28th.Sunday in Ordinary Time
Oct.15, 2023.: Matt. 22:1-14.
One of the most beautiful images
used in the Scriptures to depict what heaven is like is the wedding celebration and royal feast given by the King for his newly-wed son and bride.
Whatever grand feast we can imagine on earth, heaven is the feast of all feasts because the Lord of heaven and earth invites us to the most important banquet of all - not simply as bystanders or guests - but as members of Christ's own body, his bride the church!
Jesus' parable contains two lessons. The first has to do with the original guests invited to the
marriage feast. But how insulting for the invited guests to then refuse when the time for
celebrating came! The invited guests not only insulted the King but the heir to the throne as
well, because they openly refused to give both of them, the honor, they were due.
The second part of the story focuses on the "good and the bad" along the highways certainly referred to the Gentiles (non-Jews) and to sinners. This is certainly an invitation of grace -undeserved, unmerited favor and kindness!
Conclusion: Jesus directed this warning to the Jews of his day, both to convey how much God wanted them to share in the joy of his kingdom, but also to give a warning about the
consequences of refusing his Son, their Messiah and Savior. But this invitation also contains a
warning for those who refuse it or who approach the wedding feast unworthily. In a nutshell,
God's grace is a free gift, but it is also an awesome responsibility. “And they Would Not Come to the Feast!” Are you then ready to feast at the Lord's banquet table?