Name: Date: October 12, 2014

Section: Score:

Sunday Gospel Reflection
Gospel: Mt 22:1-14

In today's Gospel, Jesus likens the Kingdom of Heaven to a wedding feast prepared
by a King for his son. 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. Yet they choose to reject
the invitation, He sends servants to invite them again, and some ignore the call while others
attack and kill the royal servants. They not only insulted the King but also the Son, heir to
the throne. The king's anger is justified because they openly refused to give the king the
honor he was due. Jesus this warning was directed to the Jews, 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 never have considered
getting such an invitation from the King. The "good and the bad" referred to the Gentiles
and to sinners. God invites all to the banquet of salvation, but we have to prepare ourselves
for the event when it comes; we have to look for that invitation and be open to its call,
preparing ourselves to receive it. We are all called, all invited to Gods feast. God invites
each of us to his banquet that we may share in his joy. Are you ready to feast at his banquet
table?
That is the expanse of Gods mercy, but His justice will also be at work, too. The
mercy of the invitation and the justice of allowing us to make our choice out of the gift of
free will given to us by God are part of the same phenomenon. If we choose to ignore Him,
He does not force himself upon us to make us slaves. If we choose sin and degradation, He
does not remove that choice from us. But those choices have consequences, and Jesus
makes that clear at the end of this parable. Many are invited, but few are chosen.
That is, in the end, our choice. God gives us the free will to choose whether we wish
to attend His Sons wedding feast. Only in that feast, we are not just guests, but part of the
Church that will be the stay with Christ throughout all eternity. We will live in the divine
life, whereas all tears will have been wiped from every face. But it is our choice to prepare
for that, and it will be our choice whether we ourselves properly prepared for the feast of
the Lord.