“Go therefore to the main roads, and invite to the wedding feast as many as you can find” (Matthew 22:9).
In my 20-plus years of ordination, I have experienced the full range of nuptial occurrences. And let me tell you, I have experienced some doozies. I have seen wedding rings accidentally dropped in the mud, and wedding cakes not-so-accidently thrown in the garbage.
I have seen lightning storms open over open-air celebrations and ceremonies where the couple was unsure if anyone would arrive. Every wedding is different, and in every wedding, nothing entirely goes as planned.
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells a story about a wedding where things do not go as planned. A king invites his subjects to join in the wedding celebration of his son. It is to be a grand affair, one filled with the king’s lavish delight.
Yet, as Jesus tells it, the king learns none of his subjects are going to attend. Some choose to work in the field, others occupy themselves with the busyness of life, and others reject the invitation so much so that they act aggressively, even violently, toward the king’s subjects.
With this abject rejection playing in the background, the king does an unexpected thing. He has the servants stand in the roadways and encourage anyone they can find to enter the king’s house and enjoy the celebration.
So, what does this parable mean for us today? What might Jesus be saying to us about our spiritual lives?
To understand the parable of the wedding banquet, there are three important things we need to recognize.
1. The Parable Is about Receiving the Messiah
Some progressive theologians argue that the parable stands as a critique against a vain and power-hungry god. The king is seen as a tyrant who throws a party more out of self-aggrandizement than grace.
It is then argued that Jesus is identified with the robe-less man at the end of the parable, who stands against such tyranny and self-righteousness. Such an interpretation, however, fails to consider the historical context of this parable.
Matthew 22 flows out of a larger debate that Jesus has with the chief priests and elders. This debate begins in Matthew 21, as Jesus stands in the temple courts.
Here, the chief priests and elders challenge Jesus’ identity by asking: “By what authority are you doing these things?” Instead of answering their question directly, Jesus presents a series of stories, all rooted in traditional images of Israel’s relationship to the Messiah.
The Parable of the Wedding Feast is the last story in this line. The chief priests and scribes would know well that the coming of the Messiah was often imagined as a wedding banquet.
Thus, when Jesus begins the parable by stating, “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet” his debaters would have known instantly that Jesus was talking about the day of the Messiah.
The king is not an ordinary king, nor the son and ordinary son, and the invitation to the wedding banquet represented the invitation to join in the messianic Kingdom.
2. The King’s Grace-Filled Invitation
In the context of the parable, the king’s subjects, those who receive the initial invitation to the banquet, represent Israel, the people of God.
The servants of the king represent the prophets, the last being John the Baptist, who have continually called the people to receive the Messiah. For the chief priests and elders, this was the planned interpretation of the story.
The shock of the parable comes, however, when Jesus highlights how Israel continually rejected this call. Thus, in the king’s lavish grace, he instructs the servant to invite others.
All are welcome, the good, the bad, the rich, the poor, the abled, and the disabled. The servants go out to the roadways and gather all they can find so that the wedding hall (the kingdom) can be filled.
Jesus’ message in this story is that God’s gracious calling goes out to everyone, no one is excluded.
The presence of the Messiah — the Son of the king — is so special, so important, that any classification of deserve or merit is completely tossed aside, all are welcome and invited to enjoy his presence.
Importantly, every person in this parable receives a grace-filled, welcome, and open invitation to participate in the kingdom. No one that lands outside this invitation. In this way, Jesus is describing how God’s loving mercy flows to all people.
This means that in your life today, regardless of who you are, what has gone on in your life, or where you spiritually find yourself in this moment, Jesus invites you to experience the good things of his presence.
3. The Need for Acceptance
Now, just like any invitation, whether it be for a birthday party, an anniversary celebration, or a wedding feast, it is important to respond to Jesus’ invitation to new life.
Imagine for a second, that in the mail you receive a golden envelope, printed with gilded lettering, and affixed with a presidential seal.
You open the envelope, and in it is a card that says, “My dearest friend; You are cordially invited to participate in the celebration of my child’s wedding. Your presence at the celebration would be a great gift to me. I look forward to seeing you. Kindly, the President.”
Do you think you would look at that invitation and say, “Well darn, there’s a hockey game on that night?” Would you deny this invitation for the sake of work demands, or another social engagement?
Would you crumple the invitation and toss it to the side because you simply didn’t want to bother with going out that evening?
No. Some invitations take precedence over everything else. Some invitations are too important, too valuable, and too life-giving to reject. In Jesus’ day, with Jesus’ audience, the messianic wedding would be a celebration with unparalleled importance and urgency.
And so, a rejection of this invitation is the height of offense, one deeply felt by the Lord. Because God reaches out so lavishly, so passionately, so longingly to us, God feels deeply the sting of rejection.
The Parable of the Wedding Feast shows us that we respond to Christ’s invitation matters. While Jesus is abounding in love and grace, He will not force us into a relationship we do not accept.
Jesus will never coerce us into the Kingdom. In his selfless love, he will abide by our bold, sometimes offensive rejections. And yet his heart is displayed for all to see. He desires that his house be filled. He desires us to know his love and experience his goodness.
He longs for us to accept the invitation to new life and experience his bounty. And so, his invitation goes out again, and again, and again.
What does it mean for you to respond to Jesus’ grace in your life? What does it mean for you to say “yes” to the amazing invitation to experience the presence of Jesus?
Because that is the whole point of the parable; that is his calling to our lives. The invitation to experience life in the love and blessings of Jesus is far too good to ignore.
For further reading:
How Can We Prepare for the Wedding Feast of Christ?
The Church Is the Bride of Christ - What Does that Mean?
What Is the Parable of the Wedding Feast?
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Caiaimage/Tom Merton
