Many Are Called

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Matthew 22:1-14

 The Parable of the Wedding Banquet

22 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: ² “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. ³ He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

⁴ “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

⁵ “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. ⁶ The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. ⁷ The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

⁸ “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. ⁹ So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ ¹⁰ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

¹¹ “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ¹² He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.

¹³ “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

¹⁴ “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

We get a sense of the frustration of the king whose invitation to the wedding feast of his son was totally ignored, his servants also ignored and some of them killed. Yet he persists in seeking guests and fills the banquet hall.  One guest, however, is not wearing a wedding garment and is expelled, a stark reminder that "many are invited, but few are chosen." 

We celebrate the Memorial of the Queenship of Mary today and this Gospel seems to have no connection to it, except that we might see Mary inviting people to the Feast of her Son and sharing his frustration at their indifference and even refusal of the invitation. Over the centuries she has appeared many times encouraging us to reform our lives and come to the Feast; many have but many more haven't. Let us pray that we accept it as well as for those who have yet to do so.

Bro. Rene

Dear Jesus, through the intercession of Mary our Queen, give us the wisdom and courage it takes to accept your invitation to the wedding feast. Amen.