Isaiah 25:6–10, Psalm 22, Philippians 4:12–14, 19–20, Matthew 22:1–14
Two of today’s readings speak of a banquet. And we know that to attend a banquet, one must be invited. And of course, when one goes to a banquet, the attire—the outfit—is very important. So we can say that there are three very interesting and striking elements in today’s readings: the banquet, the invitation, and the attire – dress code.
The prophecy of Isaiah, describing the messianic kingdom offered to all nations through metaphors, explains that “The Lord will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, on this mountain—a feast of aged wines and choice foods.” In this reading of just four verses, the phrases “all peoples,” “all faces,” “all nations,” and “the whole earth” appear frequently. In other words, the Lord’s invitation to this banquet is not reserved for a select few—it is for everyone. It is an open invitation. You and I are invited. The invitation is still open.
In the Gospel, we read the parable of the wedding guests. This parable, very similar to another recorded by Saint Luke (cf. Lk 14:15–24), completes the meaning of the two that precede it. Israel—represented by the first guests—has not only rejected God’s banquet, His call to salvation, but has also mistreated and killed the servants sent by their Lord. Therefore, its fate is sealed (v. 7). Israel’s rejection gives rise to a new initiative on God’s part, as He now calls all people to the Church, the new People of God.
However, as in the parables of the weeds and the dragnet (cf. 13:24–50), those who respond to the call are “the good and the bad” (v. 10), and not all are worthy, because not all have been converted and have purchased the wedding garment. This Gospel is a wake-up call to those of us who already make up the Church: Israel’s failure (v. 7) foreshadows our own if we do not prove ourselves worthy of the calling (v. 13). But “What are we to understand by the wedding garment if not charity? Thus, one who enters the wedding but does not enter in a wedding garment is one who, upon entering the Church, has faith but lacks charity”—St. Gregory the Great
Many of us have accepted the invitation to the banquet; we have come, but we are not fully committed. In other words, we are missing the wedding garment. The man without the wedding garment sadly represents those of us within the Church who are not responding to God’s call to holiness. We are here in the Church, but we have not become what God truly wants us to be. We participate at the Eucharistic table, yet we are not convinced that fraternal charity is not just an optional extra in the Christian life. Chapter 25 of the Gospel of St. Matthew explains very clearly this wedding garment we must wear: Feed the hungry; give drink to the thirsty; welcome the stranger; clothe the naked; visit the sick and those in prison.
Let us pray, as St. Paul does in today’s second reading, that the Lord, who has invited us to his banquet, may strengthen us to always put on the wedding garment of charity. Amen.
