By Lori Ubowski
“Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy.” ~ Matthew 22:8
Parables are my jam. I have always loved hearing these fascinating stories Jesus told his listeners. As a child, I even watched a few animated series that brought the stories to life right in front of my eyes, imprinting them in my mind forever. One such parable is when Jesus just lays it out for us–the question we all want to know–how do we get into the Kingdom of Heaven?
I’m Invited. You’re Invited. We’re all Invited!
Today’s Gospel compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a wedding feast a king prepares for his son. The honored guests strangely ignore their invitations and instead go about their usual business, some even turning to violence because they couldn’t be bothered. Let’s stop there. I’m thinking to myself if this is anything like getting an invite to a modern-day royal wedding, these people have to be crazy!
The story continues as the king, not amused with the rejection of his invitations, declares that the invitees are “not worthy to come” and instructs his servants to invite whoever they find to the wedding feast, good or bad. This new plan seems to work reasonably well, and the hall fills with guests enjoying and celebrating in the feast until one man, not dressed in the proper wedding attire, is thrown out.
How Does this Work Again?
Does this seem harsh? First, the king excludes people, and then when he finds those he invited to be rude, he decides to uninvite them and ask anyone but then has stipulations for the new invitees. Sounds like a typical day of middle school girl friend-group dynamics (Moms of middle school girls … we know, right?). The question remains: How on earth do we get into this party?
The lesson here is a combination of gratitude and obedience. If we desire to be worthy of entering the Kingdom of Heaven, we must wear the humility of being grateful for the invitation to enter. We must recognize that we all have the same opportunity to spend eternity with Christ but that he asks certain things of us. Obedience comes from a place of respect and love for our savior. In return for the chance to enter his house, he asks that we live a virtuous and faithful life.
Prayer
Dear Lord, please help me to live a life of gratitude for all that you have given me. Teach me to live a virtuous life so that I may be worthy to enter into Your Kingdom. Amen.
Call to Action
Reflect on your worthiness, asking the questions: Am I grateful for a Savior who died for me? Am I living the way God is calling me to live? Am I worthy to enter the Kingdom of Heaven?
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Thank you Lori for your inspiration. Feeling worthy and humble at the same time is something I need to pray about. I don’t feel like I could ever feel worthy enough. But I am willing to suffer to get there. I will continue, everyday, to do what I can and to do my best to do all God is calling me to do but I don’t want it to be about me but about others. I am not sure if that makes sense or not. Your post has touched my heart. Thank you again.