The late Enda Lyons described Jesus as a self-portrait by God. Who could describe God better than the second person of the Trinity? Jesus had been painting a picture of his heavenly Father in the parables we have been reading recently in the Sunday gospels. Today’s story is about a wedding banquet which the king (who represents God) arranges for his son (Jesus) and duly sends out invitations.The image of a banquet suggests the generous love which God has showered on his chosen people. Isaiah has depicted this in the first reading. The wedding suggests the union of God and his subjects.
However these subjects, like the tenants in last week’s parable, act violently towards the king’s emissaries. Jesus has entered Jerusalem in triumph and the chief priests and elders are increasingly hostile to him. Matthew’s account is much more severe than that of Luke (14:7-14), where the guests merely make excuses. Matthew’s community was confronted with their rejection by those who did not accept Jesus as the Messiah. They must have felt themselves cast adrift from their religious culture. Those who cast them from the synagogues would be seen in the same light as those who condemned and crucified Jesus. They were depicted as the ungrateful guests. The new invitees were a motley group, but attending the banquet was not enough: they must dress properly, that is they must “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 13:14).