28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Oct. 12, 2008 (Mt 22:1-14)
Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and elders of the people 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. The king 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 handsand feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.' Many are invited, but few are chosen."
In the history of salvation, we see God as the first and the greatest lover. He is Trinitarian, a community of love. He created man out of love. He redeemed man because of love. He continues to love man up to this very day. He is the God of Love. HE IS LOVE.
It is God who first loved us and He calls us all to love Him back. He invites everyone to His kingdom whose foundation is love itself. Nevertheless, He is met with so much rejection. His people would rather concern themselves with worldly affairs than attend His banquet.
One might find it strange that the people in the parable could easily turn down an invitation from their king. Since they know that the king is very powerful, there is a tendency for them to "suck up" on their king to gain influence. Or, if this is not the case, they should have been afraid of what the king can do if he gets mad. The people invited rejected the king's invitation as if it were no big deal. In the same way, isn't it strange that we sometimes refuse to accept God's call to His kingdom? The Kingdom of God is eternal. And considering that its privation means hell, I don't think anyone in his right mind will ever refuse it.
What we fail to do, most of the time, is to see the bigger picture. We always look at "living the kingdom of God" as burdensome. We do not see the eternal effects of the spiritual life we neglect. We give too much value to our life here on earth, not knowing that we have a wedding feast to attend - an eternal one!
In the second part of the parable, we see an unworthy guest thrown away from the feast. This shows us the reality that the Kingdom of God requires something from us. Being a member of the Church does not guarantee our salvation. The Kingdom of God is only for pure people. We must strive to be worthy of the call of God. Just because we are invited to God's banquet, it doesn't mean we can enter whenever we please. The invitation of God is not just to come to His feast, but also to be worthy of it. Thus, we must be properly attired.
Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and elders of the people 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. The king 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 handsand feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.' Many are invited, but few are chosen."
In the history of salvation, we see God as the first and the greatest lover. He is Trinitarian, a community of love. He created man out of love. He redeemed man because of love. He continues to love man up to this very day. He is the God of Love. HE IS LOVE.
It is God who first loved us and He calls us all to love Him back. He invites everyone to His kingdom whose foundation is love itself. Nevertheless, He is met with so much rejection. His people would rather concern themselves with worldly affairs than attend His banquet.
One might find it strange that the people in the parable could easily turn down an invitation from their king. Since they know that the king is very powerful, there is a tendency for them to "suck up" on their king to gain influence. Or, if this is not the case, they should have been afraid of what the king can do if he gets mad. The people invited rejected the king's invitation as if it were no big deal. In the same way, isn't it strange that we sometimes refuse to accept God's call to His kingdom? The Kingdom of God is eternal. And considering that its privation means hell, I don't think anyone in his right mind will ever refuse it.
What we fail to do, most of the time, is to see the bigger picture. We always look at "living the kingdom of God" as burdensome. We do not see the eternal effects of the spiritual life we neglect. We give too much value to our life here on earth, not knowing that we have a wedding feast to attend - an eternal one!
In the second part of the parable, we see an unworthy guest thrown away from the feast. This shows us the reality that the Kingdom of God requires something from us. Being a member of the Church does not guarantee our salvation. The Kingdom of God is only for pure people. We must strive to be worthy of the call of God. Just because we are invited to God's banquet, it doesn't mean we can enter whenever we please. The invitation of God is not just to come to His feast, but also to be worthy of it. Thus, we must be properly attired.
No comments:
Post a Comment