UNDER the loving care of the shepherd, the sheep are led to green pastures and protected from all harm (Psalm 23:1–3a, 3b–4, 5, 6). But even if the king invites guests to a wedding feast, they still find reasons to decline, and in so doing, prove themselves to be unworthy, even as some who accept the invitation turn up without a wedding garment (Matthew 22:1–14).
The Lord cares for His flock
ONE of the best-loved psalms, Psalm 23 pictures God as a shepherd who leads His flock to verdant pastures and to cool waters, and protects them from predators and from all harm while passing through difficult terrain. To characterize the Lord as a shepherd is to trust and be confident that He is looking after His people/flock with tender compassion and attending to all their needs. Under His loving care, each sheep, like the psalmist, leads a peaceful existence; with ample grass for grazing and abundant, tranquil water to drink from, he is really nourished and refreshed in his deepest being.
The shepherd’s relationship with his sheep is also moral; the psalmist is guided, for the sake of the Lord’s name, in the right path, in the way of righteousness. This way of the Lord is His enduring covenant kindness (hesed) that accompanies His covenant partner all his life. That is why, even in passing through dark valleys, one fears no evil, because he or she knows that the Lord is there, true to His commitment. The psalmist speaks directly to God: “You are with me, and with Your shepherd’s staff You ward off dangers and steady the whole flock. You prepare nourishment for me. It is a testament to all my foes how much You love me. You anoint me and I will enjoy Your favor until I dwell in Your house for all time.”
Invited to a royal wedding banquet
IN the third consecutive confrontation with the religious leaders of the day, Jesus, in the Gospel, pictures them as the first set of guests invited to the wedding banquet of the king’s son. God is inviting His people to the fullness of joy at His son’s wedding. The point the parable makes focuses on the response of those invited to the invitation. The prophets are the servants dispatched to summon the guests, and the invited guests are those respectable people who enjoy a special relationship with the king. This is a special celebration, and everything is ready.
But those invited behaved as if there is nothing important happening. They refused to come, an unthinkable affront to the king. Preoccupied with their own affairs, some prioritized their farms and businesses, while others challenged the king by committing violence against the king’s servants. And their destructiveness rebounded on them. The offended king became enraged; troops were sent in and the murderers’ city was burned down. “Those who were invited didn’t deserve to come,” the king said.
But without a wedding garment
THE feast was ready, and the wedding must be celebrated. And the king wanted the hall filled with guests. The list of select guests was set aside and a general invitation was issued. From the streets, ordinary people who were gathered by the servants, and who have heard the invitation and accepted it, were led into the banquet hall. There were no particular initial requirements; the good and the bad alike were invited to the feast.
However, a final judgment and selection took place at the feast in the presence of the king, who came in to meet the guests. He saw a man not dressed in a wedding garment, unlike the others who were. The invitation was freely given, but still there was a requirement one must meet for the enjoyment of the wedding. Noncompliance would ultimately mean the darkness outside, instead of the light of the feast inside, and hands and feet bound, instead of eating with one’s hands and dancing with one’s feet. It meant the weeping and gnashing of teeth, instead of laughing and singing. The guests were not there simply to witness a wedding, but to participate in it.
Alálaong bagá, putting on the required wedding garment means deciding to be united with the groom/son: to accept and be wedded to the Gospel of the Son, to share in the joy and fullness of life of Christ Jesus. It is readiness to absorb, understand and live according to His teachings, to follow Him as one’s shepherd leading the flock to abundant pastures and tranquil water and safely through dark valleys. It is to entrust oneself in covenant to one’s Savior.
Each Christian is called to a wedding with, and conversation into, Christ. Being inside the Church is not enough; being without a wedding garment is to be reduced to silent attendance and incomprehension and ultimate exclusion from the feast.
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