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1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come. 4 “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’ 5 “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless. 13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:1-14 NIV Bible)
Growing up in a family with limited means, a growing and hungry boy sometimess overreached the resources. That's a nice way of saying a poor fat boy sometimes doesn't eat all he would like to eat. "Are you going to eat that?" was a question that my sister soon tired of hearing from me. And when caught asking that my mother would respond in Spanish, "¡No es boda!" which means "This is not a wedding." I never knew what she meant until one day we were invited to a cousin's wedding on the land where they were sharecroppers. They were not rich either, but a wedding was a BIG occasion and no expense was spared. There were miles of tables filled with food, and special food not usually found in daily meals. And that was the Aha! moment! I know what Mom means when she says, "¡No es boda!" This is a boda and I'm here! Not too long ago a movie was made about two guys who discovered there were plenty of resources at weddings and so they became professional wedding crashers, scouring the newspapers (remember them?) for upcoming weddings and so they would prepare themselves for each, rehearsing lines and procedures so they could be successful in all their desires, not all of them good.
Jesus speaks of a wedding feast thrown by a king for his son. I'll pause and let your mind run wild. If a poor sharecroppers lays out a mile-long feast for his daughter, how much more would a king do for his son? The resources of a king outweigh those of a sharecropper. Yes, even in Jesus' day, a king was rich in the riches of the day, and so this parable draws the attention of those who did not have many resources and who seemed to follow Jesus to see what miracle He might perform that involved food. So, the hungry would be drawn to stories about food. So are fat boys. But this story has a twist. In this story, those whom the king invited did not want to attend. A second invitation had to be shared with them, this time with a preview of the menu. "My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet." Is your mouth watering? Theirs was not. Again, they refused to go; they stayed doing what they were doing, some working in their field, and others tending to their business; and some scoundrels grabbed the messengers and killed them. And this angered the king. He sends his army and destroys the murderers and burned their dwelling places.
The king tries again, this time with a twist on the invitation. "Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find." Anyone? Even commoners, with dirty clothes and no shoes? Even those who smell because they haven't bathed in days? Yes. The servants brought back a crowd and the wedding hall was soon filled with guests. Hungry guests. Surprised guests. But, the king discovered that one man there was not wearing "wedding clothes." And this man was asked how he managed to get inside and the man could not answer and so the king says, tie him up and throw him outside "into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." And he closes with, "For many are invited, but few are chosen." The question remains, who was this man who was not wearing "wedding clothes," and why was he thrown out in that dramatic way? Some believe that in those days, the wedding hosts provided wedding robes or wedding garments and to refuse to wear one even if provided was an insult to the host. Others believe that it wasn't so much what he did not "put on" as it was his refusal to truly be as what Jesus is talking about; a kingdom of rightesouness and holiness; to seek to be a part of such kingdom without truly forsaking sin and temptation and still wants to take part. And still others says the man without wedding garments was the devil himself. The only thing I know to do is question how we are in our walk with God? Have we done all we know we should do or have we said we are fine just as we are and still continue to walk towards Him? The kingdom is for those who have repented and desire a relationship with God, who is the Divine Host of this wedding. It is up to us to accept the invitation with gracious hearts.
PRAYER: Loving Host of the Feast, we are hungry and we are weak; nurture us to strength and to faith so that we mght accept the call to be a part of the celebration. We have been invited to invite others; let us be faithful. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Invite someone to the feast!
Receive my blessings of joy and love,
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
