Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?

 

 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 our recent readings, Jesus is in Jerusalem, and it is Holy Week.  He has made His Triumphal Entry into the city, He has cleansed the temple, and He was quizzed by the religious leaders as to His authority to do so.  In yesterday's reading, He told them, "Hear another parable:  There was a certain landowner who planted 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 lease 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."'   My study Bible comments that, like the preceding parables, this one also proclaims the transfer of the Kingdom from the faithless among the Jews to the faithful who will come even from among the Gentiles.  It is set as a joyful wedding banquet, as Christ is often called the "Bridegroom" (Matthew 9:15; John 3:29), and St. Paul uses a marriage analogy for the Kingdom (Ephesians 5:21-33).  The repeated sending out of servants shows the Father's great desire to have God's people with God in the Kingdom.  The first group of servants is interpreted to be Moses and those with him, while the second group is made up of the prophets, who repeatedly were sent to the "first-called," the Jews.  Additionally, my study Bible explains that the oxen represent the sacrifices of the Old Covenant, while the fattled cattle represent the eucharistic bread of the New Covenant.  It notes that "fatted" is better translated as "wheat-fed," or even more literally, "formed from wheat."  So both Old and New Covenants are fulfilled at the wedding of Christ and His Church. 

 

"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."   My study Bible says that, according to St. John Chrysostom, Christ is here prophesying the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD 70, and therefore attributes this destruction to an act of God rather than simply to that of human beings.  Nonetheless, patience was shown by waiting some forty years from the time of Christ -- thus giving an entire generation a chance to repent. 

 

"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."  This third group of servants are the apostles, sent out across the highways among the nations, the Gentiles. 

 

"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."  According to my study Bible, the wedding garment would have been provided by the king, so there was no excuse for this man who was without one -- therefore he is speechless.  His refusal to wear the wedding garment provided by the king is an illustration of those who refuse God's hospitality, or who want God's kingdom on their own terms.  Specifically, says my study Bible, the garment refers to the baptismal garment, and through extension, a life of faith, repentance, virtue, and charity.  Without these, a person will ultimately be cast into outer darkness.   For many, an Aramaic expression repeated frequently by Christ, means "for all."

What is the wedding garment?  It is an intriguing speculation to consider.  My study Bible clearly states an affirmative explanation that it is one's baptismal garment, but also composed of the life one leads afterward, of "faith, repentance, virtue, and charity."  We can consider, then, the garment a type of weaving of the soul, if we may so phrase it.  It invites us to think of our own souls as those things in which we will come clothed to God, and the image in which we will appear at Christ's final judgment, which coincides with the time of the wedding banquet.  It's interesting to think of our souls as comprised of thread after thread of our lives, our choices, our faith lived or not, and woven into a garment that expresses more truly who we are than any clothing we could choose to wear.  Think about the weaving process, in which cloth is spun from threads woven on a framework which holds in place a basic structure, while chosen threads of whatever quality or color or substance are woven constantly through them, back and forth, to make a garment of whole cloth.  It is said by reference to a similar idea, that the word "history" comes from the ancient Greek word ιστός/histos, meaning loom.  Therefore in this same sense, history is like a tapestry or cloth being constantly woven until we can see the shape and pattern and quality of a cloth, thread after thread across the loom.  Our own histories, therefore, are written in the soul -- a wedding garment, then, is a life lived through faith in what God has given us, the teachings we're given for eternal life and attendance at this wedding banquet.  Certainly this is a gift of God, of Christ, and the working of the Holy Spirit throughout our lives, as well as our cooperation with the same, our "yes" to a life so lived.  And this is the invitation we're given, for the gospel message is clearly meant to be our invitation to the life Christ wants us to live with Him in His Kingdom, entering into His wedding banquet of the Bridegroom and the Church.  Let us consider how we weave our lives, the garments of our souls, and what we want that to look like -- composed of beauty beyond our knowing but that will shine forth in the Kingdom.  "Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" (Matthew 13:43).

So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen

 

 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.  Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent then into his vineyard.  And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.'  So they went.  Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.  And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day?'  They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.'  He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.'  So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.'  And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius.  But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius.  And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.'  But he answered one of them and said, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong.  Did you not agree with me for a denarius?  Take what is yours and go your way.  I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.  Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things?  Or is your eye evil because I am good?'  So the last will be first, and the first last.  For many are called, but few chosen."

 

- Matthew 20:1-16 

 

In yesterday's reading, Jesus was following up with His disciples regarding the rich young man who had come to Him seeking eternal life.  Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?"  But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."  Then Peter answered and said to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You.  Therefore what shall we have?"  So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.  And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

 

"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.  Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent then into his vineyard.  And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.'  So they went.  Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.  And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day?'  They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.'  He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.'  So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.'  And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius.  But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius.  And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.'  But he answered one of them and said, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong.  Did you not agree with me for a denarius?  Take what is yours and go your way.  I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.  Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things?  Or is your eye evil because I am good?'  So the last will be first, and the first last.  For many are called, but few chosen."  My study Bible explains that in this parable, the vineyard is life in this world.  The day refers both to the span of a single person's life, and also to the whole of human history.  The laborers, it says, are the people in every nation.  Each hour in this sense can refer to times in a person's life -- whether infancy, youth, adulthood, maturity, or old age.  There is a second meaning considering the span of history perspective, and in that idea this parable may refer to those called during the various covenants we know from Scripture:  with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and finally Christ.  My study Bible adds that God's generosity provides equal reward for both early and late comers.  It notes that Jesus teaches that the former should not be proud of their long service nor resent those who are called at the eleventh hour.  To the latecomers, then, Christ teaches that it is possible even in a short time or at the end of one's life to recover and inherit everything.  In the early Church, therefore, this message applied specifically to the Jews (who were the first-called) and the Gentiles (those who were called later).  In our time, this can be applied to those raised in the Church and also to those who find the Church later in life, both of whom receive an equal reward.  The renowned paschal sermon by St. John Chrysostom is based on this parable, as he applies it to the preparations of each person in approaching the paschal Eucharist.  

 

Today's parable comes to us in context of readings with the theme of sacrifice; that is, what do we sacrifice for the sake of the kingdom of God?  The rich young man who came to Christ asking what he must do for eternal life was asked to sell his possessions, give to the poor, and follow Christ -- then he would be "perfect."   Following this encounter, the disciples -- through Peter, who so frequently speaks for all -- said, "See, we have left all and followed You.  Therefore what shall we have?" (see yesterday's reading, above).  Jesus replied, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.  And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."  And Christ has followed this statement with the teaching of the parable in today's reading, about the laborers in the vineyard.  One thing He seems to make clear is that we should not expect a sort of worldly sense of work and reward  (or risk-reward, in modern investment terms) in equal measure.  In this economy of the Kingdom, all who labor, regardless of differing degrees of sacrifice and time, earn the same reward.  Jesus gives us a sense of this seemingly upside-down (by worldly standards) economy when He states flatly, "So the last will be first, and the first last.  For many are called, but few chosen."  He also makes it plain that this reward system is purely up to the wisdom and discretion of the owner, the Lord, and not up to the laborers.  The landowner says, "Friend, I am doing you no wrong.  Did you not agree with me for a denarius?  Take what is yours and go your way.  I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.  Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things?  Or is your eye evil because I am good?"  The ultimate good is God, the Lord, the landowner.  Out of some sort of envy (is your eye evil?) comes the thinking that we know better, have a better idea how things should be run than God does.  But we, like the disciples, are to trust that all things are in the hands of God, and thus the ultimate good is in the judgment and discernment of God.  There may be things that are quire mysterious to us, like whether or not it is fair or just that those who sacrifice more receive the same ultimate reward or benefit of eternal life.  But the ultimate good is in the discernment of God -- and we who are called, in whatever way, need to understand that how we are called, and the "work" we are called to, is just that:  appropriate to us.  This is true even if we do not understand the why and the wherefore.  This parable reminds us that, after Job had his long-desired confrontation with the Lord, the Lord began to reply with these words:  "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements?  Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"  (Job 38:4-7).  The vineyard owner is the One who told Isaiah, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways" (Isaiah 55:8).  This is an important theme throughout the whole of the Bible, and is expressed even in the ending to John's Gospel, in which Peter was given personal and explicit instruction three times. "Feed my lambs," said the Lord.  But then Peter asked, referring to John, "But Lord, what about this man?"  Christ replied to Peter, "If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?  You follow Me" (see John 21:15-25).  Therefore let us understand that, as we take up our own crosses (just as in that same passage from St. John's Gospel, St. Peter was warned by Christ that he would follow Him to his own cross), each one's own "labor" may be entirely different from the others.  Truly we may recall that St. John Chrysostom's commentary on the command Christ gives to the rich young man, to sell all that he has and give to the poor, is actually easier than following Christ in all things.  Life often does not seem fair -- and indeed, it is not.  But if we pay attention to the ways God will ask us to go forward, the things we will be asked to work at and perhaps to sacrifice, we just might find that all that we do in faith is in fact the remedy to the injustice we perceive.  All will receive the equal reward in God's sight, but not all will perform the same labors in life, and not every life or person will be exactly the same -- nor should we wish it to be.  "So the last will be first, and the first last.  For many are called, but few chosen." 

 

 

 

So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen

 

 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.  Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.  And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.'  So they went.  Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.  And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day?'  They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.'  He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.'  So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.'  And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius.  But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius.  And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.'  But he answered one of them and said, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong.  Did you not agree with me for a denarius?  Take what is yours and go your way.  I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.  Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things?  Or is your eye evil because I am good?'  So the last will be first, and the first last.  For many are called, but few chosen."

 

- Matthew 20:1-16 

 

In Tuesday's reading, Jesus advised a rich young ruler who sought eternal life to sell all his possessions, give to the poor, and to follow Him.  But that young man went away dejected, as he had many possessions.  In yesterday's reading, we were told that Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?"  But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."  Then Peter answered and said to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You.  Therefore what shall we have?"  So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.  And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

 

  "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.  Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.  And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.'  So they went.  Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.  And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day?'  They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.'  He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.'  So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.'  And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius.  But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius.  And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.'  But he answered one of them and said, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong.  Did you not agree with me for a denarius?  Take what is yours and go your way.  I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.  Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things?  Or is your eye evil because I am good?'  So the last will be first, and the first last.  For many are called, but few chosen."  My study Bible explains this parable as follows.  It says that the vineyard is life in this world.  The day is a reference both to the span of an individual person's life, and also to the whole of human history.  The laborers are all the people in each nation.  Every hour can refer to times in a person's life -- such as infancy, youth, adulthood, maturity, or old age.  There is a second meaning as well concerning the span of history.  This may refer to those called during the covenants with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and finally Christ.  Interestingly, the hours at which people are called (third hour or 9:00 a.m.; sixth hour or noon; ninth hour or 3:00 p.m.) are all formal hours for prayer in the structure of traditional church services.  My study Bible adds that God's generosity provides an equal reward for both early and late comers.  Jesus is teaching that the former should not be proud of their long service nor resent those called at the eleventh hour.  To the latecomers, Jesus is teaching that it is possible within even a short time, or at the end of one's life, to recover and to inherit everything.  There is another framework in which we may read this parable as well.  In the early Church, my study Bible explains, this message applied specifically to the Jews (the first-called) and the Gentiles (those called later).  In our time, we can apply it to those raised in the Church and to those who find the Church later in life, both of whom receive an equal reward.  This parable is also the basis for St. John Chrysostom's renowned paschal sermon (read at the midnight Resurrection service in the Orthodox Church each year).  In that sermon, St. Chrysostom applied the parable to the preparations of each person in approaching the paschal Eucharist. 

 

In today's parable, the vineyard owner asks, "'Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things?  Or is your eye evil because I am good?'  So the last will be first, and the first last.  For many are called, but few chosen."   These words are striking as they indicate the Lord's absolute sovereignty over the cosmos, and even over our lives.  The "rules" belong to God, the way salvation works and is decided also belongs to God, and so therefore, "The last will be first, and the first last.  For many are called but few chosen."  And clearly the Lord does the choosing.  Perhaps in the context of the parable, it's important to remember that Jesus is speaking to those who were the first called, the disciples, upon whose shoulders the rest of the Church and all those who would follow in faith would stand.  In that sense, their work began the earliest and was in some way possibly the heaviest or the hardest.  Their "heavy lifting" has stood us in good stead.  We and all who followed and will follow learn from them and have benefited from all that they established.  How could we read the Scriptures -- or even have Scriptures, for example, without the foundation laid by their work to begin with.  They did not have the resources we have available to us to begin their works of faith.  But of course, they had Christ, the vineyard owner, who directly called them.  But what of us, we who come later, even at the eleventh hour?  If we also become chosen for life in God's kingdom, we receive the same reward as do those first disciples.  And what of those who came before, such as Moses and Abraham?  It would seem that they were also called, and that somehow in the Lord's kingdom there is equal opportunity for the same reward.  We might not understand how the Lord's reckoning and judgment works, but we do understand that we are each -- no matter where we are, or who we are -- called to a purpose.  And this is not a purpose of our own choosing, but of God's choosing.  And therefore we each may receive the same reward.  For there is a job, an expectation, a potential for each of us, and it is the Lord who sets that bar, and who knows what that is.  It doesn't matter when we come into this activity, this work in the vineyard, but it does matter how we respond to what we're called, and when we're called.  In the end what matters is how the Lord calls us, and to what purpose, for God will do what God wishes with God's own things.  The landowner asks, "Or is your eye evil because I am good?"  An evil eye, we should understand, is one of malice born of envy.  This would seem to speak to the fallen angels, who could not accept the place God had for them, the humility to serve humankind, creatures made "a little lower than the angels" (Psalm 8:3-8).  It's a reminder to the disciples, and to us, of the humility we need to accept that perhaps we will do a different work than others, and yet receive the same reward for our own assignment; if necessary accepting that the last will be first, and the first last -- for many are called by the Lord, but few chosen.  For as Jesus says elsewhere, we are each called to take up our own cross (Luke 9:23).  An economist has commented on this parable that the equal payment to each one makes perfect economic sense for a project that requires different unique and complementary skills from each laborer, with each one's work essential for the ultimate product.  So let us accept and do our part, contributing to the whole of God's economy of salvation.  Let us find how we are called, and the humility to accept the way we might also be chosen. 

 

 

 

 

Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?

 

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 own 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 said to the religious authorities 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 lease 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."  In today's reading, Jesus gives yet another parable to the religious authorities.  My study Bible notes that this parable also (like the preceding one in yesterday's reading, above) also proclaims the transfer of the Kingdom from the faithless Jews to the Gentiles (note that operative word "faithless" -- we should remember that all of Christ's followers and disciples are also Jews, as is Jesus).  It is set as a joyful wedding banquet (see Matthew 25:1-13), as Christ is often called the "Bridegroom" (Matthew 9:15; John 3:29).  St. Paul also uses a marriage analogy for the Kingdom (Ephesians 5:21-33).  The repeated sending out of servants, my study Bible says, shows the Father's great desire to have His people with Him in the Kingdom.  This first group invited here in these verses is interpreted to be Moses and those with him. 

"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 own ways, one to his own farm, another to his business.  And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them."    This second group of other servants is interpreted to be the prophets.  They also call those initially invited, the Jews.  The oxen represent the sacrifices of the Old Covenant, while the fatted cattle represents the eucharistic bread of the New Covenant, my study Bible says.  The word for "fatted" is better translated as "wheat-fed" or more literally "formed from wheat."   In the tradition of the sacrifice, male calves were raised on wheat in preparation for religious offering, but here we understand the symbolism alluding to the sacrifice of Christ.   Therefore we understand that both the Old and 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."  According to St. John Chrysostom, Christ is here prophesying the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD 70, and therefore attributes this destruction to an act of God rather than simply to that of human beings.   Jesus will do the same more specifically when He mentions the "righteous blood shed on the earth," particularly the prophets killed before Him, and attributes the same murderous spirit to these religious leaders in chapter 23, especially verse 35.  See also Christ's lament over Jerusalem at the end of that chapter.  Nonetheless, my study Bible notes, God showed His patience by waiting some forty years from the time of Christ, giving the entire generation a chance to repent.

"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."  This third group of servants who go out into the highways to invite all they find to the wedding, gathering together both bad and good, represents the apostles sent out to the Gentiles.  That is, those who were not initially invited, but now are called.

"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.'"  My study Bible explains that the wedding garment would have been provided by the king, and therefore there was no excuse for this man for not wearing one.  Therefore the man is speechless.  His refusal to wear the garment that was provided is an illustration of those who refuse God's hospitality, or who want God's Kingdom on their own terms.  Specifically, my study Bible notes, the garment refers to our baptismal garment, and by extension, a life of faith, repentance, virtue, and charity.  Without these, a person will ultimately be cast into outer darkness.  

"For many are called, but few are chosen."  For many is an Aramaic expression which means "for all."

In this parable of the wedding feast, Jesus teaches that the third group of servants who called people to the wedding went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good.   This is a kind of parallel to Christ's parable of the Wheat and the Tares (Matthew 13:24-30).  In both we're given an image of a world in which all are called toward God's salvation, the light of the word of Christ.  There are those who will accept it, and those who will not.  In Christ's beginning parable, that of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-23), He symbolizes Himself as one who sows seed, and then depending on the kind of ground the seed falls on (within human beings), spiritual fruits are either produced or not.  So this sense, of all being called and gathered together, "both bad and good," is an image of the world during this period which began with the Incarnation of Christ and His ministry.  All are called through the word of God, which continues today through every means of communication available.  Christian ministries proliferate across the globe through mass media and all other forms of reaching out to people and places on all the "highways" of the world, include virtual ones.  Regardless of denomination, we should see this parable as one that continues to unfold its truths and its reality in the world.  There are many who speak of a "post-Christian" reality, but it seems that all of this -- both evangelization and rejection of Christ's gospel -- is foreseen in the parables of Christ.  This is the condition of the world in which we presently live both from the perspective of the Church (note the capital C) and the Gospels:  the invitation continually goes out to call all to the wedding feast.  The outcome (the judgment of who wears the proper wedding garment and who does not) is not known to us, and we are neither the Judge nor the king in the parable.  But we should not be dismayed by whatever we think we see, for it's all included here (including the heresies symbolized in the Tares, as one traditional interpretation teaches).  Christ's Incarnation began the present period in which we live, and all of it is considered to be the period of "the End" -- the time in which we live in preparation for Resurrection and Judgment.  This is the time in which we are all called, and we will all be seen at the wedding feast either as having accepted and worn our wedding garment or not.  Do not be dismayed by rejection and hatred of Christ or the Gospel, but know that we live in this period of both the bad and the good.  We are not the judges, but we're each given a calling and a command to endure in our faith and the duties to which we're called to love God and neighbor, to be faithful servants of Christ, and to love one another as Christ loved us.

So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen

 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.  Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.  And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.'  So they went.  Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.  And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day?'  They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.'  He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.'  So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.'  And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius.  But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius.  And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.'  But he answered one of them and said, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong.  Did you not agree with me for a denarius?  Take what is yours and go your way.  I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.  Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things?  Or is your eye evil because I am good?'  So the last will be first, and the first last.  For many are called, but few chosen."

- Matthew 20:1-16

Yesterday we read that, after the rich young man had turned away, Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?"  But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."  Then Peter answered and said to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You.  Therefore what shall we have?"  So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.  And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.  Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.  And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.'  So they went.  Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.  And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day?'  They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.'  He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.'  So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.'  And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius.  But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius.  And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.'  But he answered one of them and said, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong.  Did you not agree with me for a denarius?  Take what is yours and go your way.  I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.  Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things?  Or is your eye evil because I am good?'  So the last will be first, and the first last.  For many are called, but few chosen."  My study bible gives an interpretation of this parable:  the vineyard is life in this world.  The day refers both to the span of a single person's life and to the whole of human history.  The laborers are all the people in every nation.  Each hour can refer to times in a person's life, whether infancy, youth, adulthood, maturity, or old age.  There is another understanding possible in the framework of the span of history, in which each hour is seen as referring to those called during the covenants with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and finally Christ.  My study bible tells us that God's generosity provides equal reward for both early and late comers.  Jesus teaches by this parable that the former should not be proud of their long service nor resent those called at the eleventh hour.  For latecomers, it is possible even in a short time or at the end of one's life to recover and inherit everything.  For the early Church, this message specifically applied to the Jews (who are the first-called) and the Gentiles (those called later).  In the present time, we can apply it to those raised in the Church or those who find faith later in life, both of whom will receive an equal reward.  There is a famous paschal sermon attributed to St. John Chrysostom (repeated each year during the Easter service in the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine rite Catholic churches) based on this parable and applied to the preparations of each person for the paschal Eucharist. 

Jesus' parable is given to illustrate His last statement to the disciples in yesterdays' reading:  "But many who are first will be last, and the last first."  He speaks to these earliest members and foundations of His Church, in response to their question about the reward of leaving all and following Him.  In the parable, He clearly gives a picture alluding to the Church and its believers who are to come.  His parable teaches us about the radical equality of the Kingdom, giving us to understand that despite the uniqueness of every circumstance and each believer who will come to labor in this vineyard, the rewards are the same.  Each is called in his or her own way to be a part of this effort, this living, enduring vineyard in which we who participate enter into the labors of others and continue the work of the harvest.  In the historical perspective, we are to understand the ongoing work of God in the world -- that we who are called to follow Him enter into the work of the harvest just as the disciples did.  Jesus tells this parable in the process of following up on His teachings to the rich young man and His speaking to the disciples of leaving wealth behind to follow Him.  The disciples wonder what they will gain in having done so.  Jesus first assured them that each one who leaves behind houses and family for the sake of the Kingdom will reap much greater rewards.   But the parable is given to teach humility on a greater and even more cosmic level, if we may use that term.  Each one who comes will receive their own reward.  The timelessness of the Kingdom is an assurance to us that although each has his or her own part, the reward is equal.  Therefore as citizens and laborers we are assured that it is right that each is called in one's own way, in God's timing, with God's prerogatives for just how this labor will work.  The landowner says in the parable, "Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things?  Or is your eye evil because I am good?"  Therefore we who choose to become a part of this Kingdom are given to understand that its "rules" do not work according to the same structure as worldly concepts.  It is outside of time and space; we all work in this same harvest who come to serve in it.  It is under one authority and one ownership, whose ways are not our ways and whose thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9).  We follow in a very long line of those who work in the vineyard, and for the owner whose direction for a harvest stretches from the beginning of Creation.   At the end of John's Gospel, the risen Christ gives St. Peter his direction and instruction for his work of service.  But Peter asks what another disciple should do (considered to be referring to John himself), saying, "But Lord, what about this man?"  Jesus replies to Peter, "If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me" (see John 21:15-25).  Each of us has our own role to play, and the vineyard owner gives the assignment and the equal reward.  There is one vineyard and one owner; none of us must compare ourselves to the other laborers.  In this we must each accept the humility to do as we are called, "So the last will be first, and the first last.  For many are called, but few chosen."