On the fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost we read a passage from the Holy Gospel, which is very important for our salvation. The parable about the King’s son’s marriage is one of many reminders about the upcoming judgment of all. Jesus Christ told this parable not to scare us but to prevent us from making unwise decisions in our life. By “unwise decisions” I mean the decisions we make concerning our attitude to Almighty God.
It is no secret that we humans often sacrifice our souls to our passions, to things we think are important or things that we are reluctant to give up. Just as was told in the parable, the friends of the King rejected his invitation for miserable and foolish reasons. “But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them” (Matt. 22, 5-6).
Can we not recognize ourselves in this parable? We do same thing when we ignore God’s commandment to observe the seventh day of the week by not working but by praying, and when we do not answer Christ’s invitation to come to Him in His Church. God has allowed us to be the masters of our time! Please, notice that the King did not ask for help; everything was ready for the feast of his son, yet the guests failed to come. In real life such a situation would probably never have occurred. Using the illustrations of the parable Jesus highlights what will happen in the future. He opens here a curtain of mystery for all of us; He reveals to us in actual fact what is going to happen unavoidably to every person on the earth. Jesus is telling each of us about the feast in His Kingdom for those who answer His invitation.
Dear brothers and sisters, we who call ourselves Christians or Christ’s followers are invited to participate in this feast of eternity. The Gospel says that the king sent his servants to all the invited to tell them that everything was ready. Did we hear these servants telling us to come to the feast? Yes, we did! And not only once, but every time when we are in church or when we read the Holy Scripture in our homes. Jesus sent His disciples to preach this good news about the Feast of eternity, that is, Christ’s Kingdom. The Apostles did their job throughout the entire world. It was not easy for them to accomplish this task. Some of them were bitten to death, some were stoned, and most were killed by the sons of darkness.
Today we can witness that their work was a success. Currently we see gatherings of Christians in almost every city around the world. We are the fruits of their preaching. Through the reading of the Holy Scripture we once again dive into the depths of God’s eternal invitation to leave darkness and to come to Him through Jesus Who is called the Son of Righteousness. So, my dear friends, Christ’s invitation is clear. His servants the Apostles worked hard to bring this invitation to every human soul so that all could be saved. Christ’s servants, the Bishops and Priests continue this task up to this day and, according to prophecy, will continue to do it up to the end of ages. Therefore we will not have an excuse when we stand in front of the Righteous Judge on the last judgment day. We have everything we need to make the right decision when we consider answering Christ’s invitation.
There are many people in the world who do not care about the invitation. Jesus made this clear in the parable as well. The most usual answer to the invitation is that we do not have time, because we have business to do. Do you think that God does not know that? If we think that God doesn’t know about our business or our concerns, we are deeply mistaken. He is the One Who grows crops in our fields. He is the One Who pours rain in time of drought and gives sunshine in time of bad weather. Are we so far from our senses that we cannot understand this? No, we are not! Often we are just afraid for our own pocket. I am not talking about legitimate times of need, which can occur on occasion within a lifetime; I am talking here about those who always neglect their obligations to God. Those people do not care about their neighbor or about their own souls. Many of them were baptized, which means they are invited to the feast of God as the rest of us are, but they chose not to come because their personal business is more important to them. This is the main message of the parable!
Dear brothers and sisters, as long as we are alive, we have lots of time to answer the King’s invitation. God will not drag us to the feast. We are god-like because we have free will. It is up to us to make the right decisions. But Jesus warns us what will happen to those who reject His invitation through the words of the parable: “But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers [who killed the servants auth.] and burned up their city” (Matt.22,7). Here Jesus reveals to us that if we reject the invitation we will not be alive. The Holy Fathers of the church have a special word to describe the state of sinners after the Last Judgment—eternal death. This is because life without God is no life!
So, dear brothers and sisters, let’s be attentive! It is up to each of us to accept God’s invitation! Let’s stand firmly on the side of God and answer His invitation wearing the nice white wedding garment of joy. If the garment is not clean, let’s purify it with true repentance and righteousness. Our salvation depends on our deeds and in giving God the correct answers! Let’s use this privilege to accept the invitation graciously given to us and come to the feast of ages, the feast of eternity—God’s Kingdom. Amen.
After Pentecost 
