Feb 10, 2015 4 min read

Scripture reading: Matthew 22:1-14. Text: “‘But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment; and he said to him, “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?” And he was speechless.'” Matthew 22:11-12.

Let this message prepare us for Lent which begins Ash Wednesday.

THE PARABLE OF THE WEDDING BANQUET OR WEDDING FEAST.

This parable is recorded, with some variations, in Matthew 22:1-14 and Luke 14:15-24. The story itself is simple; the host prepared a great banquet but those who were invited declined to attend. This symbolizes God’s invitation to His kingdom and those who neglect His invitation.

According to William Barclay, the passage found in Matthew (see our Scripture reading) consists of two parables. The first one tells us of the invitation to the wedding and the guests’ excuses. The king, angry at the invited guests’ refusal to attend, sent out his servants to invite the “UNINVITED” people irrespective of who they were. The second parable, verses 11-14, tells of a guest who was found without proper clothing and for this he was punished. See our text. For us who read these two parables together it seems to be UNFAIR and ILLOGICAL that a person was punished for improperly dressing when he was invited unexpectedly. (At that time, the host often provided clothing for the affair and perhaps the guest refused to wear it, thus angering the king. God offers us eternal life-we must not refuse it.)

At this time let us not pay too much attention to the original episode but ask ourselves does this parable (or these parables) have a modern version?

THE ORIGINAL IDEA TRANSPOSED AND TRANSLATED INTO OUR CIRCUMSTANCES.

In our days there are also ILLOGICAL elements involved in our spiritual or rather church life. Obviously church members see the whole concept from different viewpoints than do the pastors. Let two cases prove the point.

A. Today the guests should be invited – verbally or in a written form – specifying the event and its place, date, and time. (Let us not ask now who is doing a favor – the host by inviting the guest, or the guests by accepting the invitation.)

– The first guest expects to receive the invitation in due time, that is weeks ahead,

so he can be sure that he/she will be free. He RSVPs immediately.

– The second guest is the uncommitted type who does not like to be bound by a strict schedule, does not write down appointments, wants to be free and is satisfied to receive the invitation just a few days prior to the event. He may or may not RSVP.

The obvious solution seems to be for the host to send out the invitation twice; early enough for the first group, and late enough for the second one.

But here comes the problem when everybody has his/her own condition, how far ahead or how close to the event should the invitation to be sent out? Can the host satisfy everybody’s wish?

Is this LOGICAL? How far can we go with our requests and conditions?

B. Imagine a restaurant where the management follows the policy of honesty and strives to satisfy the customers; the customers pay for the meals consumed based on what they think the food and service were worth. Basically there will be three possibilities:

– The food is delicious and the service is prompt and polite. Therefore the customers

pay a fair price because they liked what they eat.

– The food is neither tasty nor well-prepared and the service is poor. Therefore the

guests wait too long, and in the end, they pay little or nothing at all.

– But what happens when the food is good in every respect and the service

acceptable, but the guests say that the GOOD food is tasteless and the service is poor. Are the guests are now obliged to pay? This practice can be tolerated financially by the restaurant for a while but not for long. Is this practice FAIR and LOGICAL? Have you ever experienced similar cases?

As we will start Lent, the season of self-observation and self-control, let us ask ourselves: is the way I think and act always FAIR and LOGICAL? Considering our many own selfish interests, the temptation could be there to be unfair or illogical. May God help us with the clear understanding of this message.