10/11 - 28th Week in Ordinary Time

Dear Parish Family,

The parable of the royal banquet is a parable about the Kingdom of God and about the people who will eventually belong to it. The Parable of the Royal Banquet and the Wedding Garment is Jesus’ interpretation of the History of Salvation.  It is also one of the three parables of judgment or “rejection parables” that Jesus told at the Temple in Jerusalem during the last week of his public life, addressing the “chief priests and elders of the people”, i.e., Israel’s religious and civic leaders. This parable was delivered by Jesus during his last visit to the Temple — the day we know as the Tuesday of Holy Week. The encounter was part of the Master’s last confrontation with those who saw Jesus as their enemy, before they had him arrested. The actual parable is the disturbing story of a King Who celebrated the wedding feast of His Son. When the VIP guests who had been invited refused to come, He brought street people in to take their places. Here, Jesus combines the parable of the marriage feast with another rabbinic parable well known to the people of his time, the parable of the wedding garment.

Since accurate timepieces were unavailable and preparation for a banquet was time-consuming, invitations to such events were sent and accepted well in advance. Once the banquet was ready, the host would send the guests a message — rather like our custom of making medical appointments in advance and receiving a reminder call a day ahead. Attendance at the royal prince’s wedding by prominent citizens was a necessary expression of the honor they owed the king and an expression of their loyalty to the legitimate successor to his throne. Even at ordinary weddings, it was insulting to the host if someone refused to participate in the wedding feast after agreeing to do so at the first invitation. Hence, “refusal of a king’s invitation by the VIPs, without any valid reason suggested rebellion and insurrection” (The Interpreter’s Bible).

In royal banquets, special wedding dress would be provided by the host and given, outside the banquet hall. In other words, when kings would invite everyone to the feast, they, knowing that many would be poor and not have proper vesture, would normally send out the royal tailors to make proper clothing for everyone who was invited or in some other way provide the fitting clothing. When one entered into the palace for the feast, they all looked similar to the groom. The allegory cannot be missed, as God wanting us to be like his son. Hence it is s not difficult to recognize why the king would be so upset about seeing this improperly attired man who was so lazy, or stubborn, perhaps, that he deliberated refused to wear the clothing that was required and made freely available.

“Wearing the wedding garment” means living out the Gospel message. We are called to live the moral and ethical values embodied in Jesus’ life in earth in flesh and time, and in his teachings. In other words, the “wedding garment” in the parable refers to true discipleship rather than uncommitted membership. The parable means that when one freely accepts Christ as one’s Lord and Savior, one must dedicate one’s life to Jesus.  In other words, the Christian must be clothed in the spirit and teaching of Jesus. Grace is a gift and a grave responsibility. Hence, a Christian must be clothed in a new purity and a new holiness.

Fr. Tom Kunnel C.O.