(Adults, here we are again with a difficult parable! For the 6-9 year old, who is beginning an exploration of the moral life, this reflection invites the child to consider the richness and value of the Kingdom of God. The question--how will we respond to the invitation--is posed only obliquely at this age.)
Once again, in the Gospel for this Sunday, Jesus tells a parable about the Kingdom of God. He has spent so much time talking about the Kingdom of God; he loves the Kingdom of God and he wants to share his passion for it. I wonder if Jesus gets frustrated when it seems like people are not listening, when it seems like they are not passionate about the Kingdom, too. In the Gospel for this Sunday, I think Jesus shocks people into paying attention. Listen:
Jesus says,
“The kingdom of God may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.”
(This is not the shocking part 😉 ) So far, so good.
Sooooooo good, actually! A wedding banquet--a celebration of two people who love each other very much getting married. Have you been to a wedding celebration? What is that like? A feast of delicious foods and drinks. People making speeches about their loved ones. Music and singing and dancing. People smiling so much their cheeks hurt, laughing until tears run out of their eyes. Why? All because there is so much love in the room and so much joy. Both love and joy are signs that the Holy Spirit is present.
Who wouldn't come to such a celebration!
The next part is not shocking, but strange.
He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come.
Who wouldn't come to a wedding banquet?? A wedding banquet hosted by the king! Imagine the food! The king would have the best food. Imagine the fun! You would get to see inside the castle, you would get to meet the king! Who wouldn't come? Strange.
So, the king tries again:
“Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.”
Now the shocking part:
But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, maltreated them, and killed them.
What??? If you didn't want to come--strange, but fine--but why kill the person delivering the invitation?? That is an overreaction.
Do you think the people are paying attention to Jesus' parable now? They probably look at each other with raised eyebrows, saying, "Um, that was a weird choice."
Jesus makes sure they are listening now:
The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.
👀
One overreaction after another. I imagine the people look at each other and then back at Jesus, asking, "I thought this is a parable about the Kingdom of God?"
Right. Now pay attention.
Do over.
Then he said to his slaves, “The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.”
The king is having a do-over. We know this because he sends the next invitations into the same city that was just burnt down. (This is how we know this is a parable and not a true story. There wouldn't be any people left there if is was a real city burnt down.) It is like Jesus is saying to everyone, now that you are paying attention, listen. Who wouldn't come to the wedding banquet?
Notice who is invited to the wedding banquet.
Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.
Both good and bad. All are invited.
What would it feel like to be a bad person--a person who had made so many bad choices--invited to the king's home? Would such a person expect to be invited to the wedding banquet for the king's son? How would an invitation make that person want to change?
This is what the Kingdom of God is like, Jesus says. All are invited to the banquet. God wants each of us, all of us--the whole collection--to come and celebrate with the best food, the best drink. God want us all to be surrounded by the abundance of love, the abundance of joy.
When will this be? When will there be no more do-overs necessary? When will all people be together celebrating at the banquet, so full of the life and love of God?
Parousia. The time we wait for, the time we work for.
But I wonder, can we have a taste of that wedding banquet today? Where can we find the best food, the best drink? Where can we have a taste of the life and love of God now?
Who wouldn't come? 😊
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