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| Parable of the Wedding Feast, by A. N. Mironov |
There
is a certain kind of person whom we call “convivial;” a person who is jolly, welcoming,
kindly, friendly, and who likes to share his joy in some kind of celebration, such
as a meal or party. Such people are often invited to parties for that very
reason. The word “convivial” shares its roots with the Italian word convivio, which means “banquet.” And
it is with a banquet that we are concerned in today’s First Reading and Gospel.
To get
behind the idea of today’s readings, we need to look at the significance of
meal fellowship in the Mediterranean, for it underlies the story we have just
heard. We South Africans, in common with the Anglo-Saxons, tend to socialise
before and after a meal; perhaps cocktails and snacks with conversation before,
followed by coffee in the lounge after we have eaten.
The
Mediterranean peoples, on the other hand, tend to spend their time of
fellowship around the table where the meal has eaten, and can sometimes sit
there for hours. It is the meal itself, rather than the socialising before and
after, which is the point of the exercise. A banquet is thus an occasion of
great joy, with plentiful food and wine to keep it going, and as such a fitting
way to celebrate occasions of great joy. And when king celebrated,
for example, a military victory or the wedding of his heir, it was not only
the people in the palace who enjoyed such a feast; the poor of the city also enjoyed
the feasting in the streets, and the wine sometimes, quite literally, flowed in
the gutters. It is this idea of the convivio
that lies behind both Isaiah and Matthew
today, though in the case of Matthew the actual outcome differs considerably from what we
have just described, as Jesus makes a great point to us.
In the
Old Testament reading, Isaiah is describing the last times, when God has
finally vindicated his people, and has come to rule amongst them himself. The
banquet is held on Mount Zion, the site of what has become the New Jerusalem.
God gives a banquet for his faithful people, the “poor”, who have remained
faithful to him through all their sufferings and privations.
The
banquet is also, however, the great celebration of a new era of human existence;
not only is there an abundance to replace the former privations, but “sadness
and sorrow will be no more, and death will be forever destroyed...the Lord will
wipe away the tears from every face and take away the reproach of his people.”
The banquet on Mount Zion is what we call an eschatological banquet; a great
feast celebrating the fulfillment of all God’s promises. Such a banquet is
featured in many places throughout the scriptures as a symbol of the last
times, the fulfillment of all God’s promises to his people.
The
king in Jesus’ parable clearly represents God the Father, and in the wedding
feast of his son, there is an echo of the mystical union between Christ and his
Bride, the Church. This is to be a parable of the last times. Jesus echoes the
hope and promise of the banquet in Isaiah, while adding a characteristic
warning to the story. Just as in Isaiah, the banquet is closed to no-one, no
matter how poor, low-born or humble. The king’s explicit instructions are to
leave no-one outside.
The king, as God, sends out his messengers out to proclaim the good news to
anyone “who has ears to hear.” There is also an echo here of the psalm “the
poor, when they hear it, will be glad.”
But
the parable has a warning, In his day, Jesus might have been directing it
towards the Pharisees, those who were so sure that they were the invited guests
of the Father in the banquet of eternal life. But it is in fact one of the most
universal messages Jesus ever directed towards the human race. Wherever human
beings take for granted their virtue over an against others, and fail to
recognise their own weakness, sinfulness or self-centredness; whenever
self-righteousness or self-satisfaction rear their ugly and satanic heads; in
all these places, Jesus’ message rings out loud and clear.
Politicians
who demonise their opponents rather than condemning their ideas; nations, races
or churches who consider themselves intrinsically morally superior or more
virtuous than others; whenever human beings set themselves up as models of
virtue over against others, so that God is pushed from the centre, the invited
guests are busy reneging on their invitations. And it is the very people whom
they despise who are repenting and converting, that are taking their places. In
another place, Jesus tells his hearers that “Tax collectors and prostitutes are
making their way into the kingdom of heaven before you.” And this happens
precisely because a self-satisfied, self-righteous person feels no need of repentance,
and becomes hardened in spiritual blindness.
We are
thus both warned and encouraged in today’s gospel. No-one is too poor or humble
to be called by God, and to enjoy eternal life with him. But equally, no-one is
as much in danger of losing his place as the one who thinks it is fully
assured. It is those who stride in with assurance who may very well find
themselves out on the streets, while those who thought they had no chance at
all who find themselves brought in. We can never be too sure of our own salvation,
and even less so of someone else’s damnation. We can only come before God in
all humility, asking him to forgive us our sins and to show us his love. And
pray that we will hear his call to us, and leave everything to respond to that
call.
