As a Liturgical Year comes closer to its end, Sunday Mass Gospel Readings heavily bear the theme of the Kingdom of God with the eschatological tone. The Gospel Readings for the 26th Sunday to the 34th Sunday (Christ the King Sunday), which is the last Sunday of a Liturgical Year, on Cycle A, are taken from what Jesus had argued with the hypocrite religious leaders and what he had taught during his last days in Jerusalem.
Now we have come as far as the 28th
Sunday in Ordinary Time, with 6 more Sundays left in this Liturgical Year.
Having spent three Sundays in a row (25th,
26th, and 27th Sundays in Ordinary Time, Cycle A) to
reflect the Kingdom of God with metaphors of vineyard from Jesus’ parables in
the Gospel Readings (Matthew 20:1-16a; 21:28-32; 21:33-43), now we read and
meditate on the Kingdom likened to a wedding banquet that the king hosts for
his son (Matthew 22:1-14). In the first two parables of the vineyard (Matthew
20:1-16a; 21:28-32), Jesus distinguished two types of people for the vineyard.
In the first vineyard parable (Matthew 20:1-16a),
there were the group of workers, who
worked all day long since the crack of dawn, and various groups of workers who
were brought to work in later hours. The first group of workers complained to
the vineyard owner as the workers who were brought in later hours also received
the same pay, out of envy. In this parable, the group of the workers, who
worked all day long and complained about the way paid, indicate the people of
the first covenant, namely the Israelites in the Old Testament. On the other
hand, the workers who were brought to the vineyard in later hours are liked to
various types of the Gentiles. Among them, some were brought to work in the
vineyard earlier than the others, and this reflects that some among the
Gentiles were Christianized earlier than other Gentiles. Regardless of when to
come to know and accept Christ, in the end, those who remained in faith receive
the same benefits of the salvation.
In the second vineyard parable (Matthew 21:28-32),
there were two sons of the vineyard owner: the son, who declined to work when his
father called but changed his mind and actually worked, and the other son, who
promised to work but never worked in the vineyard. The son, who said “no” to
his father’s call to work in the vineyard but actually worked upon changing his
mind represents those who have converted to become faithful Christians, while
the other son, who said “yes” to this father’s call but never worked are
synonymous to those who were baptized shortly after birth but drifted away from
the faith. Or, the son, who promised to work in the vineyard but never worked,
may represent hypocrite religious leaders, who are no longer faithful to their
vows to serve God and His people.
The third vineyard parable (Matthew 21:33-43)
describes how wicked the tenant workers of the vineyard were. These workers
were filled with vices, especially dishonesty and greed. For their greed to
hijack the vineyard, they not only killed the servants of the landowner, who
established the vineyard, but also killed the owner’s son, who was to inherit
the vineyard. And, in this parable, Jesus was rather clear to the hypocrite
religious leaders that they were like these vicious tenant workers. In this
third parable of vineyard, Jesus zeroes in on those who are not only unfaithful
but really wicked enough to be anti-Christ during the time of the Old Covenant,
And the parable further tells that the wicked were thrown out of the vineyard,
which was given to new workers, suggesting the vineyard in the New Covenant.
Upon these aforementioned three parables of vineyard
to reflect the Kingdom, on the 28th Sunday, the parable in the
Gospel Reading (Matthew 22:1-14) likens the Kingdom to a wedding banquet,
hosted by king for his son’s wedding. And this parable has a similar pattern to
the first vineyard parable for the 25th Sunday (Matthew 20:1-16), as
there are two group of people representing the Jew, whom God called first in
the Old Covenant, and the Gentiles, whom God called later and who accepted
Christ in the New Covenant.
Now, let’s take a look into this Gospel Reading and
its parable (Mathew 22:1-14).
As it was the case with the third parable of the
vineyard (Matthew 21:33-43), Jesus spoke this parable directly to the religious
leaders in order to mirror their hypocrisy, as Nathan confronted David’s double
mortal sins through the parable of the ewe lamb of the poor man (2 Samuel
12:1-13). Though David repented in response, the religious leaders, whom Jesus
confronted, did not even acknowledge their sins of hypocrisy and not serving
God.
The parable metaphorically juxtaposes a wedding
banquet for king’s son, hosted by king, to the Kingdom of God, which is in the
will of God the Father through the Son and the Holy Spirit. And in this parable
has two parts: how those who were originally invited for the banquet by the
king responded (vv.2-7) and how those who were later brought to the banquet
were with the king (vv. 8-13).
Those whom God invited for the banquet represent the
people in the Old Covenant, namely, the Jew. Say that the banquet represents
their opportunity to meet the Messiah, whose coming had been prophesized in the
Old Testament (i.e. Isaiah 7:14; Micah 5:2). And such prophecies has been
already fulfilled with the first coming of Christ (Luke 2:1-7) upon the
incarnation of the Logos-Theos (John
1:1, 14) through Mary’s pregnancy by the power of the Holy Spirit (Matthew
1:18; Luke 1:35). Those whom the king had invited – the Jew – had the privilege
to meet the Messiah in person and believed in him. However, as described in all
canonical Gospels, many ignored and refused him, still hoping and waiting for
all these prophesies about the Messiah to be fulfilled.
Those who killed the king’s servants, who tried to
summon the invited, (Matthew 22:6) represent those who had persecuted and
killed the prophets during the time of the Old Testament, also liked to these
vicious tenant workers of the vineyard (Matthew 21:35-36).
Among those who had refused to believe that Jesus is
the prophesized Messiah, the living Christ, though they were with him in
Jerusalem, conspired the Roman authority to kill Jesus. They were juxtaposed by
Jesus to the vicious tenant workers of the vineyard, killing the son of the
landowner in the third vineyard parable (Matthew 21:37-39). And they were the
hypocrite religious leaders that Jesus confronted during his last days in
Jerusalem. However, at the time of this parable was spoken, they did not yet
laid their hands on Jesus to kill. Therefore, the son of the king was untouched
but his wedding was ignored in this parable.
Because those whom the king had invited to his son’s
wedding refused or ignored and even killed his servants, the king punished them
by destroying them and their city (Matthew 22:7), paralleling to Matthew 21:41.
Actually, this parable is more likely to have an
eschatological indication, pointing out the heavenly wedding banquet of the
Lamb, the Christ, and his bride, the Church, in Revelation 19:6-9. Those who
actually attended the wedding banquet for the king’s son were those who were
not invited first but later called and brought by the king’s servants upon the
king’s order (Matthew 22:8-13). This took place after those whom the king had
invited forfeited the opportunity by ignoring and refusing the invitation and
the king’s severe judgement upon those who had killed the king’s servants. The
heavenly wedding banquet (Revelation 19:6-9) will take place upon the great
eschatological tribulation, through which those who are not worthy to attend
the banquet and to enter the Kingdom upon its completion will be eliminated along
with the anti-Christ (Revelation 6 – 19).
The RSVP result was so disappointing to the king as
those whom he had sent the invitations did not respond and went away, while
others sent “no”. Thus, the king said those whom he had invited were not worthy
to come to the banquet anymore when it finally became ready to be served (Matthew
22:8). But, he sure did not want to forego the banquet without any guests. So,
he ordered his servants to go out into main roads to bring whomever they can,
whether they were good or bad (Matthew 22:9-10). This reflects, first, Jesus’s
great commissioning of his disciples to go out into the world and make more
disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19), with an eschatological projection in
Matthew 13:47-48.
Both good or bad are at the wedding banquet for the
king’s son and the king now greets all of them but kicked a man out for he was
not wearing a garment suited for the occasion (Matthew 22:11-13). This is like the
fishermen casting away bad fish out of the net upon hauling it to the shore in
order to keep only good fish (Matthew 13:48), further reflecting the wicked
will be separated from the righteous and thrown into the eternal damnation at
the eschaton (Matthew 13:49-50; cf.
13:30).
Those who rejected or ignored the king’s invitation
and forfeited the his son’s wedding banquet represent those who rejected or
ignored God’s provision of His Son as the Messiah and those who killed His
servant prophets and His Son. Because of their offenses against God, their
names are erased from His Book of Life (cf. Exodus 32:33; Deuteronomy 29:20),
they forfeited the Lamb’s heavenly wedding banquet, for which the names of its
guests are written in the Book of life (cf. Revelation 3:5). And through the
Son’s blood, which is the Lamb’s blood, the invitation to the banquet was
renewed, known as the New Covenant (Matthew 26: 28//Mark 14:24//Luke 22:20).
Upon this renewed invitation, the servants of the king went out to the main
street to fill the banquet hall when it is ready, and they brought both good
and bad to the king’s palace. And there, the king inspects those who are
brought, as the fishermen inspects the net full of fish.
Remember, the real wedding banquet of the Lamb
(Christ upon Parousia, as the King)
in heaven at the eschaton, are only
for those who have endured the great tribulation, according to the Book of
Revelation. And, this is when we no longer need to celebrate the Sacrament of the
Eucharist, as this heavenly wedding banquet means the reunion with Christ
(cf. Matthew 26:29//Mark 14:25//Luke
22:18). Those who are truly eligible to attend the heavenly wedding banquet for
Christ the King, the Lamb of God (Revelation 19:6-9) are those whose names are
written in the Book of Life for having endured the great tribulation
(Revelation 6 – 16), wearing lobes washed white by the blood of the Lamb (cf.
Revelation 3:5; 7:14).
In the parable, the king, who is the host of the
banquet for his son’s wedding, weeded out a man, who was not dressed for the
occasion (Matthew 22:11-13), and he represents those who lost their privilege
to be at the heavenly wedding banquet of the Lamb because of their failure to
keep their faith – though the Lamb gave the privilege through his blood. And,
they are those who are lost through the great eschatological tribulation in
Revelation 6 – 9 because of their apostasy or of their lukewarm faith, unable
to sustain the challenges.
So, we must ask ourselves:
Are we wearing the garment of purity and
righteousness, washed white by the blood of Christ from his Cross, now from the
Eucharistic chalice at Mass of Sacrifice, by sustaining our faith in Christ, until
this heavenly wedding banquet in Revelation 19:6-9, enduring all sorts of
challenges and tribulations, not falling to Satan’s temptations and apostasy –
so that we can enter into the Kingdom of God with its capitol, New Jerusalem
(Revelation 21-22)? Or are we blind and deaf to God’s will, and therefore,
ignoring His invitation to His Son’s heavenly wedding banquet? Or are we
rejecting Christ, the Son, therefore, refusing his Father’s invitation to the
Son’s heavenly wedding banquet?
Remember, we cannot afford to lose our privilege for
the wedding feast, for Christ has already purchased it for us through his
blood, which has made our lobes clean white, because we can taste and see the
best of God’s goodness so rich and no enemies to distract, as reflected in the
First Reading (Isaiah 25:6-10a; cf. Psalm 34:8), echoed in the Responsorial
Psalm (23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6). In the Second Reading (Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20),
Paul, who has endured so many hardships, even with a little food, reminds us to
remain humble and faithful to God, trusting the richness and abundance in His
providence, in order for us to sustain our privilege for the heavenly wedding
banquet – not to botch what Christ has purchased for us – the renewed invitation
from God for His Son’s wedding in heaven.
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