In our daily delusions and illusions chasing body-based wants
along the well-worn ways of our ego and pride, we tend to overlook and
disregard the Lord’s perpetual invitation inked in the redeeming red of the
Savior’s blood to the beyond-body blissful banquet in the kingdom of heaven.
In “The Parable of the Wedding Feast” (Matt. 22:1-14) the
Lord Jesus reveals God as a King inviting all to his son’s wedding feast and shows
the proper way to respond to His invitation. “The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a
wedding feast for his son” (v 2) where the preparations are truly sumptuous - “Behold,
I have prepared my banquet, my calves and fattened cattle are killed, and
everything is ready” and so the king instructs the servants to tell those
originally invited to “come to the feast” (v 4).
But the invited guests - perhaps thinking they knew better than
the king or that the invitation was beneath their dignity – “refused to come”
(v 3); some ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to
his business (v 5); the rest laid hold of his servants, mistreated them, and
killed them. (v 6)
We, humans tend to respond
like this, despite its being a heavenly feast laid out in and for love. “For
God so loved the world that he gave
his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might
have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
News of this great banquet
is supposed to be given first to the direct descendants of Jacob (Israel) and
then to everyone. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel. It is the power of God
for the salvation of everyone who believes: for Jew first, and then Greek. For
in it is revealed the righteousness of God from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The one who is
righteous by faith will live.’” (Romans 1:16-17) And it is a continuing and
perpetual invitation to return to God, offered once for all time by the supreme
sacrifice of Jesus (cf Hebrews 7:27 & 10:10)
Going back now to the Wedding Feast Parable (Matt 22: 1-14),
because of the failure and/or violent refusal to heed the invitation on the
part of those invited, “The king was
enraged and sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.”
(v 7) “Then he said to his servants, ‘The feast is ready, but those who were
invited were not worthy to come. Go out, therefore, into the main roads and
invite to the feast whomever you find.’” (v 8&9) “The servants went out
into the streets and gathered all they found, bad and good alike, and the hall
was filled with guests.” (v 10)
This directive to invite “whomever you find” continues until
this very moment… so you and I, in the interregnum of our lives, are invited to
this best banquet in the universe, for eternity... But we don’t willy-nilly
just go there and show up expecting full reception; we have to be in a proper wedding
garment. We can’t simply go in and crash the party. The Parable of the Wedding
Feast continues: “But when the king came in to meet the guests he saw a man
there not dressed in a wedding garment.” (v 11) “He said to him, ‘My friend,
how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?’ But he was reduced
to silence.” (v 12)
“A wedding garment” refers to the repentance, change of
heart and mind, that is the condition for entrance into the kingdom (cf Matt
3:2, 4:17) and must be continued in a life of good deeds (cf Matt 7:21-23). Easy
it is to hearken unto an invitation; in fact, when we overhear anything good or
cool happening somewhere we get impelled to just go and be part of it; to be
seen with the beautiful and the powerful is somehow irresistible to us. The
hard part, however, is finding and putting on this “wedding garment”; for it
cannot be found anywhere else but inside us: in our repentance and change of
heart and of mind, in our acceptance of Christ’s redeeming sacrifice, and in
our engaging in a sacred, obedient relationship with the Holy Spirit (in us),
the Son (with us) and the Father (for us).
Want to crash this best banquet in the universe? That is, wanna
try to maneuver and seek to enter or sneak into heaven without repentance,
humility, resolve not to sin again, willingness to ask forgiveness every time you
slip or fall, grateful acceptance of Christ’s redeeming grace, obedience to the
Father’s commands, and living in the Spirit? Think again of the Wedding Feast Parable:
“Then the king said to his attendants,
‘Bind his hands and feet, and
cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’” (v 13) “Many are
invited, but few are chosen.” (v 14)
So, in putting to use our dominion mandate (cf Genesis
1:26-28) by His grace and by His power (without succumbing to the delusion that
we alone, separate from God, have the might to do so), every day we are invited
to seek first God’s Kingdom and His righteousness so that all the material
things we need shall be added unto us. (cf Matt 6:33)
We are indeed reminded that we are first, to love the Lord
our God with all of our all; and second, to love our neighbor as our own selves
(cf Matt 22:34-40). This dual command of love in effect emphasizes the
quintessential unity of God and humankind, as the second is like the first, yet
says “love your neighbor as yourself” without a middle command about loving
yourself necessarily implying that the first includes loving yourself as you
love God with all of your heart, soul, mind.
If we do these in at-one-ment with the Lord, consistently, then
we can wear the proper wedding garment; we won’t be tempted to crash heaven,
which attempt - without God - is not a viable course of action any way… “For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him
be glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:36)
Reference: New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE)
