FIRST READING
Ezekiel 36:23-28
Thus says the LORD:
I will prove the holiness of my great name, profaned among the nations, in whose midst you have profaned it. Thus the nations shall know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD, when in their sight I prove my holiness through you. For I will take you away from among the nations, gather you from all the foreign lands, and bring you back to your own land. I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from all your impurities, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts. I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes, careful to observe my decrees. You shall live in the land I gave your ancestors; you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Psalm 51:12-13, 14-15, 18-19
R. (Ezekiel 36:25) I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins.
A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. Cast me not out from your presence, and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins.
Give me back the joy of your salvation, and a willing spirit sustain in me. I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners shall return to you.
R. I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins.
For you are not pleased with sacrifices; should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it. My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
R. I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins.
ALLELUIA
Psalm 95:8
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GOSPEL
Matthew 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.”
REFLECTIONS:
What can a royal wedding party tell us about God's
kingdom? One of the most beautiful images used in the Scriptures to depict
what heaven is like is the wedding celebration and royal feast given by
the King for his newly-wed son and bride. Whatever grand feast we can imagine
on earth, heaven is the feast of all feasts because the Lord of heaven
and earth invites us to the most important banquet of all not simply
as bystanders or guests but as members of Christ's own body, his bride
the church! The last book in the Bible ends with an invitation to the wedding
feast of the Lamb the Lord Jesus who offered his life as an atoning sacrifice
for our sins and who now reigns as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The
Spirit and the Bride say, Come! (Revelations 22:17). The Lord
Jesus invites us to be united with himself in his heavenly kingdom of peace
and righteousness.
Why does Jesus' parable of the marriage feast seem to focus on an angry
king who ends up punishing those who refused his invitation and who mistreated
his servants? Jesus' parable contains two stories. The first has to do
with the original guests invited to the marriage feast. The king
had sent out invitations well in advance to his subjects, so they would
have plenty of time to prepare for coming to the feast. How insulting for
the invited guests to then refuse when the time for celebrating came! They
made light of the King's request because they put their own interests above
his. They not only insulted the King but the heir to the throne as well.
The king's anger is justified because they openly refused to give the king
the honor he was due. Jesus directed this warning to the Jews of his day,
both to convey how much God wanted them to share in the joy of his kingdom,
but also to give a warning about the consequences of refusing his Son,
their Messiah and Savior.
The second part of the story focuses on those who had no claim on the
king and who would never have considered getting such an invitation. The
"good and the bad" along the highways certainly referred to the Gentiles
(non-Jews) and to sinners. This is certainly an invitation of grace undeserved,
unmerited favor and kindness! But this invitation also contains a warning
for those who refuse it or who approach the wedding feast unworthily. God's
grace is a free gift, but it is also an awesome responsibility.
Dieterich
Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran pastor and theologian in Germany who died for
his faith under Hitler's Nazi rule, contrasted "cheap grace" and "costly
grace".
"Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves... the preaching
of forgiveness without requiring repentance... grace without discipleship,
grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate...
Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift
which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace
is costly because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because
it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only
true life."
God invites each of us as his friends to his heavenly banquet that we may
celebrate with him and share in his joy. Are you ready to feast at the
Lord's banquet table?
"Lord Jesus, may I always know the joy of living in your presence and
grow in the hope of seeing you face to face in your everlasting kingdom."
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