Parable of the Great Banquet

thumb|Illustration by John Everett Millais, 1864 The Parable of the Great Banquet or the Wedding Feast or the Marriage of the King's Son is a parable told by Jesus in the New Testament. It is not to be confused with a different Parable of the Wedding Feast recorded in the Gospel of Luke. Quotes about Bible Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.“Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’“But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.“Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.“Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’“For many are invited, but few are chosen.” [Gospel of Matthew]] 22:1-14 NIV. When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’“But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’“Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’“Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’“The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’“‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’“Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. :I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’” Gospel of Luke 14:15-24 NIV. Secondary sources So we see how the Gospel, indirectly, is also a school of life; it teaches us to set priorities, to strive for the essential. In a word, not to lose sight of what is important for what is urgent, as happened to the guests in our parable. But I cannot remain silent about one last application. The banquet mentioned in the parable is renewed every Sunday in the Church. It is the Eucharistic banquet. Let us try not to be like those who have taken a wife and therefore...; have bought five pairs of oxen (or a new car) and therefore...; have to go to the stadium, or have gone to bed late, and therefore... Raniero Cantalamessa, Gettate le reti. Riflessioni sui vangeli, Piemme, Casale Monferrato, 2001 (in Italian). ISBN 88-384-9498-3. Ch. I, p. 308. The fate of the unworthy guest is portrayed as something truly painful. But he is not rejected and forgotten simply because the Lord seals it all with the words: “for many are called...” The fate of this unworthy guest is precisely to remain in the call, but not in the election. [...] He mingles with those who recognise the Lord and claims for himself the privilege of not recognising and not wanting. Just as God left the answer to the guests – something that requires them to have “merit” in order to be chosen – so he leaves this unworthy guest with the certainty of having been called. Yes, the certainty of having somehow answered yes, but in falsehood, of having said yes, which however means no. He is that son who answers yes to his father, but whose conduct is no. And because he knows of his own vocation, the gnashing of his teeth will be the sign of his non-election. Yet, if it is distressing not to have been chosen, then it is not entirely distressing to have been called, since being rejected is not the end of the vocation, but a function of non-election. The man is foreseen in the king's story, who still speaks of his case and remembers him, since he has already been thrown out. He therefore still lives for God. Adrienne von Speyr, Le parabole del Signore (Gleichnisse des Herrn, 1966), translation into Italian by Giuseppe Reguzzoni, Jaca Book, Milano, 2008, p. 105. ISBN 978-88-16-30459-8 The king had the right to expect his guests to present themselves in appropriate attire. The comparison thus extends to the invitation to the Eucharist, to which man must present himself with a pure soul, after receiving absolution. One must wear clothing worthy of the Lord, the clothing of grace. And we can imagine how the Lord looks upon his own before giving himself to them in the Eucharist. Adrienne von Speyr, Le parabole del Signore (Gleichnisse des Herrn, 1966), translation into Italian by Giuseppe Reguzzoni, Jaca Book, Milano, 2008, pp. 105-106. ISBN 978-88-16-30459-8. External links Invitation to the Great Banquet Category:Parables of Jesus