Invitation. How do we respond to Jesus’ invitation?

You must have an invitation to an important celebration. Sometimes we wait impatiently for it. Jesus says to us: “Blessed is everyone who will partake of the feast in the kingdom of God.” (Lk 14:15). We cannot easily express God’s fellowship with his people with human words. Therefore, the Holy Scriptures emphasize the value of salvation, the fullness of happiness and joy that flows from this fellowship using the image of a feast. The kingdom of God is likened to a feast to which many refuse to come so that the host must invite questionable guests to fill the wedding hall.

The parable of the wedding feast has two parts: the invitation (22:1-10) and the rejection (22:11-13).
In Jewish and early Christian literature, the kingdom of God is often compared to a feast. Jesus’ dining with publicans and sinners, especially the last supper with his disciples, symbolizes what life will be like in God’s kingdom. Using the image of a wedding feast to teach about the kingdom of God is part of the tradition. The prominent motif of the parable we heard is the invitation. Some accept the king’s invitation; others do not. God, through his servants, Jesus and his disciples, utters his invitation. Those for whom it was most suitable – the Jewish leaders – rejected him and even violently treated the messengers. Therefore, the invitation was offered to the people outside on the roads, and they accepted it. This group represented the fringes of society in Israel (tax collectors and sinners who took Jesus’ message). This parable outlines the history of salvation from a Christian perspective. It is not enough to be called – baptized; it is not enough to accept an invitation to the wedding feast. Much more depends on how we will appear before God in the end. The parable tells us that God wanted to establish a society that would live with his son Jesus Christ in the same relationship as a bride with her bridegroom. 

The Lord offers us unimaginable goods, and we reject them and often do not adequately appreciate them. Those invited to the wedding are, e.g., those who are absorbed in their activity as if they do not need God. God repeatedly repeats his desire to engage in a loving dialogue with creatures that will take a definitive form in heaven. Rejection of God’s invitation, a way of life as if God were not crucial in it. The people’s excuses in the parable are basically the same as those used by some people today. But the Lord wants his house to be filled. He never resigns from his saving efforts. No one is left out of God’s plan of salvation. But the person who chooses to ignore the invitations the Lord offers excludes himself.

The wedding feast from the Gospel awaits all the invitees even today. Jesus, under the form of bread and in his self-giving love, repeats his invitation. He does not force us but waits for our answer. God is always looking for a way to get close to everyone. The Eucharist and its frequent reception are the assurance for us that we are walking the right path to the eternal wedding feast.