ALL ARE INVITED TO THE FEAST OF SALVATION

XXVIII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME: Mt 22:1-14

Matthew presents a sequence of events, which leads to the three parables we have been reading in these Sundays. Jesus entered Jerusalem, went to the the Temple and expelled all those who were selling and buying in the Temple. That action puzzled many people and enraged the religious leaders. The following day, coming from Bethany, where he spent the night, Jesus went back to Jerusalem, and seeing a fig tree, which had nothing on it but leaves, he cursed it, because it had no fruits. The fruitless tree was a symbol of the fruitless people that did not produce fruits of righteousness and refused to change their ways and believe in the Good News of salvation.

When he arrived in Jerusalem and entered the Temple again, the elders and the chief priests addressed him, questioning his actions: What authority do you have to come in here and disrupt the normal running of the Temple? Who has given you such authority? Jesus did not answer about his authority, but questioned them instead about John’s baptism. Afraid of the people, who held them in poor consideration, they answer that they did not know if John’s baptism came from heaven or was of human origin (Mt 21:27).

Jesus took this opportunity to denounce and indict the leaders for their refusal to believe and for their lack of deeds of obedience and faithfulness, by telling three parables: a) the father with two sons (Mt 21:18-32), b) the wicked tenants (Mt 21:33-46), c) the guests who refused to attend the wedding of the king’s son.

All three parables present the refusal of the leaders to obey, to recognise God’s rights and to ignore and despise God’s invitation to share in his work and in his joy. This refusal went so far as killing the messengers and the son himself. While they exclude themselves from participating in the feast of salvation, others take their place, even the ones that are called at the last moment.

These parables leave it very clear that we cannot take God for granted. Our salvation depends on our actions of faithfulness to God’s call; and no one should think that his salvation is guaranteed no matter what. In fact, the parables of the wicked tenants and of the disdainful guests speak openly of judgement and punishment.

Isaiah had already presented salvation as a great feast organised and prepared by God for his people. Jesus speaks of that feast as a wedding feast, the wedding of the king’s son. The invited guests refused to take part in the feast, finding all kinds of excuses to absent themselves from the wedding. Their attitude was an attitude of defiance and revolt, considering the king’s invitation as insignificant. 

The king easily found a way out, by inviting everybody to the wedding. Nobody was excluded, but the ones that excluded themselves; and great numbers of people answered the call, in such a way that “the wedding hall was filled with guests” (Mt 22:10). Hearing this, it sounds very easy and effortless to enter God’s kingdom and seat at his table, as if God does everything for us and we have just to seat and enjoy ourselves. However, the parable leaves a warning: one guest was not properly dressed; he dared to go in without considering the decorum needed in the king’s presence, and he was punished for that, being thrown out of the feast. God’s call must be answered with the respect due to God.

At baptism, we were dressed in white and told to keep that vestment pure for the kingdom of heaven. Paul wrote that we should “put on the armour of light”, that is “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Ro 13:12,14).