Matthew 22:1-14 - The Wedding Robe
1 Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: 2‘ The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other slaves, saying, “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.” 5 But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his slaves, maltreated them, and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his slaves, “The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.” 10 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.
11 ‘But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, 12 and he said to him, “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?” And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.’
In Matthew chapters 21 and 22, Jesus uses 3 parables to illustrate the privilege of those invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9).
In the first parable, one son claims to respect his father's will, but refuses to obey. The other son refuses but ends up obeying his father.
The second parable describes the workers in the vineyard who turn away the messengers empty handed, and end by killing the owner's son.
This third parable describes the king who sent his son for his own, but his own refused him (John 1:11). The leaders of "his own" asked the son under whose authority he teaches. They should have respected their own authority, and concentrated their efforts on serving their people instead of on their own worldly businesses!
The king whose invitation was made light, sends his messengers to remind his guests that everything is ready, but they refuse. Then the king, who doesn't exclude anybody, sends his messengers to declare the feast open and to invite everyone. Strangers and people from the street, which means "Gentiles,” are received and have their seats at the king's table. They share in the wedding of his son. They are not strangers anymore. They share in the meat, bread and wine offered at the feast.
At this point, Jesus moves from the past to the present, and from there to the future.
The wedding robe as a symbol refers to 2 Kings 2:13 where prophet Elijah threw his cloth on Elisha as a sign that he was empowered with Elijah’s same spirit and vocation. How do we become members and wear the groom's robe? It is by the sacrament of Baptism that we become a "temple of the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 3:16-17) and are "clothed in Christ" (Galatians 3:27, Colossians 3:12-13). As a temple that is clothed in Christ, we are to lead a life worthy of the vocation to which we are called (Ephesians 4:1, Philippians 1:27a, Colossians 1:10).
This is why the King enters the party. He is checking on the participants to be sure that they are aware of the free grace they have received by being invited, and to see how respectful they are of the son and the father. None of the guests notice that there is somebody there who is not dressed appropriately. They see the external, visible person, not the internal reality and what the heart contains that can be seen by God and only God. The king, who is able to see the unseen, realizes that the gentleman who joined the party without wearing a wedding robe is not qualified to be a member honoring the feast, but someone who is not leading a life worthy of the vocation he was called to. By his behavior, he proves he is not worthy of sharing in the feast. St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:26-29 insists on the need to be worthy to partake of Communion, to share in the feast of the lamb.
Jesus ends by reminding us that those who were invited first, because of their stubborn refusal, became last; and those who were not invited first, because of their repentance and acceptance of the son of the king, became first. We are rewarded according to our faithfulness to our vocation. Today's Gospel invites us to appreciate the privilege and the dignity we are granted by being a member of the Body of Christ, and to reconsider how faithful we are to our Christian vocation in word and deed!
Father Kamal - October 11, 2020