COVERED

God's Kingdom has a dress code, and God dresses us for success by covering us with the robe of Christ's righteousness. That's Dr. Michael Ziegler's message today here on The Lutheran Hour. Later Dr. Jeff Gibbs says Jesus' parable of the wedding feast is a story about honor and judgment. I'm Mark Eischer. Thanks for making this program part of your day. We're glad you're here. The Lutheran Hour is made possible through the support of our listeners. With more on that, here's our speaker Dr. Michael Ziegler with a special invitation. For generations, listeners have welcomed the Lutheran Hour into their homes and hearts. Perhaps you've listened your whole life, or maybe you just discovered us recently. Today I invite you to help keep this gospel message reaching people nationwide during our Fall Giving Campaign. And with your gift of any amount, we will thank you with a copy of a new book that I wrote, titled Begin Again. It's a journey through Genesis with the God who gives us new beginnings. You can give at LutheranHour.org or call us at 800-876-9880 Monday through Friday. The number again 800-876-9880 or LutheranHour.org. Thank you for listening and for praying and for helping others hear the good news. Now here is today's message. I have a recurring nightmare of showing up at an event in the wrong clothes. It probably traces back to an experience I had in the military when I was in basic training. I'd left the barracks without my hat, without my cover as we call it, breaking one of the most basic rules of military decorum. Never go outside without your cover. Now why is that a rule? You might ask if you've never been in the military. And if you did ask it, you'd be sorry because that's another rule. Don't ask dumb questions.

Just put your hat on. So I was returning to the barracks without my cover, wishing I were invisible and a drill sergeant spots me out of uniform. Basic! Where's your cover? I left it in my room, sir! So he orders me to hold my left hand on my head and double time, run back, all while sounding off my shame. I wish I had my cover! I wish I had my cover! Which of course attracted every other drill sergeant in the vicinity, each of whom went out of their way to stop and chew my butt and have me drop and give him 20 push-ups just for good measure. I didn't forget my cover after that. But also, to this day, I have this inexplicable fear of showing up somewhere underdressed. Some people, I suppose, have the opposite fear of showing up overdressed, and some people don't care how they're dressed, and what they wear shows it, because clothing makes a statement. Which is why my wife and daughter often tell me, "You're not wearing that, are you?" Every clothing communicates. Who are you? Are you a person of consequence, or just someone who likes to be comfy? Are you a conformist, or a non-conformist, a rebel, or a rule follower? We can tell by your clothing, and we can usually tell what kind of rebel someone is trying to be, because even the rebels ask, "But should I wear?" To let other rebels know that I am one of them. If you think about it, we're all wearing some kind of uniform, aren't we? Even if it's only for an army of one? And shame on you if you're out of uniform. But props to you, respect, if you look like us, because underneath the uniform that's

the deeper concern. Where do I belong? To whom do I belong? Who am I? What am I? We use clothing to try to answer these questions. To stand out, to blend in, to distinguish ourselves, protect ourselves. That's why concentration camp prisoners were stripped of their clothing. Because without cover, what are we? We are all the same. A hundred or so pounds of soft flesh exposed to harsh elements and staring eyes vulnerable Embarrassed a shame. [BLANK_AUDIO] our shame. Shame is different than guilt. Guilt is feeling bad about what one has done. Shame is feeling bad about oneself. Guilt makes you wish you had acted differently. Shame makes you want to be someone different, or to be invisible, or to not be at all. And shame from its beginning has been stitched into our clothing. In the Bible, we're told that our first parents, Adam and Eve, in the beginning were naked and unashamed. They were safe, secure, completely unself-conscious with nothing to hide. They were so caught up in walking with God and caring for God's creation and for the person in front of them, and the story God was writing for them, they didn't even realize they had no clothes. But everything changed when they tried to become something different, something more. When they decided that they didn't like who they were, that they were just creatures, malleable clay figures God had shaped and filled with life and adopted as a son and a daughter of God, the serpent convinced them that they could do better, that they should become like gods, like deified emperors. They took their eyes off God and his creation and the neighbor in front of them to stare at their own reflections. Now, what these self-crowned emperors saw in the mirror was flattering at first, but then it started to sag a little. They could see how unsuited they were to act as God's their soft, fleshy bodies couldn't hold up under the pressures so they covered up instead. With fig leaves, trying to be something else, or maybe just be invisible. And for us, their children,

the coverings have become more elaborate, synthetic poly blends and such, and it goes beyond clothing for us. Anything can be a cover, a job title, social group, a gender change, or membership in the distinct religious denomination, fig leaves, all the same. But under the covers, we humans still didn't like who we were, and we wished we could be something different. For the dominant social group in the days of Jesus of Nazareth, the fig leaves they had stitched together were denominational membership and religious ritual. And this very religious group of people hated Jesus because he exposed their shame. He exposed how they liked to walk around in long robes to show that they were something special. He said, "These leaders do what they do to be seen by others. They had long tassels on their garments to show how religious they were and leather jewelry they wore, called philacteries, with Bible verses written inside to signal their virtues. And Jesus called them out, not just to shame them, but to offer them the cover of real honor and true belonging that they didn't even know they were wishing for. Jesus was speaking as the son of God, the creator, become human in the flesh to fulfill God's promises, to clothe his people, to cover their shame with garments of salvation, and a robe of righteousness as foretold by the prophet. But the religious leaders preferred their fig leaves. And to protect themselves, they were plotting to have Jesus killed. So to warn them, Jesus told them a story, a symbolic story, a parable. Jesus spoke to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven, the rule and reign of God, has become like a certain king, who made a wedding feast for his son. And he sent out his servants to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, but they, those invited, were not willing to come." Again, the king sent other servants, saying, "Tell those invited to the wedding feast. Look, my supper is prepared. The oxen and fattened calves have been slaughtered. Everything is ready. Come, come to the wedding feast. But those invited paid them no attention and went off. One to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized the king's servants, insulted them, and killed them." city. Then, the king says to his servants, "The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go, therefore, to the main roads, and all whom you find, call them to the wedding feast." The servants went out to the main roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. Then the king came to see his guests, and he saw a person there who had not put on a wedding garment.

The king says to him, "Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?" But the man was silent, and the king said to the attendants, "Bind him, hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen." The parable is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 22. Honestly, I don't like it. It's probably my least favorite of all the stories that Jesus told. The king is supposed to represent God, right? So I would hope that this king would be more welcoming. Why couldn't he just say to the guy, "Friend, what happened? The dry cleaner loses your suit? Your luggage got lost in baggage? Claim no worries here. Have one of my robes. I've got plenty." Jesus could have told the story that way. He had told other stories like that. For example, his story about the prodigal son who dishonored his father, left home, squandered his cash, then crawls back home, humiliated and ashamed, and his father, his father who represents God, his father becomes the cover the son hadn't even wished for. His father runs out to meet him, puts his best robe on him, and throws him a party. Now, that's a story. And Jesus told it. But this story, Jesus tells about the wedding feast, is told for a different purpose. It's like that story of the Emperor's New Clothes by Hans Christian Andersen. Long ago there lived an emperor who never went anywhere except to show off his new clothes. He had a different suit for every hour of the day. Two tailors came to the emperor. They promised to make him the most distinguished suit ever. The emperor was delighted. But the tailors explained that it was such sophisticated cloth, that it could not be seen by anyone who was unfit for his station, or else intolerably stupid. In fact, the clothes could only be seen by those who were very, very clever. So they prepared the emperor's suit. And the royal officers and ministers came to see it being stitched together, and they realized that they couldn't see the cloth. But they were too ashamed to admit it. They didn't want to lose their jobs. So also for the emperor, he didn't want to admit that he couldn't see it either. Nor did all the people who came to see him when the lords of the bedchamber paraded the emperor in the train of his day with his new clothes to the city until a small child spoke up. But he hasn't got on anything at all. And the whisper started to spread. Soon everyone was saying it. He hasn't got on anything at all. And the emperor's flesh crept. For it seemed to him they were right. But all the same, he thought. The procession has started and must go on. And the lords

of his bedchamber held their heads higher and took even greater trouble to hold up the train, which wasn't there at all. So also, Jesus' story is a warning. A warning of how easily we can fool ourselves. A warning for all of us who are trying to keep up this procession and hide behind fig leaves. In the case of the religious leaders of Jesus Day, they had stitched together a suit of special rituals and sophisticated code language and virtue signaling to impress each other to those in their in-group. But before God, they were wearing nothing at all. Jesus could see right through it and he was trying to help them see. But they refused. And they did worse than just hold their heads higher and march on. They arrested Jesus, had him stripped, naked, hung to die on a cross while his torturers gambled to divvy up his clothing. Jesus was willing to endure this to die and to rise from the dead to cover them, to cover us. But their wish was to dishonor Jesus and strip him of his kingdom and you can't get like God, because God eventually did send troops to destroy those murderers and burn their city. The Roman army came and literally burned Jerusalem in 70 AD, about 40 years after Jesus told this story. Also, the king in the parable is like God, because God has sent out his servants to invite us all, good, bad, indifferent, everyone is invited to the party to honor God's son. That's why we do this program every week. We're getting the invitation out, because God wants his wedding hall filled. We're waiting for the day when the king returns to see the guests. That is to judge the world and raise the dead and renew all things. We're still in this story, and as long as we are, we need this parable. We need its warning. Don't be like the guy who got caught in the clothes that were no cover at all. Of course, we're not talking about literal clothing. Remember, clothing says something, clothing communicates our values and our loyalties, clothing says something about what shames us. God sees through fig leaves. God sees us as we are, ashamed, and trying to hide from him. The warning of the parable is not that God's going to kick you out of his kingdom if you're not dressed fancy enough. The warning is that if you insist on stitching together your own accomplishments, if you cling to yourself, spun, sophistication, if you try to hide behind your in-group identity, then you won't be content with the humble robe that Jesus offers. And if you don't want God's cover eventually in hell, God will give you what you want. Very, very stylish clothing that can't cover your shame. You and I cannot save ourselves from our shame. Only Jesus can. We can't save ourselves, but we do have a power, a terrifying power to destroy ourselves. Jesus warns us that not everyone

who joins a church stays for the wedding feast. Not everyone who is baptized is saved in the end. Not every disciple who starts with Jesus stays with Jesus. Every day I'm in danger, your in danger of getting stuck in shame forever because you don't like what God made you to be. The truth is God likes you, loves you even. Yes, you're only a clay-shaped creature, but God wants to honor you. As his adopted child, as the guest of his son, God likes you so much that he sent his son to wear the robe of our human frame to cover our shame with his sacrifice on the cross. When Adam and Eve hid behind fig leaves, God provided them with more durable clothing, genuine leather, animal skins, the first animal sacrifice, a sign of the greater sacrifice to come, and Jesus is even better than leather. More breathable too. He rose from the dead to be your cover, your closest possession, your uniform. And when you put him on, when God looks at you, he doesn't see through you, he sees Jesus. The military can be harsh on her new children as they learn to wear the uniform. The less than I learned well that day when I so wished I had my cover. The military can also offer us a rough picture of God's grace because the military issues uniforms to all her new members free of charge. Nobody buys their uniforms when they begin in the military. And whether you're ranked high or low, whether you're a seasoned veteran or just starting everyone wears the same clothes. In a sense, there is no distinction. Of course, with the military, you'll get kicked out if you don't perform. But in God's kingdom, the only thing that will exclude you is relying on your own performance. So cling to Christ alone. My dad was in the military when my brother and I were boys. And like most kids who had a parent or parents who served, we dressed up to be like him. We put on pieces of his uniform. We imitated him. So also, Christ followers, we feast has already started, so we don the uniform of service. I see this in the little band of soldiers who comprise my local community of Christ followers. I see it in Karen who dons her apron to serve in the church kitchen. I see it in Ted who dons his work gloves to help a refugee move into a new apartment. I see it in Jan who dons her reading glasses so she can read the scriptures aloud for us. And then Gary who comes in early to make coffee in a three-piece suit and in Colby, who sometimes goes to the grocery store with his black t-shirt and white lettering that simply says "follower of Jesus." And he thinks twice about whom he represents. Of course, we all still sometimes know the shame of being out of uniform. But Jesus is ever and always our cover. Even when we didn't know what to wish for, would you pray with me? Dear Father, with the prophet Isaiah, I rejoice in you

because you have clothed me with garments of salvation. You have covered me with the robe of righteousness. Through Jesus Christ, amen. >>Thank you, Mark. Today I am visiting once more with Dr. Jeff Gibbs. Jeff is an author of an in-depth commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, which we've heard from today. Welcome back to the program, Jeff. >>Thank you, Mike, very much. >>Many churches this weekend are going to be hearing from this parable, the parable of the wedding feast which we discussed today. And I preached a sermon on this. I struggled with the text and did kind of what Lutheran pastors are taught to do that I want to proclaim a warning to people and also a comfort that Jesus is truly calling you and he's died for you and he wants everyone, everyone to come. I want to step back and just be honest that I still struggle with this parable, probably my least favorite parable in the New Testament. And partly it's just I'm struck by this king who is supposed to in some way represent God. The people he's dealing with are wicked clearly. They're killing his servants. But he strikes me as erratic and angry and kind of flies off the handle unpredictably and it's just all of it's unsettling. Where should we start in trying to respond to this parable? >>There's no doubt that this is a strange story. But this one is maybe a little more true to life than we might realize when we get ahold of the fact that the Lord Jesus ministry in first century Holy Land was in an honor, shame, culture. And it's a very great offense, a very great offense to not honor someone who is rightfully do it. You know, our political discourse is filled with insults and we mock people and we see these are actually great sins. The Apostle Paul says that if you're a reviler, you're not going to enter the reign of God. See, so it's refused to honor a king. He's preparing everything. He's already invited the guests. He's gotten everything ready and they know the invitation is coming. And not only do they refuse to come for trivial reasons compared to honoring their king, but they kill his servants. You can't get away with this. I'll just say it that way. And so once again, we remember that this is a parable that's in the context of people coming at Jesus to destroy him. It's a parable spoken to his enemies. And so the king's response is harsh, but I would say if we think about it carefully, it's actually fitting. It's kind of like the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. See, that's hard for us modern American people, but God is God and I'm not. So it's a very transparent story. You can tell who this is actually hinting at. The king is God. The son is Jesus. The first group of guests are the religious leaders who are trying to destroy Jesus. And then the second guy who's there without the

wedding garment, he's in parallel to those who dishonor the king. All it's said is that he was silent. He's kind of there shamelessly and doesn't care. Again, a wedding garment, there's a lot of speculation about what this is. Most of it is well meaning, but there's very little support for most I think of wedding garment as church clothes. And so this guy has, he doesn't have to have a fancy, schmancy outfit. No, no, here's all kinds of people, good and bad. High social standing, low social rich, poor, all kinds of people are invited and brought in. But this guy has chosen to do exactly what the first group did to shame the king and dishonor his son. He did it on purpose. Honor the son, then, is the son of God deserves honor, is worthy of honor, that's kind of the main point, then it does sound a little bit like a threat. You know, honor the son or else, but if we could hear it as a promise and as an invitation. God will have a full wedding banquet. You can't stop him. You can knock yourself out of it, but you can't stop God from having a wedding banquet for his son and everyone is invited. See, that's the message of the parallel. - Well, and that fits really well with the whole bit about the cornerstone, which is just before this. - Just before this, that's right. - If you fall on this cornerstone, it'll break you to pieces or if it falls on you,

it'll crush you, but on the other hand, you can build a whole temple on top of this door. - This stone has become the head of the corner. Psalm 118 is beautifully chosen there by our Lord. And the church has taken Psalm 118 because the Lord Jesus does in the apostles to be a predictive of Easter. See, they rejected the stone, but God raised him from the dead. And now he is the foundation stone and the apostles and prophets are the foundation. Yeah, we're all living stones. See, are we banquet guests or living stones? The answer is both, yeah. - Well, thank you. Thank you for being here with us. (gentle music) - Talked by Jesus, we are bold to pray. 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. - Receive the blessing of the Lord. The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord look upon you with his favor and give you peace, amen. - The Lutheran hour is made possible through the support of faithful listeners like you. To learn how your prayers and gifts can extend the worldwide outreach of the Lutheran hour, go to lutheranour.org. How do you respond to tough questions about God and faith? Next week, hear how Jesus delivers us from the tightest of tight spots. I'm Mark Eischer. This has been a presentation of Lutheran hour ministries. (gentle music) (gentle music) (gentle music) (gentle music) (gentle music) (gentle music) (gentle music) (gentle music) [MUSIC PLAYING]