The King in today’s Gospel parable is God our Father. The son of the King is God’s only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. We are the ones invited to His wedding feast. God has betrothed us to His Son when He accepted us as His children in baptism.

What’s wrong with us? This question is often asked both publicly and privately. When asked publicly, it concerns all of humanity and is mostly related to wars, crime, and all sorts of social evils. Why can’t we live in peace, goodness, love, and harmony? How is it possible that after each “war to end all wars” another war will soon be started again? When will this killing and destruction ever end?

Everyone has seen a movie scene in which two main characters, good and evil, fight either on a bridge or on the roof of a skyscraper. Sometimes the scene ends with the evil one falling over the edge, and then at the last moment, the good one grabs him and tries to save him. Sometimes it works, most of the time it doesn’t.

Today’s Gospel speaks of the healing of a man with dropsy. It is significant that Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath, incurring the wrath of the Pharisees, who accused Him of disobeying God’s commandment. In answering them, Jesus showed that in fact He had done the exact opposite: by freeing the man from the disease that tormented him, He did not break the commandment to keep the Sabbath, but fulfilled it.

There is probably no one whose heart does not weep at the sight of a mother who has lost her husband and now has to bury her only son. What does a mother feel when she sees her child dying, be it the only one or one of many? Can there be a greater pain of sorrow?