A story is told of a father who was impressed by his son’s ability to draw a large crowd to his public lecture. He asked him how he did it and the son replied: “Oh it’s like this, father. Three groups comprised the audience. First group was made up of my students who came to listen to my lecture as part of their course requirement. The second were those who showed up because they want to be with the students, and the third were security officers sent by the students’ parents.”
Being drawn to something is a common human experience. Depending on what attracts us and the intensity of our fascination, inconveniences are sometimes negotiated or accepted as part of the deal. On the other hand, loathing something can be hard to overcome without some enticements or some good reasons for doing so.
Today’s gospel talks about God’s attempt to draw us to Him, exemplified by Christ’s parable of a king who invited guests to a wedding feast. Nobody turned up at first, and so the king sent invitation to another group of people. The invitees came this time, but many of them were dressed inappropriately for the occasion. What the king did to the first group of invitees who refused to come and to those in the second group who showed up in an appearance that was unbecoming for a wedding guest is worthy of attention, for they essentially suffered similar fate. The king condemned them and ordered that they be killed.
It is a cruel proposition of course to liken God to the king in today’s parable — that a merciful God who invites us to come to Him would have us killed if we reject His invitation. We could question if God is indeed infinitely merciful or truly unconditional with His love for us. Today’s parable seems to suggest otherwise.
Before reaching such conclusion though, it would be helpful to understand the context. As stated in the parable, guests were invited to a wedding feast — a joyful, happy and blissful occasion which the king wants people to attend and be part of. A wedding signifies joy-filled celebration, a festivity, a gathering of friends and loved ones, a day (or days) of laughter and fun, of sumptuous meal and plentiful drinks. A wedding is a communion, a sealing of relationship and commitment. The parable could very well be speaking of our union with God to which we are invited to celebrate joyfully. In short, God is inviting us to a life of eternal happiness with Him.
The parable states that some invitees in the first group went about their usual daily chores of working in their farms or doing other business instead of coming to the wedding. Hard at work perhaps to support their families, they had no time to attend events like a wedding. This is a valid excuse, no doubt. Yet, to be working so hard for whatever reason and be no longer interested to accept invitations coming from a king could be interpreted in another way. And those who did not only refuse the invitation but also killed the ones who delivered the invitation to them could be motivated by something deeply personal and political. Similarly, attending the wedding but dressed inappropriately was taken as an insult and a contemptible behavior, which the king condemned.
God is inviting us to royal banquet to dine with Him. We could be preoccupied with so many things, but what we do with our time, resources and abilities will have a bearing on our relationship with the Lord. It is not that God will cruelly punish us or send fire and brimstone to consume us. Rather, missing a happy occasion of being with Him and being part of a divine plan to build His Kingdom here on earth would be a condemnation we bring upon ourselves.
We all have standing invitation from God. In truth, however, we do not need to depend on such invitation anymore. To be truly drawn to the Lord, be attracted to His kindness, and enticed to His gracious presence would be enough for us to seek Him. If we are worth our salt as Christians, we cannot ask God to follow and accompany us always. Instead, being Christ’s followers and disciples, we are the ones who need to follow Him, invite Him and ensure that we remain close to Him.
soysi 
Leave a comment