Matthew 22:1-14

Judges 11:29-39a

Psalm 40:5, 7-8a, 8b-9, 10

Matthew 22:1-14

Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and the elders of the people in parables

saying, “The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king

who gave a wedding feast for his son.

He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast,

but they refused to come.

A second time he sent other servants, saying,

‘Tell those invited: “Behold, I have prepared my banquet,

my calves and fattened cattle are killed,

and everything is ready; come to the feast.”’

Some ignored the invitation and went away,

one to his farm, another to his business.

The rest laid hold of his servants,

mistreated them, and killed them.

The king was enraged and sent his troops,

destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.

Then the king said to his servants, ‘The feast is ready,

but those who were invited were not worthy to come.

Go out, therefore, into the main roads

and invite to the feast whomever you find.’

The servants went out into the streets

and gathered all they found, bad and good alike,

and the hall was filled with guests.

But when the king came in to meet the guests

he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment.

He said to him, ‘My friend, how is it

that you came in here without a wedding garment?’

But he was reduced to silence.

Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet,

and cast him into the darkness outside,

where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’

Many are invited, but few are chosen.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, I have heard your call to the wedding feast of your Son. Enable me to respond generously each day to this call. Do not allow the cares of this world to distract me from your invitation. I will strive to better my wedding garment through works of mercy and charity empowered by your grace.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Invited to the King’s Feast: Jesus’ parable about a king inviting people to a feast harkens back to one of Jesus’ ancestors, the good King Hezekiah. The king celebrated the Passover and invited the northern tribes of Israel to join (2 Chronicles 30). King Hezekiah, around 715 B.C., restored the Temple, purified it, and sent messengers to the northern tribes, urging them to return to proper worship in Jerusalem. Despite some mockery, many from tribes like Ephraim and Manasseh attended, and the celebration was marked by great joy, extending an extra seven days. This was a significant effort to unite the divided kingdoms in worship. Like King Hezekiah, Jesus is inviting all 12 tribes of Israel and the Gentiles to the wedding feast of the Kingdom of heaven. This is because the New Passover that Jesus establishes will be the “mechanism by which the Davidic kingdom will be redeemed from sin and the twelve tribes restored from exile” (Pitre, Jesus and the Last Supper, 382).

2. Jephthah’s Vow: In the First Reading, we hear one of the more debated stories in the Old Testament. The judge, Jephthah, recklessly made a vow to offer his child as a sacrifice to the Lord. Many interpreters hold that Jephthah offered his daughter as a burnt offering. But a few interpreters hold that the language of “burnt offering” is symbolic. And that is why his daughter laments being her consecrated virginity and not her upcoming death. The Letter to the Hebrews numbers the judge Jephthah among the heroes of faith of the Old Testament. In faith, he vanquished the Ammonites; however, “this victory was marred by the horrendous act of sacrificing his daughter to fulfill a vow that he had rashly made (Judges 11)” (Healy, Hebrews, 251). And so, the judge Jephthah can be held up as a model of trust in the Lord with regard to his military victory, but also as unworthy of imitation because of his rash vow.

3. Pope Saint Pius X: Today, we celebrate the memorial of Pope Saint Pius X (1835-1914), who was known for his profound humility, pastoral zeal, and commitment to the Church’s mission. He was known as the “Pope of the Eucharist” because he promoted the frequent reception of Communion and lowered the age for First Communion to seven. His motto was “To restore all things in Christ.” This motto guided his reforms, which included liturgical renewal, the codification of Canon Law, and the fight against modernist heresies. Modernism was a heresy characterized by agnosticism about the human ability to know God, relativism in faith and morals, the claim that religious truth arises from within the individual rather than from divine revelation interpreted by the Church’s magisterium, and the criticism of the authenticity of Scripture and the role of Tradition. 

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you are the royal bridegroom, the true King of Israel. You have defeated the true enemy of your people and reign now victorious in heaven at the Father’s right hand. Reign in my heart and in my life!

Living the Word of God: On this memorial of Pope Saint Pius X, can I say a prayer for our current Pope Leo XIV? Can I take some time to read from some of his speeches and see what inspires me to live a better Christian life?