First Comes the Rehearsal

"The Wedding Feast" by Eugene Burnand

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Our text for today is our Gospel, Matthew 22:1-14.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

In Come In, We Are Closed, Tyrel Bramwell tells the following story.

The waitress led me to my seat. As I sat down, I noticed the man at the next booth looking at me. We acknowledged each other with a couple of quick nods. After some small talk, he invited me to join him for some coffee. He said his friends call him Shep, a nickname that goes back to his days as a pastor.

“I’m glad that I bumped into you, Shep,” I said. “Since you were a pastor, do you mind if I ask you a church question?”

“Not at all.”

“All right, so, what do you know about churches that don’t let some people take Communion?”

“Did you have a bad experience with closed Communion?” he asked.

“It that what it’s called?”

“It is.”

“I wouldn’t call it bad. It’s just not very inviting, you know? I assume churches want people to feel welcome, and, well, that’s not very welcoming.”

“You’re right,” Shep agreed, “churches do want people to feel welcome. Believe it or not, closed Communion isn’t meant to keep folks from participating in the Lord’s Supper, but to get them to His Table so they can receive God’s gifts.”

There must have been a strange look on my face, because Shep stopped speaking, leaned over, and pulled out a tattered old book. His Bible.

Shep continued, “Are you familiar with Jesus’ parable of the wedding feast in Matthew 22?”

“No, not very,” I had to admit. “What’s it say?”

Shep began to read, “The Kingdom of heaven is like a certain king, who made a marriage feast for his son.” He looked up at me. “Do you know who we’re talking about here?”

I did. “Jesus, the Son of God.”

“Good,” Shep said, and then continued from his Bible. “The king sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the marriage feast, but they would not come.” He looked up again. “You mentioned that closed Communion wasn’t very inviting. It didn’t make you feel very welcome. You were on to something.”

“And what’s that?” I asked while I refilled my cup.

“You need to be invited to take Communion. The Lord’s Table isn’t like this café, where you can come as you are and eat what you want when you want because you want it. It’s a foretaste of the heavenly wedding feast. The king invited people to attend His Son’s wedding, but because they weren’t worthy, they wouldn’t come. So, He sent out more servants who told them that the king had prepared the wedding feast. Their job was to deliver the wedding invitations.”

Shep looked back at his Bible and then he looked at me. “It was a direct invitation to eat at the king’s banquet. Have you ever been invited to a wedding?”

I nodded.

“Did you go?”

I nodded again.

“Did you just show up on that day or did you RSVP?”

“I RSVPed.”

“Good. Well, the original guests invited to the prince’s wedding made light of their invitation. It would be like they didn’t bother to RSVP, like they ripped up the invitation and, in some cases, even killed the postman who delivered it.”

“Okay,” I said. “Jesus’ parable says heaven comes by way of an invitation. What does that have to do with Communion?”

Shep smiled. “Communion is a dress rehearsal for that wedding. It’s where we practice for the big day. In fact, it’s heaven on earth, a foretaste of the marriage feast of the Lamb.” As I considered this, Shep continued, “This isn’t the only place in Scripture where heaven is talked about in terms of a wedding feast.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Revelation 19 says, ‘Let us rejoice and exult and give [Christ] the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.’” He paused and tapped his fingertip on the page. “‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’”

“Okay, but I’ve been invited,” I protested. “I’m a Christian.”

Shep smiled. “I’m glad to hear that.”

“That’s why I don’t understand why a church would say I can’t take Communion. Closed Communion acts like I haven’t been invited to the wedding.”

“Does it act like you haven’t been invited, or like you haven’t RSVPed?” Shep asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You were invited to the wedding. You’d be hard pressed to find a Christian church that would deny that. But did you RSVP?”

“That’s why I was in church,” I said.

“No, that’s not RSVPing. That’s showing up to the wedding rehearsal unannounced.”

“Wait, you’re saying that if I want to take Communion, I have to let them know ahead of time?”

“That would be polite,” he said. “That’s why many churches include an announcement in the bulletins for visitors to please come early and speak with our pastor before coming up for communion.”

Shep continued. “When you RSVPed to the wedding you attended, was there a meal at the reception?”

“Yeah.”

“And when you RSVPed, that helped the host know to expect you, right?”

“Sure,” I said hesitantly.

“You made it known that you had received an invitation, and unlike the rude guests in the parable, you didn’t take it lightly, but took note of it and responded to it. You declared that you would attend.”

“Right. The would-be guests in the parable couldn’t be bothered to come to the wedding. But I went to church because I was invited,” I said.

“Because you didn’t take the invitation lightly.”

“Now, consider the rest of Jesus’ parable. The king didn’t take too kindly to being snubbed. He sent his army to destroy those who rejected his invitation. “Then the king said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited weren’t worthy. Go therefore to the intersections of the highways, and as many as you may find, invite to the marriage feast.’”

Shep put the book down and sipped some coffee before saying, “The invitation went out to everyone. The king was very inviting, very welcoming. Like you expected the church you attended to be, right?”

“Yeah. Everyone is welcome. That’s inviting. That’s how God is,” I said.

“Yes, He is. He welcomes everyone. And if I were a betting man, I’d say the closed Communion church you attended aims to welcome everyone, too. But there’s more to it. Wedding guests don’t get to come as they are.”

Shep could tell I didn’t understand. “When you attended the wedding, weren’t the guests expected to behave a certain way when they arrived? For instance, you weren’t allowed to sit at the head table, were you?”

“Or course not, that’s reserved for the wedding party.”

“So, if you don’t feel entitled to that table, why would you feel entitled to sit, or kneel rather, at the Lord’s Table of a congregation who doesn’t know you?”

I’m sure my expression betrayed me, because Shep continued with further explanation. “Keep listening. ‘Those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together as many as they found, both bad and good.’”

For emphasis Shep repeated that both bad and good are welcome at the heavenly wedding feast, and then continued reading, “The wedding was filled with guests. But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man who didn’t have on wedding clothing, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here not wearing wedding clothing?’ He was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and throw him into the outer darkness; there is where the weeping and grinding of teeth will be.’ For many are called, but few chosen.’”

Shep paused for a moment to let that sink in, then he continued, “It’s easy to understand closed Communion when you think of it in terms of this parable,” he said. “The king not only invited everyone he could find, but he gave them the clothes they needed to attend. He’s welcoming, but He doesn’t tolerate wedding crashers. God is so inviting, welcoming, that not only does He invite everyone to His Son’s wedding feast, He also provides them with what they need to attend. Everyone who RSVPed wore the king’s clothing, Christ’s robe of righteousness.”

Shep let his words settle for a moment and then continued. “Closed Communion, the entire worship service really, is a rehearsal for the marriage feast of the Lamb in heaven. The invitations have been sent out. John 3:16, right?”

“Sure,” I said. “’For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.’”

“Right, when the pastor stands in the pulpit and preaches the Gospel, he’s sending out the invitation for everyone to attend Jesus’ wedding. He tells his hearers that God has invited them to His Son’s wedding, and that because they’re sinners He has even provided the clothing necessary. That’s for everybody.”

“When you visited the church, you were there as one who had heard the invitation. You didn’t reject it. But how was the pastor or anybody there supposed to know you were there for the rehearsal? As far as they knew you could’ve just been some passerby who decided to stop and see what was going on.”

“So, how do I RSVP?” I asked.

“The man in the parable wanted to attend the wedding feast without putting on the king’s wedding clothing. RSVPing is putting on God’s wedding garment.”

“You said that was Christ’s robe of righteousness? And the guy who was thrown out, it was because he didn’t have on the wedding clothing?”

“Exactly. Even though he was on the guest list, he thought he’d crash the wedding. Communion is the rehearsal for the marriage feast of the Lamb. Closed Communion is the Church being honest at the rehearsal about what’s to come. If you think about it, it’s actually the only welcoming way to do Communion.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Think about the churches that don’t practice closed Communion, the ones who have an open Communion policy, they’re not exactly practicing for heaven the way heaven is, now are they? Jesus said heaven is like a wedding feast where a guy gets thrown in the outer darkness because he thought he could get there on his own terms. Open communion encourages a false view of God and heaven; it welcomes them to practice something that isn’t preparing them for the event to come.[i] A church that practices closed Communion is a church that invites anybody and everybody to heaven and then prepares them to be welcomed at the Lord’s marriage feast when He finally returns.”

“Want to know something?” Shep said. “I think it’s good that you were a little put off by closed Communion.”

I smirked. “Why is that?”

“Because that’s what rehearsals are for. That’s the time to ask the questions, that’s the time to make the mistakes and ease the nerves. It’s better to learn the truth now than to be unprepared for what’s to come.”

By His grace and mercy, the Lord has called to the wedding feast of His Son. But first comes the rehearsal. In His parable concerning Kingdom, Jesus teaches that we should be living life prepared for the marriage feast every single day. Life is a rehearsal for the never-ending feast of heaven. Therefore, He invites us to experience a foretaste of His eternal banquet here on earth, as He calls us to His Table. Don’t forget to RSVP! Remember the wedding garment!

The Lord has not only called you, but He has also chosen you. He has clothed you with Christ through faith. That is the promise of your Baptism (Galatians 3:26-27). You have been dressed in the only acceptable and the only necessary garment for participation in the feast. You need not wonder if you belong or if you are welcome. In Christ, you have a king who is generous, who is forgiving, who fills the wedding hall with all who believe.

Rejoice that God has included you. Invite all your family and neighbors to come to the wedding banquet of the king, too. There is still room for more. As you wait for that great day, come here to the rehearsal often to hear God’s saving Word, to receive a foretaste of the marriage feast of the Lamb. Go in the peace of the Lord. For Jesus’ sake, you are forgiven for all your sins.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

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

[i] by Tyrel Bramwell, https://tyrelbramwell.files.wordpress.com/2019/09/come-in-we-are-closed-bible-study.pdf.