Matthew 22:1-14
An invitation to be transformed

I often feel that weddings tend to be the largest backdrop of life in India. And I am told that in many other cultures it is the same. From the moment a child is born there is this unspoken understanding that he or she is being raised and prepared to get married. By the time daughters are teenagers, parents and relatives observe and comment on how they will or will not make good brides; whether they will bring honor or dishonor to the family depending on how the daughters interact with others and do things around the home.

Sons are encouraged to get an academic degree that is more prestigious in order to attract brides from good and honorable families. In most cases parents will not consider their parental responsibilities over until all their children are married. It is only when the children are married that an Indian parent will say he or she is “settled” in life. So for the parents, especially for the brides’ family it is a matter of great honor to host a large and generous wedding feast. Like for most weddings, it always gets rather tricky when handling the wedding invitations. There is the question of who to invite and who to ignore, but in the end most parents will send out invitations to almost everyone they know regardless of whether they happen to be close friends or not. Parents would rather go into debt than offend someone they may not know too well. It is the largest and the most important event in the life of a family, and therefore the greatest cause for celebration. In fact, there are often many gatecrashers to an Indian wedding but the spirit of celebration and generosity is so intense that no one who comes to the banquet table is turned away. So, a wedding invitation is never taken lightly by those who receive it.

The importance and significance of a wedding and the invitation sent out to guests were the same during Jesus’ time. This parable therefore would have been totally baffling and quite unbelievable to the people who were hearing it from Jesus. Because, no one in their right mind would decline a wedding invitation from one of their friends or relatives leave alone an invitation from the king himself. But Jesus says that the invited guests not only ignored the invitation, they made light of it or in other words made fun of it. Some of the guests went so far as to deliberately insult the king by mistreated the messengers and even killing some of them.

So, looking at this parable, where would we put ourselves in relation to the Kingdom of God? Do we, like the first set of guests take God’s invitation to His Kingdom as something that is just not important enough to warrant an answer? Or are we like the second set of guests excited, honored and willing to sit at the banquet in the Kingdom of God? All of us understand the deep significance and importance of preparing for a wedding, which for most cultures is indeed the most important event in a family’s life. So, how can we not understand the significance and the importance of celebrating God’s Kingdom, which He has prepared and made ready for our benefit?

The joy of receiving God’s invitation to His Kingdom and the eagerness to participate in the glorious event of bringing God’s redemption to earth through His Kingdom can be understood and appreciated only when we realize that we are forever doomed to hopelessness and death without God. The coming of God’s Kingdom is not a random, spur of the moment decision on God’s part. Right from the moment Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, He set out to prepare the great banquet at the event of our redemption and reconciliation with God. God loves us so much that even in our rebellion He relentlessly planned to bring about the great event of forgiveness, reconciliation, and healing for us. The story that runs through the whole Bible is about God pointing toward that great feast where we will be able to sit at the same table with God as our Father, because He has made it possible for us to be holy and righteous through His son Jesus.

What we need to realize is that every time we brush aside our inner yearning to pray and study the word of God we ignore God’s invitation to come to His banquet. Every time we decide to forgo being in relationship with and in communion with the larger family of God we ignore God’s invitation to His feast. Every time we decide that there are more important things to do than set aside time with God and in His service we make light of God’s invitation for us. And every time we ignore the needs of people around us, we ignore the opportunity brought to us to be a part of God’s redemptive Kingdom on earth.

Even after we have accepted God’s invitation to His Kingdom, there is still more for us to do. The invitation to participate in the banquet comes with the requirement of a dress code, which is really not far fetched at all. Wearing appropriate cloths to a wedding is a mark of our respect for the host who has taken the initiative to invite us. The mere acceptance of God’s invitation is not enough, we need to clothe ourselves with the right attire, or in other words we must prepare and present ourselves as transformed people in the Kingdom of God. Transformation is what is necessary to be truly counted amongst God’s chosen people.

The moment we hear and respond to God’s invitation to be a part of His glorious and eternal Kingdom, we can no longer live as mere passersby, strangers, or pedestrians. God is always gracious, patient and merciful to us giving us plenty of opportunities to embrace and wear the robes of righteousness. The banquet is prepared and laid out for us, the invitation has been sent out, even his messengers have come to remind us, and on top of everything, God has prepared the robes of righteousness that is required for the feast. Have we looked at our lives lately to find out where exactly we fit in, in this parable.

“ For many are called, but few are chosen." May God in His great mercy not grow tired of extending that invitation to us. And may he also give us the grace to seek and understand the robes of righteousness. Amen.