Isaiah 25:6-10a
On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of wine on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wine on the lees well refined.
And he will destroy on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations.
He will swallow up death for ever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken.
It will be said on that day, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain.
Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want;
he makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil;
for thou art with me
thy rod and thy staff,
they comfort me
Thou preparest a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
thou anointest my head with oil,
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
for ever.
Matthew 22:1-14
And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a marriage feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the marriage feast; but they would not come.
Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, Behold, I have made ready my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves are killed, and everything is ready; come to the marriage feast.’
But they made light of it and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them.
The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the thoroughfares, and invite to the marriage feast as many as you find.’
And those servants went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.
“But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment; and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless.
Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.’
For many are called, but few are chosen.”
What do the Fathers say?
St Augustine. explains Psalm 23
The Lord Jesus Christ is my Shepherd, and I shall lack nothing.
In a place of fresh pasture, leading me to faith, there has He placed me to be nourished. By the water of baptism, whereby they are refreshed who have lost health and strength, has He brought me up.
He has brought me forth in the narrow ways, wherein few walk, of His righteousness; not for my merit’s sake, but for His Name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk in the midst of this life, which is the shadow of death. I will fear no evil, for You are with me. I will fear no evil, for You dwell in my heart by faith: and You are now with me, that after the shadow of death I too may be with You. Your rod and Your staff, they have not been grievous to me; rather have they comforted me: because You are mindful of me.
You have prepared a table in my sight, that I should no more be fed as a babe with milk, but being older should take meat, strengthened against them that trouble me. You have gladdened my mind with spiritual joy. And Your inebriating cup, how excellent is it! And Your cup yielding forgetfulness of former vain delights, how excellent is it!
And Your mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: that is, as long as I live in this mortal life, Now Your mercy shall follow me not here only, but also that I may dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
About the Gospel Reading :
St HILARY. Rightly has the Father already arranged this wedding, because this eternal union and espousal of the new body is already perfect in Christ.
PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM. When the servants were sent to call the guests, they must already have been invited.
Men have been invited from the time of Abraham, to whom was promised Christ’s incarnation.
ORIGEN. The servants who were first sent to call them that were bidden to the wedding, are to be taken as the Prophets converting the people by their prophecy to the festival of the restoration of the Church to Christ. They who would not come at the first message are they who refused to hear the words of the Prophets. The others who were sent a second time were another assembly of Prophets.
St HILARY. Or; The servants who were first sent to call them that were invited, are the Apostles; they who, having been invited before, and are now invited to come in, are the people of Israel, who had before been invited through the Law to the glories of eternity. The Apostles therefore were sent to remind those whom the Prophets had invited.
St JEROME. The dinner that is prepared, the oxen and the fat calves that are killed, is either a description of regal magnificence by the way of metaphor, that by carnal things spiritual may be understood; or the greatness of the doctrines, and the manifold teaching of God in His law, may be understood.
PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM. When therefore the Lord bade the Apostles, Go ye and preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand, it was the same message as is here given, I have prepared my dinner; i. e. I have set out the table of Scripture out of the Law and the Prophets.
St HILARY. The oxen are the glorious army of Martyrs, offered, like choice victims, for the confession of God; the fat calves are spiritual men, as birds fed for flight upon heavenly food, that they may fill others with the abundance of the food they have eaten.
Pope St GREGORY. It is to be observed, that in the first invitation nothing was said of the oxen or fat calves, but in the second it is announced that they are already killed, because Almighty God when we will not hear His words gives examples, that what we suppose impossible may become easy to us to surmount, when we hear that others have passed through it before us.
PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM. That He says, And all things are now ready, means, that all that is required to salvation is already filled up in the Scriptures; there the ignorant may find instruction; the self-willed may read of terrors; he who is in difficulty may there find promises to rouse him to activity.
Or He says, All things are now ready which belong to the mystery of the Lord’s Passion, and our redemption. He says, Come to the marriage, not with your feet, but with faith, and good conduct.
But they made light of it; why they did so He shows when He adds, And they went their way, one to his farm, another to his business.
St John CHRYSOSTOM. The occupations of the invited seem to be entirely reasonable; but we should learn from this , that however necessary the things are that take up our time, we ought to prefer spiritual things to every thing else beside.
But it seems to me that they only pretended these engagements as a cloak for their disregard of the invitation.
Pope St GREGORY the Great. Whosoever then intent upon earthly business, or devoted to the actions of this world, feigns to be meditating upon the mystery of the Lord’s Passion, and to be living accordingly, is he that refuses to come to the King’s wedding on pretext of going to his farm or his business. Nay, often, which is worse, some who are called not only reject the grace, but become persecutors,……….while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them.
Sources:
Bible readings from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Second Catholic Edition, copyright © 2006 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA
Quotes of the Fathers from
Thomas Aquinas’ Catena Aurea Translated by St John Henry Newman
St Augustine’s Exposition on Psalm 23
Artwork ex Wikimedia Commons