Celebration takes preparation

 

Jesus is such a great teacher!  His parables draw us in, have surprising elements and stunning punch lines.  Jesus was well aware of Ezekiel's preaching during the Exile.  It was full of promise.  The remnant left behind in a destroyed Jerusalem needed hope.  God promises that the covenant will be restored.  God will purify the people from their impurities and give them new hearts.  The gift will include writing God's statues in their hearts.  They will again be God's people.  God will again be their God. (Ezekiel 36:23-28)

But as the 22^nd chapter of Matthew begins, it’s obvious that the ultimate gift of God—the Reign of God, announced by Jesus—has been rejected by many of His own people (Matthew 22:1-14).  Jesus ends His previous parable, about the unjust tenant farmers by concluding, "Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit." (Matthew 21:43) There will be some believing Jews, Gentiles, and the new community of His followers who will be hearing this Gospel.  So Jesus next tells His listeners this sad but promising teaching story.

“The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son."  It’s so consoling to think of heaven as a wedding feast.  Jesus must have loved wedding feasts and found them to be the closest analogy He could find to give us a peek into what God has prepared for us.

The drama builds when the people first invited simply don't respond.  The king's response to them in the story replays the whole history of God's working with the Chosen People and Jesus' listeners knew it immediately.  Now comes the really good news: "Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find."  All along it was God's plan to offer salvation and the joys of the Kingdom of heaven, not only to a chosen few, but to everyone!  The victory Jesus will win over sin and death is universal.  It’s for all people.

Then, like most great parables, the story takes a surprising twist.  One of the invited guests doesn't have a wedding garment.  (It seems apparent that the person is without a wedding garment out of ingratitude and lack of serious respect for the king.  It’s not that the guest couldn't afford one.)  While the invitation is universal; that is, it’s free and unmerited, there’s also a universal call to holiness.  We’re called to receive the gifted invitation by living our lives as grateful guests.  We’re invited to be with Jesus by being like Him.  We’re called to come to the banquet ready to celebrate because we’ve been ready and open to giving our lives in imitation of the one who invited us.

How often it seems that we who have been invited to be part of the kingdom of heaven, simply take it for granted, as if all this gifted relationship with Jesus is about is our salvation.  We seem quite satisfied to know that we’re saved.  We can unconsciously act as though, "Well if I don't do anything seriously wrong, I'm in.  What more do I need to worry about?"

I think this parable makes it clear that our holiness has to "surpass that of the scribes and pharisees." (Matthew 5:20)   Jesus wants us to know that “it is mercy that I desire, not sacrifice." (Matthew 9:13) And, one of His final parables will tell us that our judgement—the decision about whether we ultimately will enter the Kingdom of heaven—depends upon whether we care for the "least of my brothers and sisters" ; feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for the sick and the imprisoned. (Matthew 25)

In our prayers, we should ask for the grace to receive the invitation worthily, then respond more and more fully to Jesus' invitation to love as we have been loved.  Let’s see, feel, and act upon the invitation to eternal life by dying to ourselves a bit more every day, particularly in each of our relationships.  Let's forget about our own wounds and become healers of others' wounds.  Let’s open our hearts to hear the cries of all those who are poor and on the margins of our societies.  Let’s ask ourselves how we can respond, what role we can take, and how we can make a difference.  Let's put on a wedding garment, committing ourselves, and witnessing to everyone, that we’re definitely ready for the banquet of heaven.