Today’s Gospel parable from Matthew’s Gospel resembles last week’s parable. Both are directed toward the leaders of the Jews. Instead of last week’s landowner of a vineyard with his son, today we have a king who is giving a wedding banquet for his son. There are two mysteries in the story.
The first is why people would not show up to a free wedding banquet. In the version of this parable in Luke’s Gospel (14:16-24), plausible reasons are given, like a recent marriage, or a recent purchase of land or livestock needing attention. Matthew’s account is more harsh: Those invited ignore the king’s invitation and not only put their own business first, they even attack the servants bearing the invitations. The king takes his revenge and then has his servants fill the banquet places with regular folks, found here and there, “the good and bad alike.”
Now we get to the second mystery. The king sees a guest there without a wedding garment. The custom was that the host of the wedding offered each guest a special robe, so there was no excuse for not having one. The irate king has him bound and thrown out. It seems that this parable is criticizing two things. It is aimed at hypocrisy, coming to the banquet without internal repentance and sanctification (the wedding garment). And it is aimed at the social separation between the rich and the poor, and other kinds of social status divisions within the Judaism of Jesus’ day, which is found in the background of many Gospel stories. Rich folks and other high-status people had first place in temple practice. Only after the rich folks are invited in the parable, but fail to show up, do the poor people get asked. The banquet itself is an image of God’s kingdom, both in Hebrew Scripture and in our Gospels. In today’s first reading from Isaiah we hear that … the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines. And of course for us Christians, the Eucharistic banquet that Jesus established at the Last Supper is what has held us together as Church throughout the centuries.
In our own day, this parable asks us: Are we good banquet guests? What invitations do we refuse that could nourish our relationship with the Lord? In our busy lives, do we manage to let the Lord have a bit of our time? Do we admit to being Catholic but not really put on the garment of regular involvement with the Church, and its call to serve others? Do we stay in our safe places without getting to know and appreciate people of different social status or nationalities? We’ve all been invited.
— Blog entry by Sister Mary Garascia
The post October 11, 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Invited: a Sunday Scriptures blog first appeared on Sisters of the Precious Blood.