'Jesus again in reply spoke to them in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast, but they refused to come. A second time he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those invited: “Behold, I have prepared my banquet, my calves and fattened cattle are killed, and everything is ready; come to the feast.”’ Some ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. The rest laid hold of his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged and sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come. Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.’ The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, bad and good alike, and the hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to meet the guests he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment. He said to him, ‘My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?’ But he was reduced to silence. Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’ Many are invited, but few are chosen (Mt. 22:1-14).”
The guests were invited twice and after they rejected the invitation the invitation was given to the outcasts. When the king (God) came he determined which guests were worthy to attend the feast. The wedding feast is the Kingdom of Heaven which is often referred to as the Messianic Banquet (Is. 25:6-10). The servants dispatched were the prophets who told God’s chosen people, the Israelites, to obey the Law and return to God. They ignored the warnings and illtreated or killed the prophets. The invited guests did not respond to the prophets in the appropriate moral or spiritual way, so they were found not worthy and a bleak future awaited them. God then invited the outcasts; the sinners, the tax collectors and those in trades that were despised. The sinners who were invited were expected to repent. The man who was not dressed in a wedding garment was someone who did not respond to God’s invitation with a conversion of heart and who is now leading a moral life filled with good deeds. Many are called by God to salvation, but they must, as St. Paul said, work out their salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12).
Almighty God, we are made worthy of salvation not by our own deeds but by the suffering, death and resurrection of your Son. In your mercy help us to be attentive to your word and lead moral lives in accordance with your will as we work out our salvation. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
References:
Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, & Roland E. Murphy, (Eds.). (1990, 1968). The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentis Hall, Inc.
Jose M. Casciaro, Santiago Ausin, Gonzalo Aranda, Claudio Basevi, Vincente Balaguer, Francisco Varo, James Gavigan, Brian McCarthy & Thomas McGovern (Eds.). (2017). The Navarre Bible - New Testament. Dublin 8, Ireland: Four Courts Press.
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