Word to the Wise
Thursday, August 18, 2011 - Thursday in the 20th Week in Ordinary Time
[Judg 11:29-39a and Matt 22:1-14,1046]Many are invited but few are chosen....
Each of the four gospels has its favorite "themes" and ideas from Jesus' teaching. In the Gospel of Matthew, compassion and responsibility are prominent. In the Lord's Prayer in the Sermon on the Mount, we find the words, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us!" We pray for God's compassion and mercy but we accept also the responsibility of showing that same compassion and mercy to others. In the parable of the "unforgiving servant," the servant who receives forgiveness of his debts to the Master but refuses to show the same forgiveness to a fellow servant is called to severe account! The story of the wedding banquet today provides us with another example of compassion and responsibility.
The King in the story is providing a wedding feast for his son! This is a very important occasion and the honor of the King and the son are on the line! The original guests fail to respond, or if they do respond, they mistreat the messengers! Thus the first offer of compassion is disregarded, ignored or dishonored. The responsibility results in the destruction of the original guests! Then the second offer of compassion goes out to everyone, "bad and good alike," and this time the hall is filled. However, one of the guests takes the invitation for granted and fails to dress appropriately, which dishonors the King and the son. The responsibility again falls heavily on the offender.
The community for which the Gospel of Matthew was originally written contained many Jewish converts. They could easily see that the Children of Israel might be considered as the first invitees historically. The second group of invitees would be anyone who accepted Jesus' invitation - Jews and Gentiles alike. But the invitation is a serious one and it is not just a matter of "showing up." The invitees have a responsibility to respect the King, his Son and the occasion! Many are invited, but few are chosen, not because the King is arbitrary or capricious, but because the invitees fail in their responsibility!
The lesson is one that we can take to heart in our own time. It is very easy to take our sacramental Catholic faith for granted and fail to see the importance of the invitation in it. We may think that all we have to do is "show up!" The story is not about what we should wear to church (although that could be the subject of a considerable homily) but how we respond to God's invitation to the banquet of his Son, which may include how we treat our fellow invitees as well as our personal response, symbolized by the "wedding garment." What do we mean by our "R.S.V.P.?" AMEN
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