Come to the wedding feast!

 “Come to the wedding feast!” (Matthew 22:4)

Today’s Gospel reading gives us one of the parables Jesus spoke as He was drawing near to the Cross, along with the question about paying taxes to Caesar. In the parable, we see a caller and those who are called. The caller is joyful. He invites others so that they may share in his joy. The invitation that reaches the invited ones is a single call:

“Come to the wedding feast!”

But the invited respond in three different ways. The first group refuses the invitation. The second group accepts it. The third comes, but without a whole heart.

1. Those who refused the invitation

These people give three kinds of responses. First, they simply ignore the invitation. They heard it; they knew there was a wedding; they understood the call. But they were not interested. Scripture says, “They were unwilling to come.” They used their free will to refuse.

The parable explains why. One went to his farm. Another went to his business. The rest seized the servants, mistreated them, and killed them.

Thus their refusal becomes clear.

The one who went to his farm is a self‑reliant man. He lives by his own strength—plowing, harvesting, surviving without anyone’s help. His joy is “living by my own ability.” His philosophy of life is to avoid receiving help, to help others only so he can say, “I am a good person,” and to build his identity on self-sufficiency.

For such a person, accepting help feels like death, shame, humiliation. His idol is “I can do it myself.” Therefore, he owes no debt to anyone. What matters to him is not “living in love for God,” but “living by my own strength.” He values achievement, not love.

Thus the wedding, the invitation, the spirit of joy—the feast prepared by the generous King—are foreign to him. His only trustworthy friend is himself. God, for him, is not a Lord whose will he seeks, but a helper who assists his self-reliant race. When God clearly says, “Come to the wedding feast!” he pretends not to hear and goes back to his field. “What wedding? I have work to do!”

2. The one who went to his business

For this person, life means movement—going out, coming in, chasing goals, creating projects, achieving, gaining profit, succeeding. His heart rejoices in success. He lives for accomplishment. If he remembers God, it is only so God may help him succeed, fulfill his goals, and prosper.

God exists for him; he does not exist for God.

He never asks, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” And when the invitation “Come to the wedding feast!” reaches him clearly, he closes his ears. (“How can I waste time on a wedding when there is profit to be made?”)

3. The proud and hostile group

This group does more than ignore the feast—they attack those who invite them. The wedding reminds them of their own lack of joy. The feast is somewhere they do not want to be. They have chosen a life without celebration. The arrival of the servants reminds them of their emptiness, their lack of preparation, their distance from joy. So they become angry. They treat the servants as enemies of their happiness. They insult them, slander them, and kill them.

When told to repent, they feel their pride has been touched. When the sins of priests or the failures of the Church are mentioned, they use it as an excuse. When corrected, they mock: “Oh, our righteous one!”

4. The one who accepted the invitation halfway

This person heard the call and came. But he did not prepare himself for the wedding. St. Jerome describes him as:

“A man who came to the wedding of the New Adam wearing the old, decayed garment of the old Adam.”

He heard the call, he arrived, but he did not accept the wedding in its true nature. Perhaps he looked at others and said, “I am not like them,” or “I will not do what they do.” So although his body is inside the hall, his mind and actions are no different from those who refused.

His body is in the feast; his spirit is outside. He carries the old Adam’s selfishness into the pure celebration. He is present without love. Thus he becomes “a stain at the feast of love,” and is cast out.

5. Those who accepted the invitation—the travelers

These are the ones who were called unexpectedly. As they walked along the road of life, the invitation reached them suddenly. They cast off the old garment through repentance, faith, hope, and love. They clothed themselves with the wedding garment of charity and entered the feast.

Behold! We too have been invited. The call “Come to the wedding feast!” has reached us.

Our “yes”—our repentance, faith, hope, and love—is expected today, not tomorrow.

The wedding feast of the Lamb is prepared before us. He says:

“Come, eat My bread! Come, drink My wine! Lay aside your foolishness and live!”

Blessed are those invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!

Blessed fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters— Come, in body and in spirit, to the wedding feast!

May the name of the Lord who called us be blessed and glorified. Amen.