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Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 08-22-13, M, Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 08-22-13 | Revised New American Bible

Posted on 08/21/2013 8:42:57 PM PDT by Salvation

August 22, 2013

 

Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 

 

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, 10

R. (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.”



TOPICS: Catholic; General Discusssion; Prayer; Worship
KEYWORDS: blessedvirginmary; catholic; ordinarytime; prayer
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To: Salvation
Information: Queenship of Mary

Feast Day: August 22

21 posted on 08/22/2013 7:02:21 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Interactive Saints for Kids

Mary, Our Queen


Feast Day: August 22


How can we spend this day to show Mother Mary that we love her?
We might want to whisper a Hail Mary while we work or play, or spend some time saying the family rosary.

 

PRAYER ON MARY'S FEASTS

Blessed Virgin Mary,
Jesus gave you to me as my Mother
when He was dying on the Cross.

I want to love you as Jesus did.

I pray to you in these words:

Hail Mary, full of grace!
The Lord is with you;
blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit
of your womb, Jesus,

Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour
of our death. Amen.


22 posted on 08/22/2013 7:06:58 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Catholic Almanac

Thursday, August 22

Liturgical Color: White

Today is the Memorial of the Queenship of
the Blessed Virgin Mary, honoring Mary as
Queen of Heaven. In 1954 Pope Pius XII
established universal observance of this feast
to the whole Church in his encyclical Ad
Caeli Reginam.

23 posted on 08/22/2013 4:16:32 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for: August 22, 2013
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: O God, who made the Mother of your Son to be our Mother and our Queen, graciously grant that, sustained by her intercession, we may attain in the heavenly Kingdom the glory promised to your children. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

RECIPES

o    Crown Cake

o    Fruit Salad

ACTIVITIES

o    ’Tis Said of Our Dear Lady

o    A Single Branch Three Roses Bore

o    Ave Maria Dear

o    Beautiful, Glorious

o    Celebrating the Feasts of the Blessed Virgin

o    Feasts of Mary in the Family

o    Feasts of Our Lady in the Home

o    Mary Garden

o    Salve Regina

o    Stella Matutina

o    Virgin Blessed, Thou Star the Fairest

PRAYERS

o    Table Blessing for the Feasts of the Mother of God

o    Prayer to Our Lady, Queen of Heaven

Ordinary Time: August 22nd

Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Old Calendar: Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary; Sts. Timothy, Hippolytus & Symphorian, martyrs

The faithful, under the guidance of an unerring Catholic instinct, have ever recognized the queenly dignity of the Mother of "The King of kings and Lord of lords": the Fathers, the Doctors of the Church, Popes, down through the centuries, have given authoritative expression to this truth and the crowning testimony to this common belief is to be found clearly expressed in the wonders of art and in the profound teaching of the liturgy. In their turn theologians have shown the fitting nature of this title of Queen as applied to the Mother of God, since she was so closely associated with the redemptive work of her Son and is the Mediatrix of all graces. Pius XII, by his encyclical letter of October 11, 1954, granted the unanimous desire of the faithful and their pastors and instituted the feast of the Queenship of Mary, giving sanction thus to a devotion that was already paid by the faithful throughout the world to the sovereign Mother of heaven and earth.

According to the 1962 Missal of Bl. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary which is celebrated in the Ordinary Rite on the Saturday following the Second Sunday after Pentecost.

It is also the commemoration of Sts. Timothy, Hippolytus and Symphorian. St. Timothy is a Roman martyr put to death in 303 or 306 during the last persecution. His body lies at St. Paul's-Outside-the-Walls, near that of the great Apostle. The history of St. Hippolytus, martyred at Ostia, near Rome, remains extremely obscure; it is probably in error that he is called bishop of Porto. St. Symphorian was a martyr of Autun, put to death while still a young man in the second or third century. He is one of the great saints of Gaul and several churches were built in his honor. His Acts appear to be genuine.


Queenship of Mary

With the certainty of faith we know that Jesus Christ is king in the full, literal, and absolute sense of the word; for He is true God and man. This does not, however, prevent Mary from sharing His royal prerogatives, though in a limited and analogous manner; for she was the Mother of Christ, and Christ is God; and she shared in the work of the divine Redeemer, in His struggles against enemies and in the triumph He won over them all. From this union with Christ the King she assuredly obtains so eminent a status that she stands high above all created things; and upon this same union with Christ is based that royal privilege enabling her to distribute the treasures of the kingdom of the divine Redeemer. And lastly, this same union with Christ is the fountain of the inexhaustible efficacy of her motherly intercession in the presence of the Son and of the Father.

Without doubt, then, does our holy Virgin possess a dignity that far transcends all other creatures. In the eyes of her Son she takes precedence over everyone else. In order to help us understand the preeminence that the Mother of God enjoys over all creation, it would help to remember that from the first moment of her conception the holy Virgin was filled with such a plenitude of grace as to surpass the graces enhancing all the saints. Recall what our predecessor Pius IX, of blessed memory, wrote in his Bull Ineflabilis Deus: "More than all the angels and all the saints has God ineffable freely endowed Mary with the fullness of the heavenly gifts that abound in the divine treasury; and she, preserving herself ever immaculately clean from the slightest taint of sin, attained a fullness of innocence and holiness so great as to be unthinkable apart from God Himself, a fullness that no one other than God will ever possess."

Spurred on by piety and faith, may we glory in being subject to the rule of the Virgin Mother of God; she bears the royal sceptre in her hand, while her heart is ever aflame with motherlove.

Excerpted from Ad Caeli Reginam, Pius XII

Things to Do:


Sts. Timothy, Hippolytus & Symphorian

During the pontificate of Pope Melchiades (311-314), Timothy of Antioch came to Rome and preached the Gospel. The prefect of the city, Tarquin, placed him under arrest and after a period of imprisonment ordered that he be scourged three times because he refused to sacrifice to the gods. After further excruciating torments Timothy was beheaded. At Ostia, the bishop St. Hippolytus, was a man of exceptional culture. Because he was an outstanding witness to the faith, he was bound hand and foot by Emperor Alexander and cast into a deep pit filled with water; thereby he obtained the crown. Not far away Christians buried his body. At Autun the youthful Symphorian was brought to judgment under Emperor Aurelian (270-275). His mother urged perseverance: "My son, think of eternal life. Raise your glance to heaven and behold your eternal King! Your life will not be taken from you, but transformed into a better one!"


24 posted on 08/22/2013 4:32:28 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
The Word Among Us

Meditation: Matthew 22:1-14

The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary

“How is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?” (Matthew 22:12)

Suppose you’re invited to a good friend’s wedding. After the ceremony, you enter the reception hall and you notice another guest, his face unshaven, wearing blue jeans and a torn tee-shirt, piling food on his plate. The groom, feeling angry and insulted, walks over to him and says, “How could you? Please leave!” You’re not surprised; after all, this man showed your friend terrible disrespect. His attitude was even worse than his clothing!

In the same way, the man at the end of Jesus’ parable was out of place. He chose not to wear the wedding garment provided for him, in a sense snubbing the king’s generous offer to clothe him with dignity. We can liken this to the clothing of the saints in heaven, “the righteous deeds of the holy ones” spoken of in the Scriptures (Revelation 19:8; Zephaniah 1:7-8). We may think he was treated harshly, but it’s actually what he chose for himself. For the wedding garment—the righteousness available through Jesus’ sacrifice—was his for the taking. He just didn’t put it on!

You too have been invited to a wedding banquet, the “feast of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:19). You will never receive an invitation more important than this one. So don’t stick it in a drawer. Get ready! Take the grace you have been given and respond to it as best you can. Dedicate yourself to a life of virtue and holiness. Cultivate your friendship with, and your love for, the bridegroom. Clothe yourself every day in “heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience” (Colossians 4:12).

Just one note of caution: Beware of merely racking up good deeds to impress the Lord. He is far more interested in quality than quantity. He wants to see a change in your heart, not just the things you do. That’s why he is so pleased when you put aside selfishness and let his love flow out of you. It’s why he is excited to see you embrace opportunities to bring his joy, encouragement, or wisdom to those who need it. As long as you are trying to love, you need never fear ending up like this unfortunate man.

“Lord, I want to be your witness in the world today! Purify my heart, and give me the strength always to put service before self!”

Judges 11:29-39; Psalm 40:5, 7-10


25 posted on 08/22/2013 4:39:59 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Salvation

Marriage = One Man and One Woman Til' Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for August 22, 2013:

One version of the marriage vows states, “to have and to hold from this day forward.” Pay attention to that little word “hold’ today. When times are tough or emotions raw, sometimes firmly and lovingly holding each other is the best comfort.

26 posted on 08/22/2013 6:10:20 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Regnum Christi

Wearing the Right Clothes
| SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY
Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Father José LaBoy, LC

Matthew 22: 1-14

Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. 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.´ But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves, ´The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.´ 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. But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, ´Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?´ And he was speechless. 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.´ For many are called, but few are chosen."

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe in you because you have created me to be with you. I hope in you because you always give me what I need to be with you. I love you because you continue to invite me, in spite of my reticence and sinfulness.

Petition: Lord, grant me the grace to value heaven and to live in such a way that I can get there.

1. How Dare You Not Accept! God invites us to accept freely the gift of union with him to which he calls us. But, lo and behold, we can use our freedom badly and not accept the only thing that can truly make us happy. This occurs when we forget about God, no longer giving him the adoration and love he deserves as our Creator and Father, putting ourselves in first place, and becoming the sole criteria for our decisions and actions. This passage helps us to remember what type of freedom we have. We do not have absolute freedom. We can’t choose what our end should be. Only God is our end. Our freedom is limited and consists in being free to choose the means that most efficaciously help us to reach that end.

2. An Undeserved Invitation: Our possibility of getting to heaven is truly a gift from God. He invites us even though we are sinners, even though we don’t take his Son’s death and resurrection seriously, even though we continue to fall in spite of having all the grace and strength we need to overcome temptation. St. Paul, in his letter to the Romans, states how hard it is for a man to give his life for another person (see Romans 4:7). Maybe he would do it for a very good person. Christ didn’t give his life for good persons; he gave it for sinners. We should be moved to respond to this amazing manifestation of love for us: Total adherence to God is the only worthy response.

3. Dressing for the Occasion: God is good, but he is not naïve. He won’t let us in to full communion with him if we do not value it properly. The robe mentioned in the Gospel passage is an image of the soul. The soul that has been purified and is prepared to enter into heaven wears a wedding robe. The soul that is full of selfishness and sin is improperly dressed. It is not a matter of God not having mercy on us. It’s a matter of the use of our freedom. When we encounter something that has value and know that it will make us better, we have to appropriate that value through conscious effort. We have to live up to it. We can’t be indifferent or superficial regarding heaven. We shouldn’t regard it as just something possible; it should be an existential need.

Petition: Dear Lord, so many times I give more importance to my own satisfaction than to centering my attention and efforts on achieving true communion with you. Help me to value your invitation to reach heaven through a truly Christian life that prefers virtue to sin, disinterested love to selfishness, humility to pride.

Resolution: Today I will try to work on a virtue that I need so as to respond to God’s love for me.


27 posted on 08/22/2013 6:18:08 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All

The Queen Mother

by Food For Thought on August 22, 2013 · s

Mary is the first disciple. In St. Ignatius’ “Call of the Kingdom,” Jesus asks his would-be followers to follow him in suffering, and so follow him in glory. This is precisely what Mary did in her life. Her status as a woman in Jewish society was low, but she allowed the Spirit to lead her, beginning at the Annunciation, and her whole life unfolded as a series of unfathomable events.

She gives birth in a stable, becomes a refugee when Herod goes after her infant son, is puzzled at Simeon’s words in the temple and Jesus’ own words after he is found there; she journeys with her son despite not understanding everything, and she ends up at the foot of the cross. This is not about having trials in life. It is a lifetime of trials; yet Mary remained steadfast in the hope that God’s promise to her would be fulfilled.

So when Jesus is raised from the dead, is it any wonder that he appears to his mother so that she can also share in his glory, she who has shared so much of his suffering? This is the meaning of Mary’s queenship. She is our model of discipleship and hope.

If we follow Jesus in his life, death, and resurrection; if we allow the Spirit to work in us; then we shall have a share in the glory that God has reserved for those who love him.


28 posted on 08/22/2013 6:26:20 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

Language: English | Español

All Issues > Volume 29, Issue 5

<< Thursday, August 22, 2013 >> Queenship of Mary
 
Judges 11:29-39
View Readings
Psalm 40:5, 7-10 Matthew 22:1-14
Similar Reflections
 

DEATH'S DEATH

 
"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 holocaust.' " —Judges 11:30-31
 

The price of victory is usually death — the death of the enemy and other casualties on the "winning" side. For example, the price of Jephthah's victory was the death of his daughter and of his enemies the Ammonites. Likewise, the price of Jesus' victory on the cross was His own death. However, His victory was victory over death. Therefore, physical death need no longer be the price of victory. "Death is swallowed up in victory" (1 Cor 15:54).

Today we celebrate the Queenship of Mary. The circumstances surrounding Mary's death manifest Jesus' victory over death. At death, Mary's body did not decay in the grave but was assumed into heaven where she was crowned the Queen of heaven and earth. If we live lives committed to Jesus, we too will be victorious at the time of our death. The day of our death will be the happiest day of our lives, for we shall see Jesus face to face (1 Cor 13:12). We will begin our last day on earth amid the pain, suffering, and temptations of this world and end that day in the perfect happiness of heaven. "Thanks be to God Who has given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor 15:57).

 
Prayer: Father, free me from the fear of death (Heb 2:15).
Promise: "You must go out into the byroads and invite to the wedding anyone you come upon." —Mt 22:9
Praise: Mary said, "Let it be done to me." Little did she know that this would include being crowned Queen of Heaven.

29 posted on 08/22/2013 6:39:17 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Pray for an end to abortion and the conversion of America to a culture of life.

30 posted on 08/22/2013 6:40:43 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Salvation
Matthew
  English: Douay-Rheims Latin: Vulgata Clementina Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
  Matthew 22
1 AND Jesus answering, spoke again in parables to them, saying: Et respondens Jesus, dixit iterum in parabolis eis, dicens : και αποκριθεις ο ιησους παλιν ειπεν αυτοις εν παραβολαις λεγων
2 The kingdom of heaven is likened to a king, who made a marriage for his son. Simile factum est regnum cælorum homini regi, qui fecit nuptias filio suo. ωμοιωθη η βασιλεια των ουρανων ανθρωπω βασιλει οστις εποιησεν γαμους τω υιω αυτου
3 And he sent his servants, to call them that were invited to the marriage; and they would not come. Et misit servos suos vocare invitatos ad nuptias, et nolebant venire. και απεστειλεν τους δουλους αυτου καλεσαι τους κεκλημενους εις τους γαμους και ουκ ηθελον ελθειν
4 Again he sent other servants, saying: Tell them that were invited, Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my beeves and fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come ye to the marriage. Iterum misit alios servos, dicens : Dicite invitatis : Ecce prandium meum paravi, tauri mei et altilia occisa sunt, et omnia parata : venite ad nuptias. παλιν απεστειλεν αλλους δουλους λεγων ειπατε τοις κεκλημενοις ιδου το αριστον μου ητοιμασα οι ταυροι μου και τα σιτιστα τεθυμενα και παντα ετοιμα δευτε εις τους γαμους
5 But they neglected, and went their own ways, one to his farm, and another to his merchandise. Illi autem neglexerunt : et abierunt, alius in villam suam, alius vero ad negotiationem suam : οι δε αμελησαντες απηλθον ο μεν εις τον ιδιον αγρον ο δε εις την εμποριαν αυτου
6 And the rest laid hands on his servants, and having treated them contumeliously, put them to death. reliqui vero tenuerunt servos ejus, et contumeliis affectos occiderunt. οι δε λοιποι κρατησαντες τους δουλους αυτου υβρισαν και απεκτειναν
7 But when the king had heard of it, he was angry, and sending his armies, he destroyed those murderers, and burnt their city. Rex autem cum audisset, iratus est : et missis exercitibus suis, perdidit homicidas illos, et civitatem illorum succendit. και ακουσας ο βασιλευς εκεινος ωργισθη και πεμψας τα στρατευματα αυτου απωλεσεν τους φονεις εκεινους και την πολιν αυτων ενεπρησεν
8 Then he saith to his servants: The marriage indeed is ready; but they that were invited were not worthy. Tunc ait servis suis : Nuptiæ quidem paratæ sunt, sed qui invitati erant, non fuerunt digni : τοτε λεγει τοις δουλοις αυτου ο μεν γαμος ετοιμος εστιν οι δε κεκλημενοι ουκ ησαν αξιοι
9 Go ye therefore into the highways; and as many as you shall find, call to the marriage. ite ergo ad exitus viarum, et quoscumque inveneritis, vocate ad nuptias. πορευεσθε ουν επι τας διεξοδους των οδων και οσους αν ευρητε καλεσατε εις τους γαμους
10 And his servants going forth into the ways, gathered together all that they found, both bad and good: and the marriage was filled with guests. Et egressi servi ejus in vias, congregaverunt omnes quos invenerunt, malos et bonos : et impletæ sunt nuptiæ discumbentium. και εξελθοντες οι δουλοι εκεινοι εις τας οδους συνηγαγον παντας οσους ευρον πονηρους τε και αγαθους και επλησθη ο γαμος ανακειμενων
11 And the king went in to see the guests: and he saw there a man who had not on a wedding garment. Intravit autem rex ut viderent discumbentes, et vidit ibi hominem non vestitum veste nuptiali. εισελθων δε ο βασιλευς θεασασθαι τους ανακειμενους ειδεν εκει ανθρωπον ουκ ενδεδυμενον ενδυμα γαμου
12 And he saith to him: Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? But he was silent. Et ait illi : Amice, quomodo huc intrasti non habens vestem nuptialem ? At ille obmutavit. και λεγει αυτω εταιρε πως εισηλθες ωδε μη εχων ενδυμα γαμου ο δε εφιμωθη
13 Then the king said to the waiters: Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the exterior darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Tunc dicit rex ministris : Ligatis manibus et pedibus ejus, mittite eum in tenebras exteriores : ibi erit fletus et stridor dentium. τοτε ειπεν ο βασιλευς τοις διακονοις δησαντες αυτου ποδας και χειρας αρατε αυτον και εκβαλετε εις το σκοτος το εξωτερον εκει εσται ο κλαυθμος και ο βρυγμος των οδοντων
14 For many are called, but few are chosen. Multi enim sunt vocati, pauci vero electi. πολλοι γαρ εισιν κλητοι ολιγοι δε εκλεκτοι

31 posted on 08/22/2013 6:55:54 PM PDT by annalex (fear them not)
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To: annalex
1. And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables, and said,
2. The kingdom of heaven is like to a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,
3. And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.
4. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come to the marriage.
5. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:
6. And the remnant took his servants, treated them spitefully, and slew them.
7. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.
8. Then said he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.
9. Go you therefore into the highways, and as many as you shall find, bid to the marriage.
10. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.
11. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
12. And he said to him, Friend, how came you in here not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
13. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
14. For many are called, but few are chosen.

CHRYS. Forasmuch as He had said, And it shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof, He now proceeds to show what nation that is.

GLOSS. Answered, that is, meeting their evil thoughts of putting Him to death.

AUG. This parable is related only by Matthew. Luke gives one like it, but it is not the same, as the order shows.

GREG. Here, by the wedding-feast is denoted the present Church; there, by the supper, the last and eternal feast. For into this enter some who shall perish; into that whosoever has once entered in shall never be put forth. But if any should maintain that these are the same lessons, we may perhaps explain that that part concerning the guest who had come in without a wedding garment, which Luke has not mentioned, Matthew has related. That the one calls it supper, the other dinner, makes no difference; for with the ancients the dinner w as at the ninth hour, and was therefore often called supper.

ORIGEN; The kingdom of heaven, in respect of Him who reigns there, is like a king; in respect of Him who shares the kingdom, it is like a king's son; in respect of those things which are in the kingdom, it is like servants and guests, and among them the king's armies. It is specified, A man that is a king, that what is spoken may be as by a man to men, and that a man may regulate men unwilling to be regulated by God. But the kingdom of heaven will then cease to be like a man, when zeal and contention and all other passions and sins having ceased, we shall cease to walk after men, and shall see Him as He is. For now we see Him not as He is, but as He has been made for us in our dispensation.

GREG. God the Father made a marriage feast for God the Son, when He joined Him to human nature in the womb of the Virgin. But far be it from us to conclude, that because marriage takes place between two separate persons, that therefore the person of our Redeemer was made up of two separate persons. We say indeed that He exists of two natures, and in two natures, but we hold it unlawful to believe that He was compounded of two persons. It is safer therefore to say, that the marriage feast was made by the King the Father for the King the Son when He joined to Him the Holy Church in the mystery of His incarnation. The womb of the Virgin Mother was the bride chamber of this Bridegroom.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. Otherwise; When the resurrection of the saints shall be, then the life, which is Christ, shall revive man, swallowing up his mortality in its own immortality. For now we receive the Holy Spirit as a pledge of the future union, but then we shall have Christ Himself more fully in us.

ORIGEN; Or, by the marriage of Bridegroom with Bride, that is, of Christ with the soul, understand the Assumption of the Word, the produce whereof is good works.

HILARY; Rightly has the Father already made this wedding, because this eternal union and espousal} of the new body is already perfect in Christ.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. When the servants were sent to call them, they must have been invited before. Men have been invited from the time of Abraham, to whom was promised Christ's incarnation.

JEROME; He sent his servant, without doubt Moses, by whom He gave the Law, to those who had been invited. But if you read servants as most copies have, it must be referred to the Prophets, by whom they were invited, but neglected to come. By the servants who were sent the second time, we may better understand the Prophets than the Apostles; that is to say, if servant is read in the first place; but if 'servants,' then by the second servants are to be understood the Apostles;

PSEUDO-CHRYS. whom He sent when He said to them, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

ORIGEN; Or; The servants who were first sent to call them that were bidden to the wedding, are to be taken as the Prophets converting the people by their prophecy to the festival of the restoration of the Church to Christ. They who would not come at the first message are they who refused to hear the words of the Prophets. The others who were sent a second time were another assembly of Prophets.

HILARY; Or; The servants who were first sent to call them that were bidden, are the Apostles; they who, being before bidden, are now invited to come in, are the people of Israel, who had before been bidden through the Law to the glories of eternity. To the Apostles therefore it belonged to remind those whom the Prophets had invited.

Those sent with the second injunction are the Apostolic men their successors.

GREG. But because these who were first invited would not come to the feast, the second summons says, Behold, I have prepared my dinner.

JEROME; The dinner that is prepared, the oxen and the fatlings that are killed, is either a description of regal magnificence by the way of metaphor, that by carnal things spiritual may be understood; or the greatness of the doctrines, and the manifold teaching of God in His law, may be understood.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. When therefore the Lord bade the Apostles, Go you and preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand, it was the same message as is here given, I have prepared my dinner; i.e. I have set out the table of Scripture out of the Law and the Prophets.

GREG. By the oxen are signified the Fathers of the Old Testament; who by sufferance of the Law gored their enemies with the horn of bodily strength. By fatlings are meant fatted animals, for from 'alere', comes 'altilia,' as it were 'alitilia' or 'alita.' By the fatlings are intended the Fathers of the New Testament; who while they receive sweet grace of inward fattening, are raised by the wing of contemplation from earthly desires to things above. He says therefore, My oxen and my fatlings are killed; as much as to say, Look to the deaths of the Fathers who have been before you, and desire some amendment of your lives.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. Otherwise; He says oxen and fatlings, not as though the oxen were not fatted, but because all the oxen were not fat. Therefore the fatlings denote the Prophets who were filled with the Holy Spirit; the oxen those who were both Priests and Prophets, as Jeremiah and Ezekiel; for as the oxen are the leaders of the herd, so also the Priests are leaders of the people.

HILARY; Or otherwise; The oxen are the glorious army of Martyrs, offered, like choice victims, for the confession of God; the fatlings are spiritual men, as birds fed for flight upon heavenly food, that they may fill others with the abundance of the food they have eaten.

GREG. It is to be observed, that in the first invitation nothing was said of the oxen or fatlings, but in the second it is announced that they are already killed, because Almighty God when we will not hear His words gives examples, that what we suppose impossible may become easy to us to surmount, when we hear that others have passed through it before us.

ORIGEN; Or; The dinner which is prepared is the oracle of God; and so the more mighty of the oracles of God are the oxen; the sweet and pleasant are the fatlings. For if any one bring forward feeble words, without power, and not having strong force of reason, these are the lean things; the fatlings are when to the establishment of each proposition many examples are brought forward backed by reasonable proofs. For example, supposing one holding discourse of chastity, it might well be represented by the turtle-dove; but should he bring forward the same holy discourse full of reasonable proof out of Scripture, so as to delight and strengthen the mind of his hearer, then he brings the dove fatted.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. That He says, And all things are now ready, means, that all that is required to salvation is already filled up in the Scriptures; there the ignorant may find instruction; the self-willed may read of terrors; he who is in difficulty may there find promises to rouse him to activity.

GLOSS. Or, All things are now ready, i.e. The entrance into the kingdom, which had been hitherto closed, is now ready through faith in My incarnation.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. Or He says, All things are now ready which belong to the mystery of the Lord's Passion and our redemption. He says, Come to the marriage, not with your feet, but with faith, and good conduct. But they made light of it; why they did so He shows when He adds, And they went their way, one to his farm, another to his merchandise.

CHRYS. These occupations seem to be entirely reasonable; but we learn hence, that however necessary the things that take up our time, we ought to prefer spiritual things to every thing beside. But it seems to me that they only pretended these engagements as a cloak for their disregard of the invitation.

HILARY; For men are taken up with worldly ambition as with a farm; and many through covetousness are engrossed with trafficking.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. Or otherwise; When we work with the labor of our hands, for example, cultivating our field or our vineyard, or any manufacture of wood or iron, we seem to be occupied with our farm; any other mode of getting money unattended with manual labor is here called merchandise. O most miserable world! and miserable you that follow it! The pursuits of this world have ever shut men out of life.

GREG. Whosoever then intent upon earthly business, or devoted to the actions of this world, feigns to be meditating upon the mystery of the Lord's Passion, and to be living accordingly, is he that refuses to come to the King's wedding on pretext of going to his farm or his merchandise. Nay often, which is worse, some who are called not only reject the grace, but become persecutors, And the remnant took his servants, treated them spitefully, and slew them.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. Or, by the business of a farm, He denotes the Jewish populace, whom the delights of this world separated from Christ; by the excuse of merchandise, the Priests and other ministers of the Temple, who, coming to the service of the Law and the Temple through greediness of gain, have been shut out of the faith by covetousness. Of these He said not, 'They were filled with envy,' but They made light of it. For they who through hate and spite crucified Christ, are they who were filled with envy; but they who being entangled in business did not believe on Him, are not said to have been filled with envy, but to have made light of it. The Lord is silent respecting His own death, because He had spoken of it in the foregoing parable, but He shows forth the death of His disciples, whom after His ascension the Jews put to death, stoning Stephen and executing James the son of Alphaeus, for which things Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans. And it is to be observed, that anger is attributed to God figuratively and not properly; He is then said to be angry when He punishes.

JEROME; When He was doing works of mercy, and bidding to His marriage-feast, He was called a man; now when He comes to vengeance, the man is dropped, and He is called only a King.

ORIGEN; Let those who sin against the God of the Law, and the Prophets, and the whole creation, declare whether He who is here called man, and is said to be angry, is indeed the Father Himself. If they allow this, they will be forced to own that many things are said of Him applicable to the passable nature of man; not for that He has passions, but because He is represented to us after the manner of passable human nature. In this way we take God's anger, repentance, and the other things of the like sort in the Prophets.

JEROME; By His armies we understand the Romans under Vespasian and Titus, who having slaughtered the inhabitants of Judea, laid in ashes the faithless city.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. The Roman army is called God's army; because The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof; nor would the Romans have come to Jerusalem, had not the Lord stirred them thither.

GREG. Or, The armies of our King are the legions of His Angels He is said therefore to have sent His armies, and to have destroyed those murderers, because all judgment is executed upon men by the Angels. He destroys those murderers, when He cuts off persecutors; and burns up their city, because not only their souls, but the body of flesh they had tenanted, is tormented in the everlasting fire of hell.

ORIGEN; Or, the city of those wicked men is in each doctrine the assembly of those who meet in the wisdom of the rulers of this world; which the King sets fire to and destroys, as consisting of evil buildings.

GREG. But when He sees that His invitation is spurned at, He will not have His Son's marriage-feast empty; the word of God will find where it may stay itself.

ORIGEN; He said to His servants, that is, to the Apostles; or to the Angels, who were set over the calling of the Gentiles, The wedding is ready.

REMIG. That is, the whole sacrament of the human dispensation is completed and closed. But they which were bidden, that is, the Jews, were not worthy, because, ignorant of the righteousness of God, and going about to establish their own righteousness, they have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God. The Jewish nation then being rejected, the Gentile people were taken in to the marriage-feast; whence it follows, Go you out into the crossings of the streets, and as many as you shall find, bid to the wedding.

JEROME; For the Gentile nation was not in the streets, but in the crossings of the streets.

REMIG. These are the errors of the Gentiles.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. Or; The streets are all the professions of this world, as philosophy, soldiery, and the like. And therefore He says, Go out into the crossings of the streets, that they may call to the faith men of every condition. Moreover, as chastity is the way that leads to God, so fornication is the way that leads to the Devil; and so it is in the other virtues and vices. Thus He bids them invite to the faith men of every profession or condition.

HILARY; By the street also is to be understood the time of this world, and they are therefore bid to go to the crossings of the streets, because the past is remitted to all.

GREG. Or otherwise; In holy Scripture, way is taken to mean actions; so that, the crossings of the ways we understand as failure in action, for they usually come to God readily, who have had little prosperity in worldly actions.

ORIGEN; Or otherwise; I suppose this first bidding to the wedding to have been a bidding of some of the more noble minds. For God would have those before all come to the feast of the divine oracles who are of the more ready wit to understand them; and forasmuch as they who are such are slow to come to that kind of summons, other servants are sent to move them to come, and to promise that they shall find the dinner prepared. For as in the things of the body, one is the bride, others the inviters to the feast, and they that are bidden are others again; so God knows the various ranks of souls, and their powers, and the reasons why these are taken into the condition of the Bride, others in the rank of the servants that call, and others among the number of those that are bidden as guests.

But they who had been thus especially invited contemned the first inviters as poor in understanding, and went their way, following their own devices, as more delighting in them than in those things which the King by his servants promised. Yet are these more venial than they who ill-treat and put to death the servants sent to them; those, that is, who daringly assail with weapons of contentious words the servants sent, who are unequal to solve their subtle difficulties, and those are ill-treated or put to death by them.

The servants going forth are either Christ's Apostles going from Judea and Jerusalem, or the Holy Angels from the inner worlds, and going to the various ways of various manners, gathered together whomsoever they found, not caring whether before their calling they had been good or bad. By the good here we may understand simply the more humble end upright of those who come to the worship of God, to whom agreed what the Apostle says, When the Gentiles which have not the Law do by nature the things contained in the Law, they are a law to themselves.

JEROME; For there is an infinite difference among the Gentiles themselves; some are more prone to vice, others are endowed with more incorrupt and virtuous manners.

GREG. Or; He means that in this present Church there cannot be bad without good, nor good without bad. He is not good who refuses to endure the bad.

ORIGEN; The marriage-feast of Christ and the Church is filled, when they who were found by the Apostles, being restored to God, sat down to the feast. But since it was necessary that both bad and good should be called, not that the bad should continue bad, but that they should put off the garments unsuitable for the wedding, and should put on the marriage garments, to wit, bowels of mercy and kindness, for this cause the King goes out, that He may see them set down before the supper is set before them, that they may be detained who have the wedding garment in which He is delighted, and that he may condemn the opposite.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. The King came in to see the guests; not as though there was any place where He is not; but where He will look to give judgment, there He is said to be present; where He will not, there He seems to be absent. The day of His coming to behold is the day of judgment, when He will visit Christians seated at the board of the Scriptures.

ORIGEN; But when He was come in, He found there one who had not put off his old behavior; He saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment. He speaks of one only, because all, who after faith continue to serve that wickedness which they had before the faith, are but of one kind.

GREG. What ought we to understand by the wedding garment, but charity? For this the Lord had upon Him, when He came to espouse the Church to Himself. He then enters in to the wedding feast, but without the wedding garment, who has faith in the Church, but not charity.

AUG. Or, he goes to the feast without a garment, who goes seeking his own, and not the Bridegroom's honor.

HILARY; Or; The wedding garment is the grace of the Holy Spirit, and the purity of that heavenly temper, which taken up on the confession of a good inquiry is to be preserved pure and unspotted for the company of the Kingdom of heaven.

JEROME; Or; the marriage garment is the commandments of the Lord, and the works which are done under the Law and the Gospel, and form the clothing of the new man. Whoever among the Christian body shall be found in the day of judgment not to have these, is straightway condemned. He said to him, Friend, how came you in here, not having a wedding garment? He calls him friend, because he was invited to the wedding as being a friend by faith; but He charges him with want of manners in polluting by his filthy dress the elegance of the wedding entertainment.

ORIGEN; And forasmuch as he who is in sin, and puts not on the Lord Jesus Christ, has no excuse, it follows, But he was speechless.

JEROME; For in that day there will be no room for blustering manner, nor power of denial, when all the Angels and the world itself are witnesses against the sinner.

ORIGEN; He who has thus insulted the marriage feast is not only cast out therefrom, but besides by the King's officers, who are set over his prisons, is chained up from that power of walking which he employed not to walk to any good thing, and that power of reaching forth his hand, wherewith he had fulfilled no work for any good; and is sentenced to a place whence all light is banished, which is called outer darkness.

GREG. The hands and feet are then bound by a severe sentence of judgment, which before refused to be bound from wicked actions by amendment of life. Or punishment binds them, whom sin had before bound from good works.

AUG. The bonds of wicked and depraved desires are the chains which bind him who deserves to be cast out into outer darkness.

GREG. By inward darkness we express blindness, of heart; outer darkness signifies the everlasting night of damnation.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. Or, it points to the difference of punishment inflicted on sinners. Outer darkness being the deepest, inward darkness the lesser, as it were the outskirts of the place.

JEROME; By a metaphor taken from the body, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, is shown the greatness of the torments. The binding of the hands and feet also, and the weeping of eyes, and the gnashing of teeth, understand as proving the truth of the resurrection of the body.

GREG. There shall gnash those teeth which here delighted in gluttony; there shall weep those eyes which here roamed in illicit desire; every member shall there have its peculiar punishment, which here was a slave to its peculiar vice.

JEROME; And because in the marriage and supper the chief thing is the end and not the beginning, therefore He adds, For many are called, but few chosen.

HILARY; For to invite all without exception is a courtesy of public benevolence; but out of the invited or called, the election will be of worth, by distinction of merit.

GREG. For some never begin a good course, and some never continue in that good course which they have begun. Let each one's care about himself be in proportion to his ignorance of what is yet to come.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. Or otherwise; Whenever God will try His Church, He enters into it that He may see the guests; and if He finds any one not having on the wedding garment, He inquires of him, How then were you made a Christian, if you neglect these works? Such a one Christ gives over to His ministers, that is, to seducing leaders, who bind his hands, that is, his works, and his feet, that is, the motions of his mind, and cast him into darkness, that is, into the errors of the Gentiles or the Jews, or into heresy. The inner darkness is that of the Gentiles, for they have never heard the truth which they despise; the outer darkness is that of the Jews, who have heard but do not believe; the outermost is that of the heretics, who have heard and have learned.

Catena Aurea Matthew 22
32 posted on 08/22/2013 6:56:25 PM PDT by annalex (fear them not)
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To: annalex


Parable of the Guests at the Wedding

Dionisiy

14c

33 posted on 08/22/2013 6:59:08 PM PDT by annalex (fear them not)
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To: annalex


The Parable of the Guests at the Wedding of the King's Son (cropped)

Francisco de Goya

1796-97
Cadiz, Spain

34 posted on 08/22/2013 7:02:06 PM PDT by annalex (fear them not)
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To: annalex


The Crowning of the Virgin (Oddi Altarpiece)

Raffaello

1502-03
Oil on canvas, transferred from panel, 267 x 163 cm
Pinacoteca, Vatican

35 posted on 08/22/2013 7:02:54 PM PDT by annalex (fear them not)
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To: annalex
Archdiocese of Washington

I Got a Robe! A Teaching on one of the most shocking parables Jesus ever told

The Gospel from Thursday’s Mass contains one of the most shocking parables Jesus ever told. It is the Parable of the Wedding Banquet a King gives for his Son. Most know it well, but in case you want to review it, the full text of the Gospel is here: Parable of the Wedding Feast

It does not take a degree in biblical theology to understand that the Parable is an allegory. The “King” is God the Father, the “Son” is Jesus, and the Wedding feast is the Great Wedding Feast of the Lamb further described in Revelation:

Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns.Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteousness of God’s holy people.) Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.” (Revelation 19:6-9)

The invited guests are the Jewish people of that time who, when the feast is ready, ignore or reject it for various reasons. There are concerns for land (I just bought a farm), profit (another owns a business), and third group who, for indeterminate reasons lay hold the the King’s servants (who represent the prophets), to beat and even kill them.

And in this rejection is illustrated, not just the Jews of history, but also the long human history of ignoring or rejecting God in favor of worldliness (the land), profit (the business) and hostility to the truth, (the beating and killing of the profits).

And yet, the rejection, while not unique to Jews, does focus on their historical rejection. For the parable calls them the “invited guests.”

Further, upon their rejection comes the horrible detail, told by Jesus himself, that the King (God the Father) was enraged and sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. (Matt 22:6).

This detail shocks many modern readers especially for we have bought into a watered down notion of the holiness of God, and the significance of human choice for or against God. Our common modern vision of the Father is of a kind of doting older man (such as George Burns, or Morgan Freeman) who exists more to get us out of trouble and offer friendly advice, than to summon us to holiness, obedience and a critical choice.

But take note! This detail of the King burning their city is told by Jesus. And as we shall see in Sunday’s Gospel about the wide and narrow road, he is not playing around either. However we want to rework God, and render him harmless, however we want to try and hold opposed God’s love and justice, however we want to render human choice insignificant, the biblical text will have none of it. The bottom line fact is that no one loves you more than Jesus Christ, and yet no one warned of judgement and Hell more than Jesus Christ.

If this parable shocks, it is meant to. It is a call to sobriety in the face of the four most critical truths of our life: death, judgment, heaven and hell. In effect, this parable teaches that we will either enter the wedding feast and celebrate with the Father, or we will be caught up in the conflagration when the Lord comes to judge this world by fire (e.g. 2 Pet 3:7; Malachi 4:1; 2 Thess 1:7).

The choice is ours, but the judgement is certain to come:

God gave Noah the rainbow sign,
no more water but the fire next time! (Negro Spiritual)

The only safe place to be is in the wedding feast of the Jesus the Lamb, who saves us from the wrath to come (1 Thess 1:10).

Add to this shock the fact that the parable was actually fulfilled in 70 AD (as a kind of precursor of the final end of the age) when, after forty years of pleading with the Jewish people to come to Christ, a fiery destruction came on Jerusalem. Rejecting the Lord’s warnings (cf Matthew 24, 25; Mark 13; Luke 21), rejecting the call of the early Apostles and Church, and picking a pointless war with the Romans, the Jewish nation was utterly defeated. Jerusalem was sacked and burned, killing over 1.2 million Jews.

Jesus with weeping had warned:

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. (Matt 23:37)

The next shocking part of the parable comes in the second half. The enraged King (The Father) orders his servants to go into the streets and gather everyone they can. And in this detail is an allegory for the going unto the Gentiles and the Great Commission.

And thanks be to God the response is good and the banquet is filled. But then comes the second shock:

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.

Here too, we moderns with our soft notions, wince. Perhaps part of our trouble with these verses is that we may think that the newly invited guests were dragged in, right off the street with no chance to change clothes. But there is nothing in the text to suggest they had no time to don their wedding clothes. The other guests all seem clothed properly. But the focus shifts to one man, not properly dressed.

Whatever the debated cultural parameters of the story, the theological parameters are more clear. The wedding garment is provided by the King (the Father), who clothes us in righteousness at our baptism. as we saw in the quote above from Revelation:

For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteousness of God’s holy people. (Rev 19:8)

Yes, here is the baptismal gown, the robe of righteousness, which God gives to the baptized who have been washed in the blood of the Lamb! In the baptismal rite the celebrant says to the newly baptized, pointing to their white garment:

You have clothed yourself in Christ. Receive this baptismal garment and bring it unstained to the judgment seat of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that you may have everlasting life. (# 578)

Hence, in the parable, the man is not clothed properly not because he is poor or was pulled in off the street. He is not clothed properly because he has cast aside the garment he was given. Now again recall the garment is no mere cloth. It is an allegory for righteousness. And this righteousness is received and must be cherished. Without it, we cannot endure or remain in the Wedding Feast of the Lamb, which is heaven.

And thus ends one of the most shocking parables Jesus ever told. (We will examine the “many are called, few are chosen” aspect of the text this Sunday). And though the parameters of this parable do shock, Jesus speaks them with an urgent love to bring forth godly repentance from us and to stir an evangelical urgency in us to reach others before “Great and Terrible Day of the Lord” comes (cf Joel 2:31; Mal 4:5 inter al). On that day there will be only two places: safe in the wedding feast with the Lord, or outside in a fiery judgement that is coming on this world.

An old spiritual says, God’s gonna set this world on Fire one of these days. Another old spiritual says, I got a robe, you got a robe, all God’s children got a robe. When I get to heaven gonna put on my robe and go wear it all over God’s heaven! Everybody talkin’ bout heaven ain’t a goin’ there!


36 posted on 08/23/2013 7:11:30 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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