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Scripture Reflection 

Matthew 22:1-14

Whomsoever you find invite to the wedding

Gospel Reflection

Who you ate with in Jesus’ time was very important – it reflected your own status. To share table with people who were regarded as ‘lesser’ by nature of their lifestyle or illness was seen to lessen the status of other participants. Sharing table was as much a political action as it was a social one. This week’s gospel is an important one for understanding Jesus’ message of an inclusive kingdom. The king invites all the ‘right’ people to attend his son’s wedding banquet but they shame him by refusing his invitation and murdering his messengers. This would have been an extraordinary action in Jesus’ time. An invitation to the table of your social superior would not be rejected lightly. To try to save face and regain some honour, the king sends his servants to bring in people off the street – the poorest and least socially acceptable people. The invitation to the people off the street, ‘bad and good alike’, is a reflection of Jesus’ own attitude to sharing table. Jesus ate with those who were regarded as unworthy: tax collectors, prostitutes and sinners. It was one of the harshest criticisms of Jesus made by the Pharisees and Scribes: ‘He eats with tax collectors and sinners!’ One of Jesus’ strongest messages was about the inclusive nature of the kingdom and he lived it day to day. His inclusive table fellowship was a powerful statement about the fact that the kingdom is an invitation to all – rich and poor alike, regardless of status in this world. This parable highlights the invitation to join in the kingdom of God that has been rejected by the Jewish leaders but taken up by the ‘lesser’ people of society. The wedding banquet is a metaphor for the kingdom of God.

Historical Context

This gospel parable is a reflection of the way in which the message of God has been extended to people through time. The first invitation was extended to the Israelites who initially accepted the message of God but in time lost the focus. Jesus further extended the invitation to the Gentiles, viewed by the Jews as unworthy of such a relationship with God. Finally, within the early Christian communities there were some who, despite belonging to the community, failed to live appropriately and demonstrate their acceptance of the message of God.

Have you thought? – Inclusivity

This gospel parable reflects the inclusive way in which Jesus lived his life. In many ways, Jesus was a scandal in his society because he didn’t obey the social boundaries. He was very clear in being inclusive and attentive to those who were normally shunned. Today, those boundaries are just as clear and easily identified but the methods of excluding people have perhaps

 become a bit more subtle. Who are the ‘shunned’ and ‘left out’ in our society today? Where do the boundaries lie? Who would Jesus be reaching out to and seeking to include in today’s society?