The Twentieth Sunday after Trinity AD 2024
Today’s Gospel is full of surprises. Who is so stupid as to turn down an invitation to go to the wedding of the son of the king? What ridiculous excuses for not participating in such a glorious event: “they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise.“ Even more incomprehensible is the behavior of those who “took his servants, and treated them spitefully, and slew them“ – how can it even be possible: you are invited to a wedding feast and, instead of going, you kill the one who was sent to invite you?
But the surprises – and rather unpleasant surprises – do not end there. The king “sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city“. Well, it is understandable that the king resented the arrogant disregard for his invitation, his son’s wedding, and himself, but to kill those who were invited and burn down their city – isn’t that a serious overreaction?
It is not difficult to understand that the king had random people gathered for the wedding feast instead of those invited: he wanted to show how he felt about those who had shown contempt for his invitation and his son's wedding. But here, too, the king behaved strangely: he got angry at one of the guests who was not wearing a wedding-garment, and had him severely punished. After all, it was a man who was driven straight from the street to the wedding house – how could he have been able to get himself a wedding-garment?
To properly understand this parable, it is necessary to remember that the king here represents God, and things are different in God’s Kingdom than in earthly kingdoms. If someone rejects God’s call, no matter how compelling their reasons may be, they are completely ridiculous, as ridiculous as someone preferring to pat their cows over the wedding feast of the son of a king. And if anyone really says no to God and His Son, then he has signed something immeasurably worse than his own death sentence – he has chosen eternal death and damnation. He has chosen something worse than having his city burned down – he has chosen the flames of hell.
God doesn’t just invite a few random people to His Son’s wedding feast, everyone is invited. God offers everyone a wedding-garment: a heart washed clean in baptism and repentance. Whoever does not have this garment, that is, whoever does not care about the opportunity of repentance offered to him and does not trust himself to God’s grace, has no choice but to go to the “place of weeping and gnashing of teeth“.
God in His long-suffering grace and mercy calls relentlessly: “Behold, all things are ready: come unto the marriage!“