Sermon Notes — May 4, 2025
John 7:37-39
May 4, 2025
Dr. Craig Goff
Won’t You Come
In the Jewish tradition, there are a lot of stories about the prophet Elijah. A lot of those stories are in the Bible, but a lot of them are found in other places, in extra-canonical writings.
In many of those stories the prophet is often depicted as something of a magician who leads people to a deeper understanding of God and life.
In one story Elijah was walking down the street. As he walked by one particular house, he thought he heard the sound of a party. Elijah loved parties. Just as he was about to knock on the door and see if a friendly host might invite him in; he suddenly decided to do something even more fun. Elijah liked to go to parties. Elijah also liked to have fun.
He spun around and was suddenly clothed in the rags of a beggar. His clothes were torn and tattered from the top of his head to the bottom of his shoes. He rapped on the door.
A man opened the door and looked at him. “I was just outside,” said Elijah, oozing as much charm as is possible for a prophet of the Most High, “and I thought I heard the sound of a party. If this is true, I was wondering if there might be room for one like me.”
The man looked Elijah up and down, of course not knowing he was Elijah, and the look in his eyes was not one of approval. “You are correct,” the man said, “we are having a party. It is the wedding of my daughter. The feast is flourishing, but for one such as you, there is no room.”
The door slammed in Elijah’s face.
Elijah then took three steps back and spun around a second time. The rags of a beggar magically became the fine garb of a gentleman. He knocked on the door a second time.
The same man opened the door and looked Elijah up and down. “I was just outside” the prophet said, his request for entry memorized, “when I thought I heard the sound of a party. If this is true, I wondered if there might be room for one like me.”
The man gazed at Elijah in his fine clothes. “Well sir, you are correct, “the man said, “It is the wedding of my daughter. The feast is flourishing, but for one such as you there is always room.”
Elijah was ushered in. This time the door slammed behind him. It was time to party! There was a long table, sagging with food. The guest milled about, helping themselves to this delicacy and that sweet morsel. Elijah walked up and down the table looking at all that was there. He suddenly scooped up a handful of food and stuffed it in one of his pockets. Some of the guests saw what he had done and stepped back.
He took some more food and packed his other pockets with it. More guests stepped back. Then he began pushing food into his shirt and vest, most of it falling on the floor. All the guests were watching in astonishment and disgust. The host was summoned and came and stood next to Elijah as the prophet took a jar of wine and poured it over his fine clothes — first over one shoulder, then the other, and finally down the middle of his shirt.
“Sir,” the host finally said to Elijah, “I do not understand. I invite you to the wedding of my daughter and you stuff food into your fine clothes and pour wine over your elegant attire.”
“Well,” said Elijah, “It makes perfect sense to me. When I, Elijah, came to your house in the rags of a beggar, you refused to let me in. When I, the same Elijah, came to your house in the clothes of a gentleman, I was admitted. I could only conclude that you had invited my clothes to the feast, so I proceeded to feed them.”
A few verses above the passage we heard read this morning Jesus says essentially the same thing in v.24.
“do not judge by appearances.”
Then verse 37 tells us that on the last and greatest day of the festival Jesus was attending with his disciples, he stood up and said:
“let anyone who is thirsty come to me.”
I consulted over 30 different translations of that verse, which might sound like an exaggeration, but with Google is actually pretty easy. I didn’t have to go out and buy thirty Bibles.
Almost every one of those translations includes one of two words….either “anyone” or “whoever”. (and those that don’t have a word meaning essentially the same thing).
In other words, when Jesus says “let anyone come to me” he literally means anyone and everyone.
Later in the Upper Room, Jesus invites everyone who was gathered there to join in the meal that he blessed.
He invited Judas who would betray him to share in the bread and the wine. He invited Simon Peter who would deny ever knowing him to share in the bread and the cup. He invited Thomas with his doubts and all the others to share in the bread and cup which is his body and blood.
And he invites all of us too, to this, his table.
He invites me with all my imperfections. He invites all the members of the SPRC who are responsible for the relationship between the staff and the church, for encouraging the staff and lifting them up. He invites our Lay Leader who did such a great job planning our Easter Sunrise Service, the chair of the Church Council, every member and every visitor. He invites us all to this table. The rich, the poor, the he, the she, the they. The straight, the gay, the old the young…We are all welcomed, we are all loved and the only person who can keep you away is yourself. So, won’t you come?