Again, he sent other servants, instructing them to say to the invited guests, ‘I have prepared
a banquet, slaughtered my fattened calves and other animals, and now, everything is
ready. Come to the wedding!’ But they paid no attention and went away, some to their
farms, and some to their work. Others seized the servants of the king, insulted them
and killed them.
The king was furious. He sent his troops to destroy those murderers and burn their city.
Then he said to his servants,
‘The wedding banquet is prepared, but the invited guests were not worthy. Go instead
to the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding feast.’
The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, good and bad
alike, so that the hall was filled with guests.
The king came in to see the wedding guests, and he noticed a man not wearing a wedding
garment. So he said to him,‘Friend, how did you get in without the wedding clothes?’ But
the man remained silent. So the king said to his servants, ‘Bind his hands and feet and
throw him into the outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Reflection:
The parable of the wedding banquet opens with a limited invitation followed by rejection;
and then an open invitation, followed by an expulsion. How do we make sense of these
dynamics? Salvation was first offered to the “Chosen People” of Israel. It is typical of human
beings not to value what is offered free! The invited ones are too busy with their myopic
projects to care for the banquet. The invitation is then offered freely to everyone: The Gospel
goes out to all four directions in the world and all are invited. It is not enough that one responds
to this invitation by being present: one must be present with the right attitude of the heart, the
wedding garment, which is non-negotiable. You may come as you are, but as you enter, put
on the mind of Christ (cf. Phil. 2: 4-11) so that you will be identified, received, and served
at the banquet of life.