth of our humanity. Though He was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor, so that through His poverty you might become rich. (2Cor 2.8,9). Having put on the coarse cloth of our humanity there was nothing, as the prophet Isaiah writes, to attract us to Him, He had no beauty or majesty, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him. He came and walked among us. He had no flashy costume nor Brad Pitt appearance.

He taught us about the Father. He taught us of His justice and His righteousness- sin separates us from God, all sins carry a terrible price. As sinful people, we can’t hide, disguise or cover up our sins from the Father any more than Adam and Eve could hide behind a fig leaf. In order to once again draw close to Him, our sin must be atoned for, paid for. He taught us of the Father’s great love for us in that while we were still steeped in sin, adorning ourselves in sins, and reveling in our sins, He sent the Son to rescue us from our sins. He sent the Son that we would be brought to realize the wrong we are doing and be turned from it - that we get out of these costumes, lay down these masks, and give up these lame excuses.

Jesus taught us of a great banquet that has been prepared for us. The prophet Isaiah writes, there is a feast of rich foods for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine- the best of meats and finest of wines. (Is 25.6) Not only has the banquet been prepared but the Son has provided the proper clothes for such a banquet. Left to own devices we could never have merited such an invitation nor been able to afford the duds. Yet, Jesus came offering it all freely to us.

Oh, don’t miss understand me. All this cost a hefty sum. Jesus laid aside His robes of righteousness and put on a tattered robe that was shredded and soiled by our sins, lame excuses, and hurtful behaviors. He was crowned with thorns and anointed with the sewage of our sins. Yes, our robes were costly; it is just that some things cost more than silver or gold.

Where we seek to indulge ourselves, to laugh and dance to our own tune, He hung on a cross in our place. Unlike Halloween it wasn’t pretend. He hung on a cross making full payment for all our sins, He died, and He was buried…BUT three days later He arose. He was no zombie, no creature of the dead but a living breathing risen Savior whose resurrection was attested to by angels, soldiers, believers and even unbelievers.

He arose with new clothes for us to wear, not masks and costumes but lasting clothes, clothes fit for a heavenly banquet. We received those clothes that robe of righteousness at our baptism. We are reminded of it when we hear God’ s Word. It is because of the robe that God has inclined Himself to hear our prayers.

To those who believe, to those who confess their sins, to those who seek to put down their masks and end their masquerades, He freely offers robes of righteousness woven from the cloth of forgiveness accented with by His grace and mercy. In this robe we are properly attired to be in the presence of the King for He recognizes the robe we wear as one given to us by His Son.

In our text there was a man who was invited to the banquet but when all was ready and the King came out to greet His guests this one man was not wearing clothes fit for the occasion, clothes the King had gone to great expense to provide. The King was greatly distressed at this. He has the man bound hand and foot and tossed out into the darkness where their will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Why is all this? Because this man snubbed the wearing of a robe prepared and provided for by the Son. No, instead he wore a robe of his works and his reasoning. He came still wearing clothes stained with his sin and tattered by his rebellion. He was tossed outside and it only makes it worse for he has seen what was prepared for him, but what he can now never have. He weeps unendingly and so also it will be for all people who do not believe in the Son Jesus and put on the robe of forgiveness that He has provided. But we need not fear being cast out. In our baptism, God declared us to a have place at the banquet. By the hearing of His Word we are reminded of the robe, which we already possess.

All around us are people who are still acting like at Halloween and are dressing up to cover up who they are, what they are, or what is happening in their lives. They like us, need to hear of all that has been provided so they will not find themselves outside the banquet. They need to hear of this Jesus.

So what are you wearing?

Amen