Reflection

You’ve probably heard of the anecdote about a frog placed inside a pot with water slowly boiling under the fire. The frog doesn’t realize what was happening until it’s too late for him to jump out. He felt the temperature rise but there was no sense of urgency. Because of complacency and misplaced priority, death came to the frog slowly and silently.

In the gospel parable today, we find that same attitude of complacency and misplaced priorities. Similar to the Parable of the Tenants last Sunday, the Parable of the Wedding Feast represents the Kingdom the heaven with God as the one who invited the guests to the feast. Everything was prepared for the celebration, yet none of the invited guests shows up. True, it was their right not to go. They had to attend to other matters of importance. But Jesus was not talking of just any wedding. He was inviting them to be part of God’s kingdom. Somehow, it was not high on their list of priorities. It wasn’t urgent. They could attend later. Yet in the king’s estimation, the celebration cannot be postponed for another time. Thus, Jesus is telling us that establishing the Kingdom of God is a top agenda. It is an urgent matter needing our immediate attention, right here, right now.

We know what happens when we lack a sense of urgency. We miss opportunities. Living out faith is the way that the kingdom of God is celebrated. But sometimes we lack a sense of urgency about it. Take, for example, prayer. We know it’s an important part of our Christian life. But it only becomes urgent when we are in dire need and nothing else works. How about praying when you have no favor to ask God? Or can kindness and goodness become urgent and a priority even when there is nothing for us in return? Or the urgency of attending the Sunday Eucharist instead of shopping or sleeping longer? Having a sense of priority and urgency about our faith and God’s kingdom can give direction to the young who might just be drifting through life, a stagnant marriage where one feels stuck in, a mediocre mid-life facing crises, or the crankiness and lack of meaningful existence at the dusk of one’s life.

There is a minimum requirement for accepting God in our life. When those invited first gave no priority to it, others, good and bad alike, where asked to join the feasts. One of them did not wear the provided wedding garment, so he was sent out. We are invited to take the place of others not because we are worthy or are more blessed than other countries or race but because God desires us to be with him.

Response

If God’s kingdom cannot be on top of our list yet, at least give a minimum and simple response to God’s urgent invitation. It’s not a funeral. It’s a wedding feast.