Sorry to have been out of the loop over the last few weeks!
Matthew 22:1-14
Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: 'The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a feast for his son's wedding. He sent his servants to call those who had been invited, but they would not come. Next he sent some more servants. "Tell those who have been invited" he said "that I have my banquet all prepared, my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, everything is ready. Come to the wedding." But they were not interested: one went off to his farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his servants, maltreated them and killed them. The king was furious. He despatched his troops, destroyed those murderers and burnt their town. Then he said to his servants, "The wedding is ready; but as those who were invited proved to be unworthy, go to the crossroads in the town and invite everyone you can find to the wedding". So these servants went out on to the roads and collected together everyone they could find, bad and good alike; and the wedding hall was filled with guests. When the king came in to look at the guests he noticed one man who was not wearing a wedding garment, and said to him, "How did you get in here, my friend, without a wedding garment?" And the man was silent. Then the king said to the attendants, "Bind him hand and foot and throw him out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth". For many are called, but few are chosen.'
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Many are called but few are chosen.
The king must have been having a very bad day. No matter what he tried to do things seemed to go from bad to worse. For months, maybe even years, he had been looking forward to this wedding. After all the careful preparation and planning that goes into a royal wedding I am sure he was relishing the opportunity to show off his magnificence and exuberance to all who had been invited to share in the festivities. A royal wedding has the added factors of dynasty and politics at play, the love of the young prince and his betrothed may not have been to the fore of discussion. In fact the Gospel text does not deal with the couple that are getting married at all; it was the king’s day.
So you can imagine how he felt when those who had been invited did not show up. They must have forgotten, reasoned the King, so he sent for them. Hearing the petty excuses, he blows! When he was finished punishing, he had everyone else rounded up, if they liked it or not, and marched into the wedding hall. I feel sorry for the character that did not have his wedding garment? I can picture him being bundled up and herded into the king’s palace. Whether he wanted to or not he was on the move. He had not time to think, never mind to change. Unfortunately for him, it did not matter, he was not as he should have been and was thrown out. Jesus finishes by saying many are called, few are chosen
Its all a bit mad, isn’t it? It makes no sense what. What about the man without the wedding garment? Wasn’t the man good enough as he was, after all the King asked him to come and really he hadn’t much choice? Wasn’t the kings action a bit drastic, throwing him out bound and gagged into the darkness? Stay away from that king, if that’s the way he does his business.
By times the Christian call does indeed seem a bit strange. The way we live and love as followers of Jesus Christ is completely different to the norms and mores of our times. As society shifts away from the Gospel, all the more different and alien a life lived by the Gospel appears. When you think about it, the Gospel demands a lot. It demands that we put ourselves in the second place, it demands hat we act in such a way as to deny what is often better for ourselves in deference to others. As Christians we are to be faithful in marriage or vows of religion. We are to live chastely when the world around us follows another pattern; one of self-indulgence and relative values.
Why was the man thrown out into the dark? That is a question that requires a deeper exegesis than I could possibly offer; however this is what I think. He came to the feast, you would assume by coercion. Maybe there was another motivation, possibly curiosity, possibly following the crowd? There was a free dinner on offer and when again was he ever going to have the opportunity to eat in the king’s dinning room. Before he knew what was going on he was in the presence of the king. But just maybe, his heart was not in it. He was there just for the sake of being there, rather than to share in what was really going on.
We all have an experience like that from time to time. We go too Mass, celebrate the sacraments, and pray the office or our prayers half-heartedly. We are ‘there’ but ‘we are not there’. The call of faith invites us to a much deeper experience of God than a mere going through the motions. It is no wonder that most of the time people have no idea we are Christian at all. If I am honest with myself can I see in my own life the mark of a disciple?
Many are called but few are chosen. I often lament that many of my own family and friends who call themselves Catholic have no more interest or knowledge of there faith than the man in the moon. The Church provides a service of a birth, deaths and marriage office, with the odd first communion, confirmation and Christmas Day thrown in. If the Church was closed there would be a bit of a fuss, but after a few days there would be no discernable difference in life. If we are really followers of Jesus our entire life should be a living witness to a living faith. Not only should we ‘turn up’, we should come dressed in the garments of faith hope and love, ready to celebrate every good thing the King has to offer. Our very being should radiate gratitude and love for God and for all His goodness and love.
Sometimes we are miserly with our faith; we keep it in the pantry. It is on the shelf - if we need it. When we finally dip into it, we find a stale taste and throw it out. Faith can only be relished if it is fresh and ripe. When we eat what is fresh and green and succulent we will not be content to eat from tins and jars – we will long for the fresh.
If we accept the invitation to the wedding, regardless of how the invitation is given, we have to choose well. Do we go half-heartedly or do we go fully dressed? If we go grudgingly and get thrown out we will spend our lives complaining and giving out about the nastiness of the King; but if we take up the invitation and go rejoicing our lives will be one long canticle of praise – everyone will know we have been to the best party imaginable – and they too will long for the courts of the Lord.
(Not exactly the Royal wedding in the Gospel, but fantastic music!)
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