All are Called, All are Chosen: Reimagining the Parable of the Marriage Feast
In An Outline of the Faith (the Catechism), we learn about human life: "all people are worthy of respect and honor, because all are created in the image of God, and all can respond to the love of God." Three times we hear that most inclusive of words: all! No one is left out.
But in Matthew’s Gospel, the parable of the marriage feast closes with these difficult words, "For many are called, but few are chosen" (22:14).
Particularly in this season of Advent, as we await the birth of our Savior—the good news this broken world so desperately needs—is it okay to reject the Gospel? Or at least reimagine it?
What if the parable ended after verse 10: "Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests." All were gathered to the banquet, to the kingdom of heaven. Both good and bad, which is, of course, each a part of us. Good and bad both.
"There is only one who is good," says Jesus earlier in Matthew (19:17). Made in God's image, we are good; but good alone is reserved for God. There are parts of us that are also bad. Nonetheless, all are worthy of respect and honor, and all are invited to the marriage feast.
The parable doesn't end that way (there are four more verses, and they're tough!). But what if it did? What if "all whom they found, both good and bad" were welcomed together? No one—not even the one without a wedding robe—was kicked out.
Can we hold that image in our mind's eye and in our heart, especially as we consider the Psalmist, who reminds us, "Yet it was you who took me from the womb; you kept me safe on my mother’s breast. On you I was cast from my birth, and since my mother bore me, you have been my God" (Psalm 22:9-10).
The One Birth we await reminds us that we are all children of God. We can all respond to the love of God.
(Cynthia M.)
No comments:
Post a Comment