Matthew 22:1-14 (NRSV)
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Chapter 22Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: Verse 2"The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. Verse 3He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Verse 4Again he sent other slaves, saying, 'Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.' Verse 5But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, Verse 6while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. Verse 7The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Verse 8Then he said to his slaves, 'The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Verse 9Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.' Verse 10Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests. Verse 11"But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, Verse 12and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?' And he was speechless. Verse 13Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' Verse 14For many are called, but few are chosen."
Devotion
Who doesn't love a good wedding? Who doesn't love a good party? Now, in the interests of full disclosure, I have politely refused the invitation to show up at a few wedding receptions in my time. Most of them were for people I was marrying but with whom I otherwise had no connection. Truth be told, it's not always much fun to sit at a reception where you don't know anyone except the bride and groom.
Maybe that was part of the problem in Jesus' day as well. The invited guests didn’t really know the head of the family—they only knew a God of their own making, one mostly concerned with rules and rituals. But again, truth be told, this one who was inviting them was motivated by love and concern for all. Unfortunately, they didn't seem to recognize this God and so the invitation was ignored.
Perhaps we have something to learn from this? Who do we know that might be ignoring the invitation because they don't know the host? How might we make them feel welcome and invited?
Prayer
Inviting God, thanks for your generous invitation. Help us positively respond to your invitation and then send us out to find those who don’t feel invited and make them welcome. Amen.