Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)

For: Thursday, August 18, 2011

20th Week in Ordinary Time

From: Matthew 22:1-14

The Parable of the Marriage Feast

[1] And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, [2] “The kingdom of
heaven may be compared to a king who gave a marriage feast for his son, [3]
and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the marriage feast; but
they would not come. [4] Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who
are invited, Behold, I have made ready my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves
are killed, and everything is ready; come to the marriage feast.’ [5] But they
made light of it and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, [6] while
the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. [7] The
king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and
burned their city. [8] Then he said to his servants, “The wedding is ready, but
those invited were not worthy. [9] Go therefore to the thoroughfares, and invite
to the marriage feast as many as you find.’ [10] And those servants went out
into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good; so the
wedding hall was filled with guests.

[11] “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who
had no wedding garment; [12] and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in
here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. [13] Then the king
said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer dark-
ness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.’ [14] For many are called, but
few are chosen.”

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Commentary:

1-14. In this parable Jesus reveals how intensely God the Father desires the
salvation of all men—the banquet is the Kingdom of heaven —and the mysterious
malice that lies in willingly rejecting the invitation to attend, a malice so vicious
that it merits eternal punishment. No human arguments make any sense that go
against God’s call to conversion and acceptance of faith and its consequences.

The Fathers see in the first invitees the Jewish people: in salvation history God
addresses himself first to the Israelites and then to all the Gentiles (Acts 13:46).

Indifference and hostility cause the Israelites to reject God’s loving call and there-
fore to suffer condemnation. But the Gentiles also need to respond faithfully to
the call they have received; otherwise they will suffer the fate of being cast “into
outer darkness”.

“The marriage”, says St Gregory the Great (”In Evangelia Homiliae”, 36) “is the
wedding of Christ and his Church, and the garment is the virtue of charity: a per-
son who goes into the feast without a wedding garment is someone who believes
in the Church but does not have charity.”

The wedding garment signifies the dispositions a person needs for entering the
Kingdom of heaven. Even though he belongs to the Church, if he does not have
these dispositions he will be condemned on the day when God judges all man-
kind. These dispositions essentially mean responding to grace.

13. The Second Vatican Council reminds us of the doctrine of the “last things”,
one aspect of which is covered in this verse. Referring to the eschatological di-
mension of the Church, the Council recalls our Lord’s warning about being on
the watch against the wiles of the devil, in order to resist in the evil day (cf. Eph
6:13). “Since we know neither the day nor the hour, we should follow the advice
of the Lord and watch constantly so that, when the single course of our earthly
life is completed (cf. Heb 9:27), we may merit to enter with him into the marriage
feast and be numbered among the blessed (cf. Mt 25:31-46) and not, like the
wicked and slothful servants (cf. Mt 25:26), be ordered to depart into the eternal
fire (cf. Mt 25:41), into the outer darkness where “men will weep and gnash their
teeth’” (”Lumen Gentium”, 48).

14. These words in no way conflict with God’s will that all should be saved (cf. 1
Tim 2:4). In his love for men, Christ patiently seeks the conversion of every single
soul, going as far as to die on the cross (cf. Mt 23:37; Lk 15:4-7). St Paul teaches
this when he says that Christ loved us and “gave himself up for us, a fragrant offe-
ring and sacrifice to God” (Eph 5:2). Each of us can assert with the Apostle that
Christ “loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:20). However, God in his infinite
wisdom respects man’s freedom: man is free to reject grace (cf. Mt 7:13-14).

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Mass Readings

First reading	Judges 11:29-39 ©

The spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah, who crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through to Mizpah in Gilead, and from Mizpah in Gilead made his way to the rear of the Ammonites. And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord, ‘If you deliver the Ammonites into my hands, then the first person to meet me from the door of my house when I return in triumph from fighting the Ammonites shall belong to the Lord, and I will offer him up as a holocaust. Jephthah marched against the Ammonites to attack them, and the Lord delivered them into his power. He harassed them from Aroer almost to Minnith (twenty towns) and to Abel-keramim. It was a very severe defeat, and the Ammonites were humbled before the Israelites.

As Jephthah returned to his house at Mizpah, his daughter came out from it to meet him; she was dancing to the sound of timbrels. This was his only child; apart from her he had neither son nor daughter. When he saw her, he tore his clothes and exclaimed, ‘Oh my daughter, what sorrow you are bringing me! Must it be you, the cause of my ill-fortune! I have given a promise to the Lord, and I cannot unsay what I have said.’ She answered him, ‘My father, you have given a promise to the Lord; treat me as the vow you took binds you to, since the Lord has given you vengeance on your enemies the Ammonites.’ Then she said to her father, ‘Grant me one request. Let me be free for two months. I shall go and wander in the mountains, and with my companions bewail my virginity.’ He answered, ‘Go’, and let her depart for two months. So she went away with her companions and bewailed her virginity in the mountains. When the two months were over, she returned to her father, and he treated her as the vow that he had uttered bound him. She had never known a man.

Psalm	Psalm 39:5,7-10

Gospel	Matthew 22:1-14 ©

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people, ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a feast for his son’s wedding. He sent his servants to call those who had been invited, but they would not come. Next he sent some more servants. “Tell those who have been invited” he said “that I have my banquet all prepared, my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, everything is ready. Come to the wedding.” But they were not interested: one went off to his farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his servants, maltreated them and killed them. The king was furious. He despatched his troops, destroyed those murderers and burnt their town. Then he said to his servants, “The wedding is ready; but as those who were invited proved to be unworthy, go to the crossroads in the town and invite everyone you can find to the wedding.” So these servants went out on to the roads and collected together everyone they could find, bad and good alike; and the wedding hall was filled with guests. When the king came in to look at the guests he noticed one man who was not wearing a wedding garment, and said to him, “How did you get in here, my friend, without a wedding garment?” And the man was silent. Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot and throw him out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.” For many are called, but few are chosen.’