The Ultimate Wrath

Today’s Gospel Text: 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. "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 darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.' 14 For many are called, but few are chosen." Matt 22:1-14

Reflection: This parable is difficult to comprehend:: How can the invitees not attend a king’s banquet or refuse his invitation. In other words; who would refuse a kings invitation for a banquet?

It is not always the food that counts, but who it is that invites counts too.

Yet if we look at the Christ reality, the world still keeps refusing the Kings invitation for the banquet of the Son: A banquet that satisfies, a banquet that will refresh the soul and strengthen it to enter the king’s eternal presence.

What may have made the people refuse the King? The only reason I can see is the kindness, love and generosity of the king, which made the people refuse the kings invitation.

They must have had abundance under the king’s reign, who must have given without discrimination to these subjects, so as to be self-sufficient and must have been kind to them in all circumstances that they failed to see this goodness of the king.

Hence, when the invitation came along, they seemed to lack the respect for their king.

There could be two reasons why people lose respect for someone: one is if the person behaves like an immature fool or if the person is in all humility, extra gentle and kind, with all patience.

The king seemed to belong to the second category; an embodiment of kindness and generosity, irrespective of a persons behavior.  

Hence, when the actual occasion of importance arrived, as he sent his servants out with a sense of mission, then the invitees could only be foolish to refuse the call.

God, through Christ Jesus reveals the same urgency for people to take his invitation seriously. That generation crucified him and the present generation by refusing his invitation still keeps doing it by refusing the invite to repent and turn to him and to be clothed with his garment of righteousness.

Prayer: “Who considers the power of thy anger, and thy wrath according to the fear of thee? So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Ps 90:11-12

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