This Sunday's Gospel reading tells the story of a king who organises a wedding celebration for his son. Jesus likens this to the kingdom of heaven. I imagine any feast or celebration organised by the king is spectacular; every community member would like to receive an invitation, but chances are only a select few will. It is likely that those in
the same social standing as the king, the rich and famous, will be invited. For the common or average person, an invitation to the king’s son’s wedding feast is far removed from reality.
This invitation is different. At first, those selected guests were invited but did not come. The king sent another invitation to them; this was to persuade them to change their
minds about coming to the feast. He told them of all the preparations in place; he said calves and fattened cattle had been killed and that everything was ready, hoping this would change their minds about coming. They still refused. Some ignored this second invitation and continued with their duties. Some mistreated and killed the king’s messengers. The king, realising that the feast was ready and his guests weren’t willing to come, sent his messengers to invite every person they met in the
streets.
The kingdom of heaven is like this, Jesus tells us. God invites us, all of us, to experience his abundance. The wedding feast is joyful, with abundant laughter, food, happiness, celebration, and more. God wants to host us to be able to rejoice. The invitation is not only to a select few people in society because they meet a particular criterion, but to
everyone, to me and you. We might judge ourselves or others around us as unfit to accept this invitation, but the Lord is inviting us to experience abundance and live life fully.
Spend a few moments listening to this invitation from the Lord. How does this invitation make you feel? What might an experience of abundance look like for you?
Spend a few moments in conversation with the Lord about his invitation to you.
Reflections by Morongoa Selepe
