|
Greetings, SBT Readers:
Once again terrorism has unleashed untold suffering on the world, this time with such barbarism that it defies belief. The butchering of young people at a music festival, the slaughtering of whole families, the taking of hostages, and the broadcasting of atrocities on social media -- these are just some of the images that will remain with us forever. At the same time, there are now equally disturbing images of
the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza where innocent civilians-- like their Israeli counterparts-- are mourning their dead, shell-shocked by the shattering of their communities. Sadly, peace activists on both sides have lost their lives in the hellstorm, their vision for promoting peace between the peoples of the Holy Land seemingly lost in blood and rubble. And this, perhaps, is the greatest casualty of all...
Many Blessings!
Elizabeth
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION
Link to Readings
Jesus again in reply spoke to them in parables, saying,
"The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king
who held a wedding feast for his son. When he sent his
servants to summon the invited guests, they refused to come.
A second time he dispatched servants, saying, 'Tell those invited:
"See, I have prepared my banquet; I have butchered my calves and fattened cattle, and everything is ready. Come to the feast!" Some ignored his invitation and went away to their farms and to their businesses. The rest seized his servants, abused them, and killed
them. Enraged, the king sent his soldiers, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, 'The feast is ready, but those who were invited were unworthy. Therefore, go out, into the streets and invite to the feast anyone you find.' The servants went out and gathered all the people 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 who was not dressed in a wedding garment.
The king asked him, 'My friend, how is it you came here without a wedding garment?' But the man was reduced to silence. Then the king said to his attendants, 'Bind his hands and feet, and cast him outside,
into the darkness, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.'
Many are invited, but few are chosen."
Mt 22:1-14
As in last week's Gospel, the King's servants are dishonored, abused, and murdered; and, as in last week's Gospel, the disrespect the servants encounter by extension applies to the King himself. Just as his emissaries are ignored, mocked, and rejected, so, too, is the King. Despite his generosity in throwing a lavish wedding party for his son, those he has invited show no interest whatsoever in attending the feast. Completely lacking in gratitude, they busy themselves with their own affairs, refusing to celebrate with the King on the joyous occasion of his son's marriage. This turning down of the royal invitation goes beyond their feelings regarding the wedding feast but reveals their indifference towards the King himself: they neither fear him nor wish to bring him joy; rather, they turn their backs on him, preferring the world of commerce and financial gain to spending time in his company. Worse still, those who murder the King's servants are, in effect, warning the King that this is what they would do to him and his son if the opportunity presents itself. As in the Parable of the Tenants, the King is both devastated and enraged. Just as the vineyard will be given to new tenants, so the wedding feast will now be opened to anyone on the highways and byways of life-- not to the elite or the religiously upright but to outcasts, down-and-outs, misfits, and sinners.
This brings us to the problem of the missing wedding garment. It seems that the new guests have to observe royal protocol, even though the King's servants have only just rounded them up, inviting them to come as they are. Our first response might be to think that the King is being unreasonable-- after all, stinking shepherds and earth-encrusted farmers are unlikely to look good or smell sweet, while those loitering on the dusty streets would have no time to wash or change their clothes. But let's probe deeper. There is a difference between the metaphors of the vineyard and the marriage feast. While the vineyard represents building up the reign of God, the marriage feast represents the unitive life-- in other words, God's invitation to humanity to participate in the Divine Life so intimately that only the image of marriage can communicate the mystery of the Oneness to which we are called. Here, we are in the territory of the Song of Songs, that mystical poem in which the Bridegroom seeks his Beloved and the Beloved seeks the Bridegroom, both filled with longing and desire. Here, too, we catch a glimpse of Jesus' prayer for unity at the Last Supper (Jn 17:20-26): "I pray not only for them but also for those who will believe in me through their word so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they may also be in us..." (Jn 17:20-21). If the marriage feast represents the invitation to enter into intimate union with God, then the wedding garment that each of us must wear is the willingness to let go of our petty, egotistical selves and self-serving interests to be fully available to the Beloved. Unlike the unfortunate guest who is cast out into the terrible darkness, this means that we must be clothed in grace, open to transformation, and willing to surrender to the One who calls each of us by name...
Mt 22:1-14
| 
