Gospel Reading: Matthew 22:1-14
One would think that an invitation by a king to a marriage feast would be considered a mark of favor and eagerly responded to. That was not the case in the parable. Did they not like the king or the king’s son? We are not told what lay beneath their refusal, even after a second invitation through the king’s servants. The reply was brutal: the invitations were totally ignored, and the servants were manhandled and killed. The king’s reprisal was swift and complete: the murderers were killed and their city burnt.
Others, however, were brought into the feast: ordinary people one could find on the main roads. We can imagine how happy they were to come to a feast prepared by the king. They could look forward to a sumptuous banquet with the finest food, drinks of the best quality, and a magnificent ambience. Did they all have on wedding garments? We are told in other sources that wedding garments were available for all who had been invited. The one man who did not have a wedding garment on had no valid reason not to be wearing one. It was there already; it would have been so simple to put it on. Was that reluctance due to stubbornness, to laziness, to a rebellious spirit? Again, we don’t know. The result was disastrous for the man, who was bound hand and foot and thrown out into the darkness.
The Father of Jesus is the King in the kingdom of heaven. He invites us all to partake of the continuing feast in his presence, not of calves and fattened cattle, but of the unmatchable beatitude, freedom, and wholeness he offers with love and mercy. The wedding garment is grace, our participation in his divine life and holiness. He offers it freely to all, but, like the invited guests in the parable, many choose not to come and may do violence to his messengers. Why do we not respond to the free gift of grace? Why do we choose not to put on the wedding garment? He gives us the means, especially in the sacraments, in the Eucharist, in prayer. May we respond eagerly to the invitation of the King of heaven.
Sister Gemma Pepera, CSFN
