BANQUET OF JOY, BANQUET OF LIFE

And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. And He will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it. And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation. (Isaiah 25:6-9).

Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:3). Amen.

When a human being was dying in Israel, people had to bury him or her the same day. That person's friends and relatives would cover their heads and with tears would express their sorrow. No food, no joy, only mourning would accompany that event. One can hardly express with human words all the sorrow that strikes us when those die whom we love. Death separates people. Death causes pain and tears. Death takes our joy away. Death covers us with mourning.

This covering was spread over all the world since the fall of Adam and Eve. When they disobeyed God then they heard the just verdict, "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (Genesis 3:19). The covering of sorrow because of Adam's sin went over every single creature that God gave under dominion of men. The sin of man is so terrible, that the world is condemned at the consequence of that. God said to Adam, "Cursed is the ground for thy sake" (Genesis 3:17).

Dear brothers and sisters, we can see this covering of sin, of condemnation also in our daily lives. We see how people die. We see how the world is being ruined. Even our bodies are subjects to physical destruction. So serious is sin. So truth of God's words is proven, "The wages of sin is death."

Our life would have any hope if we had only just God. But our just God is also God of mercy and love. He proclaimed to the devil who tempted our forefathers to sin, "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel" (Genesis 3:15).

From times of the Fall there was a covering of mourning and sorrow over all the mankind. It was separating man from God, and from eternal life in His Kingdom. But today, dear fellow Christians, we have a completely different day. Today we celebrate fulfillment of all the prophecies of God about His victory over death. We see today how God fulfilled the prophecy He gave through His man Isaiah. It is written, "And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. And He will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations." God speaks about a very special place in His Israel. God speaks about His Jerusalem and God speaks about His Church. He said that in Jerusalem He would destroy the covering which is spread over all the people. God said that in Jerusalem He would destroy the veil that separates all the nations from Him.

Dear brothers and sisters, we celebrate today the destruction of the veil of death. Today we celebrate the destruction of the covering of sin. Today we celebrate the fulfillment of the promise given to Adam and Eve. Today with joyous shouts "Christ Is Risen! He Is Risen Indeed!" we confirm our faith in the truth that Jesus of Nazareth, the King of Jews, the Son of God, Who was crucified on the Cross of Calvary has paid the complete price for all our sins and ruined all of them on His holy body. He put that terrible veil, that sinful covering on Himself: the covering of our idolatry and godlessness, the covering of our treasons and murders, the covering of our wickedness and lusts and He ruined this sorrowful and deathful covering with His holy precious blood.

God foretold through Isaiah, "And He will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations." Jesus Christ has destroyed the veil of the sin. It does not exist any more above any person that for salvation relies only on Jesus. As it is written in the letter to Ephesians (2:14-18), "For he [Jesus Christ] is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father."

Only though Jesus Christ we have peace with God. Only through Jesus this peace belongs to the Jews. Only through Jesus this peace belongs to the Iraqis and to any people in the world. There is no other Reconciler. Only in Christ the prophecy has been fulfilled that was foretold 700 years before the Messiah was given birth by Virgin Mary, "He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it."

What a wonderful prophecy and what a glorious fulfillment of the prophecy! Christ, our Lord has swallowed death forever. Only God could do that. And He has done that by becoming the true man and by dying on the cross for us. It does not matter how hard the devil and the world would try to persuade us in their own deceitful things, Christ did swallow death. It does not matter how hard the world with its numerous schools of philosophy would prompt our minds and bodies to revolt against this truth of God, there is one sure fact - death is swallowed by Jesus. Any proof? Christ Is Risen! This is our proof! And today this risen Christ wipes away tears off our faces. He gives a sure hope. And this hope is neither hope of sorrow nor funeral nor mourning. But our hope is the hope of happiness and joyous banquet and eternal life in Christ's Kingdom.

Christ is risen. And His resurrection announced that in Christ's name we are declared justified. Resurrection of our God has declared that our sins are forgiven. Resurrection of the Lord is the proof that we shall rise to eternal life when Jesus will return in the full glory of God. As Apostle Paul testifies, "So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 15:54-58).

Beloved Christians in the Risen Savior, Christ is risen - so we also shall rise when He returns. And we are looking forward to that time. Jesus will come soon. But even if bodies die before His coming they will rise again when He appears. The Lord says, "For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (Matthew 24:27-31).

And then on that another glorious day we will be taken into heaven. We will be taken into the Kingdom of God where neither death nor sufferings nor tears be ever happening again. There the risen Lord Himself will take care of all our needs and He will spread the banquet for us.

In fact even today we do have a foretaste of the Kingdom of Heaven and of eternal life in God's mountain, in the Church. As Isaiah prophesies, "And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined." The Lord says we should forget of mourning. He says we should forget about sorrow. He says that instead of sorrow He prepares for us triumph of our resurrection. And He also says He spreads here, in His Church a special banquet. This banquet is not the banquet of funeral but this banquet is the banquet of life gained for us by the Risen Lord.

One cannot find this triumphal banquet outside the Church. Someone may think he can worship God in other places. And so he can. Any Christian can worship God anywhere. But nowhere else he will find this wonderful banquet. Nowhere else he will find this comfort that Christ gives to His Church. Nowhere else can one receive the true and holy body and blood of our Savior Jesus Christ. This wonderful meal is for forgiveness of our sins and this banquet strengthens our hope for eternal life.

The Lord gives His real holy body and blood only in the Church and to the Church. And His Supper is the triumph of our Savior over the veil of death. This is a triumph of forgiveness of our sins and strengthening of God's people through the renewal of faith in Christ crucified and risen. The banquet of the Lord is also a triumph of the future visible fellowship of our Savior and His Church in the Kingdom of Heaven. This is why we can triumphantly and joyfully magnify the most glorious resurrection of Christ and join Isaiah in saying, "Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation!" This is His salvation, for it could be accomplished only by the Son of God. And He has accomplished this salvation for us, so that we could live eternally. For Christ Is Risen! He Is Risen Indeed!

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you (1 Corinthians 16:23). Amen.