They’re pretty lousy excuses, those reasons the men in Jesus’ parable had for not attending the banquet. And it’s only worse when you know that the banquet Jesus is talking about is the banquet of God’s grace, a seat at the table in his kingdom.
Luke 14 records Jesus’ parable of the Great Banquet. Jesus told this parable at a banquet, where he had been invited by a prominent pharisee. Although Jesus was a guest at this banquet, he was in fact the one serving a banquet for the souls of all who were there. Would they heed his banquet invitation, or would they have their own excuses?
One of the men there at the table said, “Blessed is the one who will feast in the kingdom of God!” And Jesus responded by saying,
A certain man made a great banquet and invited many people. 17When it was time for the banquet, he sent out his servant to tell those who were invited, ‘Come, because everything is now ready.’ 18But they all alike began to make excuses.
“The first one told him, ‘I bought a field, and I need to go and see it. I ask you to excuse me.’
19“Another one said, ‘I bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out. I ask you to excuse me.’
20“Still another said, ‘I just got married, and so I am unable to attend.’
A banquet was a big deal back then and it’s still a big deal today. There’s something special about eating together that people have always recognized. And a banquet is not just an opportunity to eat together, but to eat well—the best foods and the best drinks.
The setting for Jesus’ parable is pretty straightforward. This picture of God’s kingdom as a great feast is one that appears all over Scripture. Our Old Testament lesson from Proverbs 9 poetically describes Wisdom personified inviting all to her feast, and the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Or take Isaiah 25:6 “On this mountain the LORD of Armies will prepare for all peoples a banquet of rich food.”
We might think especially of heaven. Revelation 19:9 says, “Blessed are those who invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb.” The man at the table with Jesus was thinking ahead too, when he talked about those who will feast, someday, down the road, when that kingdom arrives.
But that is too small of an understanding of what this feast is. Here was a man thinking wistfully of one day feasting with God, when God incarnate was sitting at the table with him! God’s kingdom is fulfilled in heaven, but it’s the kingdom of his grace established in Christ. When we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy kingdom come” we are not just praying for heaven. We are praying that “our heavenly Father [will give] his Holy Spirit, so that by his grace we believe his holy Word and lead a godly life now on earth and forever in heaven.” That’s God’s kingdom. That’s the banquet.
And it’s important to understand that because no one thinks of himself as rejecting heaven. Even as they avoid God’s Word and Sacrament day after day and week after week they’ll still say, “Oh, I hope I’ll go to heaven someday.” And the excuses that the men in Jesus’ parable make aren’t things someone says on his deathbed. At the end of life you don’t have a choice anymore, “Would I rather visit my new field or die and face judgment?” No, this is the choice before each one of us now in life. God has invited you to the banquet of his grace. Heed his invitation! Don’t despise it! Come and eat your fill!
Jesus says that there were many people invited but he gives three excuses, a summary of the attitudes of many who turned down the invitation. This invitation was not a last-minute thing. They had plenty of time to be ready for it. They were invited and then when everything was ready the servant went out to call them. The first man, though, said, “I bought a field and I need to go and see it. I ask you to excuse me.”
Of all the excuses, this one probably seems the worst. It’s a field. It’s not going anywhere. Go to the banquet. Look at your field later. But don’t we do this? Every day in our lives we’re faced with choices, what to prioritize now and what to put off for another time. What’s important to you? Are you investing in the things of this world, this temporary home? Here is this rich banquet of God’s grace, and yet we’re so foolish that sometimes we’re more excited to watch grass grow.
Another man in Jesus’ parable said, “I bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out. I ask you to excuse me.”
This man’s excuse is only a little better. He’s invested in his business, and it seems to be a successful one. Five yoke of oxen means he isn’t poor and he has quite a bit of land to work. There’s something strange about the way he talks though. Farmers all know that there are certain seasons when you have to work really hard. You have to make hay while the sun shines. In some parts of our country when it’s harvest season the combines are running 24-hours per day. And there are people in many lines of work who will occasionally need to miss church. Someone who travels might not be able to be home every weekend. People don’t stop needing doctors and police and firefighters on Sunday. That’s not what Jesus is talking about here. The man in Jesus’ parable is not someone who is regretfully missing out on the banquet because of the demands of this week that can’t be helped. No, his heart is with those oxen. He loves his business. He wants to try them out. He won’t be sad one bit to be with them instead of at the banquet.
It might seem a little strange to us that a man would rather be working than enjoying a banquet. And yet, how often do we share this man’s excuse in one way or another. In our lazy society our life’s obsessions may well be play and entertainment rather than God’s word, but is that any better? We could easily argue that it’s worse, because its entirely selfish and has very little lasting value even for this life. But whether your life’s ambitions are to grow your business or to memorize every joke in your favorite TV sitcom, it’s a pretty meager meal compared to what God offers. Here God is offering a banquet, and you’re too busy getting excited over a gummy bear you found under the couch.
Of the three excuses, the third man’s excuse is probably the one we’d be most willing to accept. He said, “I just got married, and so I am unable to attend.”
A wedding is certainly a special occasion. We tend to pause just about everything else in life for one. That’s not a new thing. It was similar back in Jesus’ day. Weddings don’t happen every day. Take all the time you need. Make it special. And yet, this too is not really a good reason to avoid the banquet. Don’t newlyweds also need food? Couldn’t they benefit from going together?
Like the other two, this man is concerned with worldly things. Marriage is certainly a great gift from God. Family is a wonderful blessing. Unlike the other two men, this man doesn’t seem to have any ambition. He has everything from life that he wants. But there is yet something more needful. Even marriage is temporary. Our marriage vows are not, “And we’ll live happily ever after,” but, “to be faithful in sickness and in health, as long as we both shall live.” The greatest events and most important events of this life are still not things that should keep us from God’s Word. Aren’t these things from God in the first place?
They are lousy excuses, the reasons these men did not heed the invitation or come to the banquet. Jesus was warning the Pharisees, who had the very Son of God sitting in the house with them, and yet so many of them were not interested in the rich fare prepared by their God for their souls. Jesus is also warning us with this. Nobody says, “I don’t really want to go to heaven.” But God’s kingdom of Grace isn’t something that is a long way off. It’s right here, in Word and Sacrament, prepared and served for you. Who is the servant and messenger but Christ himself, who has prepared this wondrous feast of his salvation? Don’t ignore the hunger pangs of your soul while you busy yourself with earthly things that don’t last. Heed his invitation, before it’s too late.
In the parable the master of the house was angry when he heard about these ungrateful guests who spurned his invitation. But his banquet would not go uneaten. “Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town, and bring in here the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame. ... Go out into the highways and hedges, and urge them to come in, so that my house may be filled.”
There is room for you. You, who are poor and crippled and blind and lame because of your sins. You who are from near and far. There’s a place at the banquet for you. Such a feast your Lord has prepared! Forgiveness of sins, life, salvation. He gives it to you for free, this meal he has paid for dearly, with his own blood shed at the cross. And this banquet has no end. The cup of salvation does not run dry. This feast is life, now on earth and forever in heaven.
As you live in this world and as you carry out your vocations, heed the banquet invitation and live for the feast. Don’t neglect the word of God and prayer. Don’t despise the sacraments. In these simple-seeming things you have a taste of heaven. Seek the Lord. Receive his gifts with thanksgiving. And be filled at the feast of his salvation. Amen.