Many are called, but few are chosen

 And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said:  "The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come.  Again, he sent out other servants, saying, "Tell those who are invited, "See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready.  Come to the wedding."'  But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business.  And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them.  But when the king heard about it, he was furious.  And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.  Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.  Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.'  So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good.  And the wedding hall was filled with guests.

"But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment.  So he said to him, "Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?'  And he was speechless.  Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'  For many are called, but few are chosen."

- Matthew 22:1-14

In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught, as He spoke to the leadership in the temple in Jerusalem:   "Hear another parable:  There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower.  And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.  Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit.  And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another.  Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them.  Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'  But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.'  So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.  Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?"  They said to Him, "He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and leave his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons."  Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures:  'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.  This was the LORD's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?  Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.  And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."  Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them.  But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet.

And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said:  "The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come.  Again, he sent out other servants, saying, "Tell those who are invited, "See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready.  Come to the wedding."'  But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business.  And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them."  In the readings from yesterday (see above) and Tuesday, Jesus has given parables in which, like this one, He gives a message of the transfer of the Kingdom from the Jews who place no faith in Him to the Gentiles.  This one is set as a joyful wedding banquet (see also 25:1-13).  Christ is often called the "Bridegroom" (9:15, John 3:29), and St. Paul uses a marriage analogy for the Kingdom (Ephesians 5:21-33).  Here in the parable, the repeated sending out of servants shows the Father's great desire to have His people with Him in the Kingdom, my study bible says.  This is similar to the many servants sent and abused in the parable of the vinedresses in yesterday's reading.  The first group of servants in today's parable is interpreted to be Moses and those with him, while the second group is composed of the prophets.  These groups call those who are initially invited, the Jews.  The third group represents the apostles sent to the Gentiles, those who were not initially invited but are now called.  The oxen represent the sacrifices of the Old Covenant, while the fatted cattle represent the eucharistic bread of the New Covenant.  (Fatted from the original Greek would be better translated as "wheat-fed" or even more literally "formed from wheat.")  So both the Old and the New Covenants are fulfilled at the wedding of Christ and His Church.

"But when the king heard about it, he was furious.  And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city."  My study bible cites St. John Chrysostom here, who teaches that Christ is prophesying the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD 70, thereby attributing this destruction to an act of God rather than simply to that of human beings.  Nevertheless, there is patience and mercy shown by waiting forty years from the time of Christ, giving the whole of the generation a chance to repent.

"But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment.  So he said to him, "Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?'  And he was speechless.  Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'  For many are called, but few are chosen."  The wedding garment would have been provided by the king, so therefore the man had no excuse for not wearing one.  Thereby he is speechless.  My study bible says the refusal to wear the garment that was given is an illustration of those who refuse God's hospitality, or who rather want His Kingdom on their own terms.  Specifically, this garment refers to the baptismal garment, and by extension, a life of faith, repentance, virtue, and charity.  Without these, my study bible says, a person will ultimately be cast into outer darkness.  As in 20:28, for many is an Aramaic and Greek expression which means "for all."

Since Jesus has arrived in Jerusalem, His actions have spoken of the consequences of rejection of the Kingdom, the lack of faith in those who have been well-prepared to receive Christ.  Of course, each of these conversations have taken place in the context of confrontation with the religious authorities, the religious leaders of the people, and so the impact of these parables and Jesus' statements is meaningful before these men who are fully prepared to receive and know the Messiah.  The parable itself, in today's reading, illustrates the fullness of preparation, and the lack of excuses, the extent of the king's mercy and efforts so that all are included and prepared for the wedding feast.  But the refusal of the king's servants, the failure to respond to repeated invitations, and the lack of a wedding garment among those who do come, ultimately has an effect and does not go unanswered.  The question here is what we are to think about God's mercy.  How long do we refuse it?  Can we listen to the words of Christ, can we understand the goodness in His ministry, and refuse?  Suppose we are the religious leadership of the people, those who teach and are responsible for the words of the prophets, the fullness of the Scriptures, and the transmission of all of Jewish spiritual heritage to the people.  Would we be responsible for our response to Christ?  In the cleansing of the temple, and in Jesus' reply to these authorities regarding their treatment of John the Baptist, we see and hear a Jesus who finally declares that the time has arrived for judgment to be known.  It doesn't imply that God's mercy is finished.  But it does imply that for these men and for their generation, the time is now to pay attention.  This is Jesus' hour.  His time has come.  He is in Jerusalem for a purpose, and He knows that this is the final week of His life, and that the Passion is to come.  His ministry has continued until this point for three years, but now these men will plot successfully to put Him to death, and it is the hour of His glory.  While God is always prepared for our repentance, there comes a time when we have received sufficient warning and preparation for us to make that decision, and our failure becomes a refusal.  It is important to understand that this cuts two ways; it's not simply that we are able to make a choice, but that we diminish our own capacities for making good choices by continual refusal of mercy and love.  In the language of the Scriptures, our heart becomes hardened.  We can neither see nor hear spiritually, and this is something to take very seriously (13:14-15).  Christ gives us to understand that we are all called to this place of reception of the Creator, this wedding feast for everyone, but our repeated and continued refusals have consequences.  God's love and mercy are endless, but our time is limited.  In yesterday's reading and commentary, we remarked upon St. John Chrysostom's understanding of the difference between one who stumbles upon the stone which is Christ, and the one upon whom that stone falls.  We know of God's mercy, but do we understand the consequences of our own choices?