| Reading 1 | Response | Reading 2 | Gospel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Is 25:6-10a | Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6 | Phil 4:12-14, 19-20 | Mt 22:1-14 or Mt 22:1-10 |
| RCL: Is 25:1-9 | RCL: Phil 4:1-9 | RCL: Mt 22:1-14 |
Discipleship: invitation to the eschatological banquet
During Ordinary time the Lectionary presents stories and teachings from Jesus’ everyday ministry. This week’s readings focus on food and meals as metaphors for God’s abundance and eschatological reign.
First reading (Is 25:6-10a)
The first reading is from the prophet Isaiah, specifically the first Isaiah, whom God called to speak to the people of Judah in the eighth century BC. The interaction between the Holy One of Israel (God) and Jerusalem (the people of God) drives all of Isaiah’s narrative.
In today’s pericope, Isaiah describes God’s overflowing banquet at Jerusalem’s restoration. In the ancient world, people ate the same food every day. Most people depended on subsistence farming to feed their families. Against this backdrop of frequent hunger, the prophets and Hebrew scripture writers imagined God’s kingdom or rule as a great feast or banquet. God’s feast is so abundant that God invites everyone (“all peoples”) to Jerusalem (“this mountain,” Mount Zion) to eat and drink. At this eschatological feast, God will “lift the veil” of mistrust that divides people from one another. When Isaiah says God “will destroy death forever,” he means that God’s kingdom will be infinitely fertile; food will be abundant, people will not have to eat sparingly. The text is not about physical resurrection, but rather about God making life easier and more satisfying. Only God can do this; this is why the people “rejoice and are glad:” God acts to save them.
The Lectionary editors chose this reading because God’s abundant feast echoes the gospel’s wedding feast.
Second reading (Phil 4:12-14, 19-20)
The second reading is the final selection from a four-week, semi-continuous reading from Paul’s letter to the ekklesia in Philippi, written in the mid-50s. Philippians is a composite: two or three letters from Paul, written from prison in Ephesus and from Corinth after his release; a later editor merged Paul’s correspondence into the single letter we now have. Paul encourages the Philippians toward unity, humility, peace, and joy.
In today’s pericope, Paul thanks the Philippians for their continued care and generosity. In prison Paul experienced personal deprivation (“humble circumstances”) and the kindness of others (“live with abundance”). In both cases, he draws strength (“I can do all things”) from God. Paul’s associate Epaphroditus delivers the Philippians’ gift; Paul responds to their material generosity (“it was kind of you to share in my distress”) and reflects on his spiritual abundance (“glorious riches in Christ Jesus”). He closes with a prayer of thanksgiving for the Philippians (“God will fully supply whatever you need”) and praise for God (“glory forever and ever”).
The Lectionary editors chose this reading to conclude Ordinary time’s semi-continuous reading from Philippians.
Gospel (Mt 22:1-14)
This section of Matthew’s gospel is from Jesus’ teachings in Jerusalem as his opponents question and challenge him. In today’s pericope, Jesus uses another parable to criticize his opponents who reject his invitation and to warn of the consequences.
- Eschatological banquets and feasts. Both Hebrew scripture and Christian writings imagine God’s reign or kingdom as a great feast or banquet, with an abundance of food and wine (see today’s first reading). Jesus’ meals with tax collectors and sinners symbolize what God’s coming kingdom will be like. In these stories the important questions are “Who is invited to the feast?” and “Who else is invited?”
- Invitations in the ancient world. Social conventions and expectations about invitations in Jesus’ parable are different from those in the twenty-first century:
- In the ancient world, people shared meals only with social equals. In the parable, the king invites a landowner and a business person, members of the elite class; no lower-class invitees are mentioned.
- In an honor/shame culture, the host always sends two invitations. The first invitation allows invitees to find out who else is invited, what’s on the menu, and who is or is not attending. If important invitees decline, others will follow. The second invitation confirms that invitees are coming. In the parable, those who decline the king’s second invitation shame the king. The king’s response, although exaggerated and extreme, makes sense: killing his messengers shames the king; the king restores his honor by destroying the murderers and their city.
- In the parable, the king acts outside of antiquity’s norms by inviting “whomever you find:” people far below his social status. His messengers gather everyone, the “bad and good alike.” The king judges and sorts the newly invited in the parable’s final scene.
- An invitation is not a guarantee. The parable’s final scene (the “wedding garment”) is not real, it’s an allegory. Matthew includes this scene to remind his believing community that they must always be ready for the eschatological banquet, clothed with good words and works. Matthew also warns the religious leaders of his time that Jesus offers repeated opportunities to accept him. Matthew frames their refusals with a vivid image: they will be thrown out of the feast into the “outer darkness” which is full of “wailing and grinding of teeth.”
Summary and reflection
This week’s readings ask us to think about our place in God’s eschatological banquet. Isaiah imagines all people saved and united by God, feasting at God’s abundant banquet. Paul, having experienced abundance and need, concludes that God alone strengthens and empowers him. Jesus’ kingdom parable warns that an invitation does not guarantee one’s place at the eschatological feast; words and actions also matter.
How do we understand God’s end-time feast? Do we think God’s the guest list is restricted to people like us, or is it open to all? Do we imagine God’s abundance expressed in a literal endless buffet, or in extraordinary mercy and kindness? Do we assume membership in a church gets a reserved seat, or will it be our patient words and faithful actions that find us a place in God’s reign?
—Terence Sherlock
The Lectionary In Context 