“The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. . . . Many are invited, but few are chosen.”
Today’s Gospel reading says that Jesus “again spoke to the chief priests and the elders,” meaning this wasn’t the first parable he had shared with them, most likely within a short time frame. The wedding feast recalls other dinners that Jesus describes in other parables, and the last line of the reading resounds: “Many are invited, but few are chosen.”
God, help me understand what you mean by the Kingdom of heaven. Is it here and now or in time to come and always? Or is it both? I think Jesus refers to a little of both. He uses the word invitation six times in the reading and feast five times. For certain, there is almost a direct reference to the prophets who were mistreated and killed. But Jesus also speaks to every person who has ears to hear. I’m not sure what to make of the guest who came without a wedding garment, who was bound and cast into the darkness. Does Jesus mean by this to straighten up, live a good life, and match the self-identification with the occasion—coming to meet God in the Kingdom of heaven?
I know God wants me to recognize him throughout the day. God, give me the grace to know an invitation when I receive one—whether that might be family or a neighbor or a stranger—and respond by bringing the Kingdom of heaven into that moment. As the Gospel acclamation says, “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.