St. Nicholas Orthodox Church- Cedarburg, WI

09/07/2026

Sermon Given on Sunday, September 6, 2026
Matthew 22:2-14
The Kingdom of Heaven as a Wedding Feast

One of the most common Scriptural images for what heaven is, is the image of a wedding feast. And here, in today’s Gospel, we heard read aloud just such a passage. So, for these next few minutes, let us focus on this idea of the kingdom of heaven being like a wedding feast. And to do so, I will make three points about wedding feasts that are relevant to how we conceive of our life with Christ for all eternity.

A wedding feast is something that we are invited to. You can’t just show up at a wedding feast and expect to be let in. So, how does this relate to God interacting with mankind and offering us salvation? Well, to be with Christ does require an invitation. He invites. We accept. God makes the first move toward us. He is the initiator. He is in charge. And here is the invitation, from the mouth of the Savior Jesus Christ Himself. “Come to Me, all you who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” We must be invited in order to find ourselves in an unending relationship with our Creator in His kingdom, but part of the good news of the Gospel is that this invitation goes out to each and every single person. In other words, there is no race or ethnicity or nationality, no social status, no mental ability, no age, no level of righteousness, there is no group of people anywhere, who are not being invited by God to have a faithful relationship with Him, so that He may lavish upon them the riches of His Kingdom and everlasting life. As we heard in the Gospel reading, after the first group of invited guests made up various excuses and failed to come, then the invitations were sent out to all so that, as Jesus taught, both the good and the bad were welcomed into the feast. The call of God to come to Him in faith is universal, without limits and for all mankind. That’s the first point.

The second point is this: although all are invited into the banquet, that is, to a fulfilling relationship with God, there is preparation and care that must be taken. The part of the parable that mentions the man who was not dressed properly and who was therefore thrown out of the banquet, is an extremely important part to focus on. Who goes to a wedding reception dressed in ripped shorts and a dirty t-shirt? To do so would be an offense to the one hosting the event. In like manner, when we are invited by God to His eternal banquet feast through our faith in Jesus Christ, we cannot expect to just show up, rudely bang on the door, and be allowed in.

The improper attire of the man in the story is symbolic of lack of care for one’s own soul. It suggests that the person who cynically relies upon the good graces of God to let everyone in, while showing no respect to God or desire to conform His will, is not going to be able to feast in God’s kingdom. Going back to point one. All are invited. The call of the good news of Jesus Christ is meant to be shared with all, even, and especially the bad, the sinners. But, how we conduct ourselves once we receive the invitation, that really matters. If we hear the Gospel and presume, without faith, that just because we heard that God is merciful, it doesn’t really matter how we live our lives, we are mistaken. We must take care of our soul in a responsible way and make preparations, in this life, to be with God forever in the next.

But even that is not enough. No, we could clothe ourselves in virtues of piety and still find ourselves on the outside of the banquet, looking in. How is that so? Well, because of the desperate state of the human condition. All of our righteousness is as filthy rags, according to Holy Scripture. We cannot, on our own, make for ourselves, an acceptable wedding feast garment, no matter how much good we do. In other words, good works don’t earn us salvation. We can’t, by ourselves, make our souls presentable to God. God gives salvation freely, and our only acceptable wedding garment is Jesus Christ Himself. Through being united to the Lord in baptism and in faith, we “put on Christ” as the Scriptures teach. He becomes our covering. He is our uniform. He washes us clean. He becomes our beauty. He heals us from the inside so that we are acceptable and can come to the feast and participate in the celebrations. Jesus Christ, and He alone, makes it possible for us to enjoy our Creator God forever.

A few more thoughts on this idea of our relationship with Christ being likened to putting Him on, as somebody puts on their clothes. People that work in occupations where a recognizable uniform is required, understand the power that a uniform has. Those in the military, police and fire service, clergy, and many other fields, wear special clothes when they are “on duty.” It signifies to others, what their role and responsibility and authority is, and it reminds the one wearing that uniform of those same things. The way we dress can have a profound effect on how we act and how we and others regard ourselves. If we think of Christ as our covering, as our wedding garment, as our uniform, as our beauty, then we will be encouraged to act and think and speak in ways that are befitting of Christ.

The third and final point is this. Our salvation is full of joy. When people gather to eat and drink after attending the wedding of a couple whom they love and care about, it is a joyous, celebratory event. It is more than shallow happiness. Something marvelous and very profound has happened at that wedding, and now, it is time to celebrate that new, joyful reality. Heaven has been mischaracterized by some, as being a place, merely of sensual delights. But it is so much deeper and more substantial than that.

Our greatest desires and yearnings will be fulfilled. In being with God and all those who love Him and have faithfully served Him, we will come to a new understanding of who we are and what our purpose is. We will experience, love and beauty and truth and goodness in a way that we never imagined was possible in this life. And what’s more, this process will never end, but will be continuous without ever being boring or stagnant. Life in God’s kingdom will be dynamic and full of surprises. It will be a never-ending, deeply satisfying journey to continually draw closer to the Inexhaustible One, an explosion of love, a refreshing fountain of goodness. This is what it means to have life in Christ. And because God loves us so much, He gives us the opportunity to begin to experience a taste of all this goodness even in this life. This is what a faithful life in the Church can be, a sneak preview of the glories of the resurrection.

09/01/2026

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The new Liturgical Year begins today!

"O Fashioner of all creation, who made seasons and years by Your own authority, bless the crown of the year with Your goodness, O Lord, and preserve our rulers and Your city in peace, at the intercession of the Theotokos, and save us."
-Apolytikion for the New Liturgical Year, Mode Two

You can find a poster of this simplified visual representation of the liturgical calendar in the Ancient Faith Store. https://store.ancientfaith.com/poster-liturgical-calendar-of-the-orthodox-church/

09/01/2026

Blessed Church New Year!

09/01/2026

Blessed Church New Year!

Today's Gospel reading: Luke 4:16-22

At that time, Jesus came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, and He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was His custom, and stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Having unrolled the scroll, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Then He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.

08/31/2026

Come and join us!

08/31/2026

Feast of the Elevation of the Cross Services
September 13, 5pm- Great Vespers
September 14, 9am- Matins & Divine Liturgy

08/31/2026

Nativity of the Theotokos Services, September 7
5pm Matins
6:15pm Divine Liturgy

08/31/2026

Sermon Given on Sunday, August 30, 2026
Matthew 21:33-42
The Rejected Stone & Something New

In 1992, a little-known back-up quarterback was traded from one NFL team to another. This quarterback had no success in his professional career before the trade. Out of four passes thrown, two were intercepted by the other team and none were completed to his teammates. The coach of his first team didn’t really like him. That coach once said that it would take his starting quarterback going down in a plane crash, before he would rely on his back-up. While this quarterback was in college, he had been in a serious car accident that was nearly fatal. As a result of his injuries, he had to have several feet of his intestines removed. Even when he was traded to his second team, he almost didn’t pass his physical due to a degenerative hip condition. His career was almost over before it really got started.

I’m sure several of you have guessed by now that I am talking about Brett Favre. And if you know anything about NFL football during the last 30 years, you probably know that he was one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. After being traded from the Atlanta Falcons to the Green Bay Packers, he achieved many incredible feats. He led the Packers to two Super Bowls. He won the league MVP award three years in a row. He holds several all-time records. He played 20 seasons in the NFL and was known for his durability, his ability to lead his team in come-from-behind wins, and his general zeal for the game. He was the centerpiece of a dynasty in Green Bay that dominated their division and at times, their conference, for over a decade.

So, why am I talking about Brett Favre and Green Bay Packers football during the sermon? Well, in Wisconsin, it’s certainly an easy way to get some attention. But really, there is a much deeper point. I use this illustration of a quarterback who was cast off from his first team without much thought, and who turned his second team into a powerhouse of winning, as an illustration of the Old Testament verse that our Lord Jesus quoted at the end of our Gospel reading from St. Matthew. It comes from the Psalms. Both the Psalmist and our Lord said, “The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.”

I don’t know much about quarrying stone, but I can imagine a scenario where a stone quarry receives an important order for a certain number of tons of beautiful marble for a high-profile building that is going to be built. As the quarry foreman is overseeing the excavation of this beautiful stone, he is concerned about quality. After all, this stone will be placed in a very visible place in a very important building. It must meet high standards. When some of the marble is quarried, and, after examination, it doesn’t meet the specifications of the one who ordered it, (or the quarry foreman’s keen eye), it is rejected, set off to the side for perhaps another, less important project or possibly even forgotten about forever. But our Scripture passage takes a twist because it says that stone which was rejected has now, marvelously become the most important stone, the cornerstone, in a new building . And the Psalmist exclaims with wonder, “This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes!”

As we heard, Jesus quotes this verse after having just told a story to the Jewish leaders which explained, in only thinly veiled language, that they were wrongly rejecting Him. In the story, the householder and vineyard owner represents God the Father who sends various representatives, that is the prophets, to the tenants, which represent the Jewish nation. The tenants disrespected the representatives of the householder and so He sends His son, saying, “[Surely] they will respect my son.” Well, they don’t respect Him at all and they even have the audacity to kill him, greedily thinking that they can then inherit the householder’s property. The Lord is prophesying His own rejection and eventual murder by the Jewish leaders. He is the son, sent to represent His father, who is rejected and killed. He is also the stone which was cast aside, only to become the chief building block of something new and revolutionary.

That something, which the Psalmist said is the Lord’s doing and is marvelous in our eyes, is the Church. Christ is both the foundation or cornerstone, and the head of the Church. Now, the prophets predicted that He would be despised and rejected. This is how Isaiah described the Messiah many hundreds of years before He came. “He had no form or glory... He had no form or beauty. [I]n comparison to all men, His form was lacking in honor…. His face was turned away, and He was dishonored and not esteemed.” And here is how another prophet, just a few decades before the time of Jesus, described how the Messiah would be received by the people: “He is useless to us because He opposes our deeds. He has become for us as a refutation of our purposes. Even seeing Him is a burden to us.” (Wisdom of Solomon) Indeed, when our Lord was rejected by the very people He grew up with in His hometown of Nazareth and the region of Galilee, He appropriately said, “A prophet has no honor in his own country.”

There was nothing visually compelling or exceptional about Jesus. He was apparently very average looking. He didn’t stand before men as some giant demi-god or ancient hero, robust and manly, striking fear in the hearts of enemies by sheer physical strength, such as Hercules or Beowulf were said to have done. So, when Jesus riled the religious leaders by exposing their hypocrisy, they began to despise Him. They didn’t see the inherent beauty and perfection in Christ. He did not fit their expectations of what the Messiah was to be, even though the prophets predicted what I just mentioned. And so, like an imperfect stone, they cast Him aside and crucified Him. And that was all anticipated by the Father. It was no surprise. Christ would be crucified and rejected by His people, but He would become the glorious cornerstone for a new thing that God was building, the Church.

This follows the pattern that repeats so often throughout both the Old and New Testaments. The one who is regarded as weak and powerless is used by God to glorify His Name and do mighty things. Joseph was sold into slavery and then imprisoned, and he rose to be a powerful ruler in Egypt, second only to the Pharaoh himself. Joseph said about his mistreatment and humiliation at the hands of his own brothers, “man meant it to me for evil, but God meant it to me for good.” Moses had a speech impediment and he once fled the royal house in fear after he killed a man. But he would be used by God to be a great deliverer of His people. David was the youngest of Jesse’s many sons. He didn’t look like a warrior. But it was young David who slew the giant Goliath and was later anointed as king. The Apostle Paul, had this to say about himself and his fellow apostles. “ For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake…” These foolish, lowly, despised and poor apostles were the ones who turned the world upside down in a peaceful revolution for Jesus Christ. They were average men, many of them blue collar worker types, fishermen, a tentmaker, a tax collector, and God used them to do a great work.

And that is the case with so many of the saints. Yes, a few of them were rich or powerful, some of them were kings or queens. But so many of them were average people, and sometimes, they were great sinners. The saints are a tremendous encouragement to us, because so many of them are like us. God takes the normal, average, even lowly and despised people of the world, and lifts them up and uses them to magnify His greatness. This is a great joy and a comfort to understand, because knowing this, we can be sure that if we have faith, God will glorify Himself through us as well. And in glorifying Him, we will become more and more like Him.

08/20/2026

Annual Church Picnic, Cedar Pointe Park, Cedarburg, August 16, 2026