Earlier this year, Oprah Winfrey, one of the most popular talk show hosts on television, hosted a party to end all parties in honor of the people she considered her heroes. Each person on the exclusive invitation list was instructed to wear white. The event was a smashing success; it was clearly the most coveted invitation in town, so to no one’s surprise, almost every guest showed up.
Imagine if none of the guests had accepted the invitation? “No way!” you would say, “That would never happen in a million years!” And you’re right. How could anyone pass up the opportunity to attend such an opulent affair?
Yet that is the scenario Jesus painted in this parable. The host in this instance was not a popular television personality, but a king. If there was ever a command performance, this was it, yet his guests turned him down. To make this story even more absurd, some of those guests did more than just decline the invitation. They went so far as to mistreat or kill the king’s servants.
This was Jesus’ way of pointing out that many people in the course of history had rejected the prophets who repeated called them to repentance. But God wasn’t about to cancel the party. To the contrary, the invitation to this great feast is now extended to everyone. “Go out, therefore, into the main roads, and invite to the feast whomever you find,” the servants were told. So they gathered up all they could find, good and bad alike.
Amongst all the guests who filled the hall was a man who was not dressed in a wedding garment. “My friend,” the king asked, “how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?” When the guest could provide no excuse, he was cast into the darkness outside.
If this outcome sounds strange to you, try dining at some fancy restaurant that requires a coat and tie and if you have neither, the maitre d’ would gladly provide you with one. In biblical times, guests who came improperly attired were provided with wedding garments. For some reason, the guest, even when given the chance, chose not to wear one.
The issue here is not the article of clothing, but the meaning behind the garment. As the saying goes, clothes make the man. Wearing purple and gold, for example, sends the message to anyone at Husky stadium that the person with such colors is a Husky fan. Many others are there to enjoy the game, but not necessarily to see the Huskies win, especially those who might be wearing crimson and gray!
The point Jesus is making here is that God is a generous host who has thrown open the doors to anyone who cares to come to the heavenly banquet: the good, the bad, and the indifferent. But as we are told, many declined the invitation for any number of reasons ranging from apathy to having been offended in some way by someone claiming to be a Christian.
Being invited is easy enough, but getting to stay is a different story. Through the sacrament of baptism, we accept God’s invitation to the heavenly banquet, but as the ousted guest learned, having the invitation in hand is no assurance that one gets to stay and enjoy the heavenly feast.
If you have witnessed an infant’s baptism, you may recall the words spoken by the celebrant after the baptism. “You have become a new creation, and have clothed yourself in Christ. See in this white garment the outward sign of your Christian dignity. With your family and friends to help you by word and example, bring that dignity unstained into the everlasting life of heaven.” In other words, we are told to arrive at the gates of heaven with our dignity unstained by sin as a sign that we are still wedded to Christ.
We cannot expect to be seated at the heavenly banquet if we make no effort in our lifetime to reject Satan, and all his works, and all his empty promises. In effect, when we sin, we put aside our wedding garment. Those who will be chosen are those who have made their peace with God.
This parable is a metaphor for sin in our lives, addressing the reality that sin weakens our relationship with God. It is dangerous to presume that when the moment comes for us to stand before God, we will be ready. As the news media points out often, death can come when we least expect it.