Reading 1
Jgs 11:29-39a
The Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah.
He passed through Gilead and Manasseh,
and through Mizpah-Gilead as well,
and from there he went on to the Ammonites.
Jephthah made a vow to the LORD.
"If you deliver the Ammonites into my power," he said,
"whoever comes out of the doors of my house
to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites
shall belong to the LORD.
I shall offer him up as a burnt offering."
Jephthah then went on to the Ammonites to fight against them,
and the LORD delivered them into his power,
so that he inflicted a severe defeat on them,
from Aroer to the approach of Minnith (twenty cities in all)
and as far as Abel-keramim.
Thus were the Ammonites brought into subjection
by the children of Israel.
When Jephthah returned to his house in Mizpah,
it was his daughter who came forth,
playing the tambourines and dancing.
She was an only child: he had neither son nor daughter besides her.
When he saw her, he rent his garments and said,
"Alas, daughter, you have struck me down
and brought calamity upon me.
For I have made a vow to the LORD and I cannot retract."
She replied, "Father, you have made a vow to the LORD.
Do with me as you have vowed,
because the LORD has wrought vengeance for you
on your enemies the Ammonites."
Then she said to her father, "Let me have this favor.
Spare me for two months, that I may go off down the mountains
to mourn my virginity with my companions."
"Go," he replied, and sent her away for two months.
So she departed with her companions
and mourned her virginity on the mountains.
At the end of the two months she returned to her father,
who did to her as he had vowed.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 40:5, 7-8a, 8b-9, 10R. (8a and 9a)
Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Blessed the man who makes the LORD his trust;
who turns not to idolatry
or to those who stray after falsehood.
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Burnt offerings or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, "Behold I come."
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
"In the written scroll it is prescribed for me.
To do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!"
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Gospel
Mt 22:1-14
Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and the elders of the people in parables
saying, “The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who gave a wedding feast for his son.
He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast,
but they refused to come.
A second time he sent other servants, saying,
‘Tell those invited: “Behold, I have prepared my banquet,
my calves and fattened cattle are killed,
and everything is ready; come to the feast.”’
Some ignored the invitation and went away,
one to his farm, another to his business.
The rest laid hold of his servants,
mistreated them, and killed them.
The king was enraged and sent his troops,
destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.
Then the king said to his servants, ‘The feast is ready,
but those who were invited were not worthy to come.
Go out, therefore, into the main roads
and invite to the feast whomever you find.’
The servants went out into the streets
and gathered all they found, bad and good alike,
and the hall was filled with guests.
But when the king came in to meet the guests
he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment.
He said to him, ‘My friend, how is it
that you came in here without a wedding garment?’
But he was reduced to silence.
Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet,
and cast him into the darkness outside,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’
Many are invited, but few are chosen.”
Meditation: Matthew 22:1-14
Come to the feast. (Matthew 22:4)
It’s clear from today’s Gospel reading that God wants as many of his children as possible to join him in heaven. At the same time, we see in today’s parable that many ignored the Master’s invitation entirely. Even among those who accepted the invitation, one was found unworthy and was cast into the darkness. Jesus ended his parable with a somber warning: “Many are invited, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14).
Though it is not a topic we like to dwell on, Jesus made it clear that hell does exist, and those who don’t accept him risk ending up there. Among believers, there are various opinions as to whether hell will be crowded, or whether God will be merciful to many in the end. Rather than focusing on this question, though, we may find it more helpful to ask how we can work toward making that number as low as possible!
In the end, it’s a question of evangelization, of sharing God’s love with other people through our words and deeds. It’s a question of loving one another as Jesus has loved us.
If the thought of sharing your faith makes you nervous, you’re not alone. But ask yourself what is worse: risking a little embarrassment for the kingdom or possibly seeing a friend or loved one separated from God?
So what to say? The heart of Jesus’ message is quite simple: God loves us so deeply that he gave up his only Son to save us from sin and death. Messages like this can go a long way. They can help people grasp that the Christian life is a relationship with God, not a matter of rules and regulations. Tell them that God is good. Tell them about his compassion and mercy, about his desire to bring us all to heaven. And finally, tell them that God wants to show them his love personally. All they have to do is listen, and they’ll hear him.
It’s not a complex gospel, and it’s not a hard message. God just wants to throw a big party—a big feast—for all of us. So let’s make sure that the banquet room is filled to overflowing!
“Jesus, send me out into the fields to help bring in your harvest. I don’t want to see anyone separated from you.”
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