C ostly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.  Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ.  It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life.

Memorial of Saint Bernard

Judges 11:29-39a

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

M atthew 22:1-14  And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, (2) "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a marriage feast for his son, (3) and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the marriage feast; but they would not come. (4) 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.' (5) But they made light of it and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, (6) while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. (7) The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. (8) Then he said to his servants, `The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. (9) Go therefore to the thoroughfares, and invite to the marriage feast as many as you find.' (10) 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. (11) "But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment; (12) and he said to him, `Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless. (13) 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.' (14) For many are called, but few are chosen."

* Meditation by Don Schwager

Why does Jesus' parable of the marriage feast seem to focus on an angry king who ends up punishing those who refused his invitation and who mistreated his servants? Jesus' parable contains two stories. The first has to do with the original guests invited to the marriage  feast. The king had sent out invitations well in advance to his subjects, so they would have plenty of time to prepare for coming to the feast. How insulting for the invited guests to then refuse when the time for celebrating came! They made light of the King's request because they put their own interests above his. They not only insulted the King but the heir to the throne as well. The king's anger is justified because they openly refused to give the king the honor he was due. Jesus directed this warning to the Jews of his day, both to convey how much God wanted them to share in the joy of his kingdom, but also to give a warning about the consequences of refusing his Son, their Messiah and Savior.

The second part of the story focuses on those who had no claim on the king and who would never have considered getting such an invitation. The "good and the bad" along the highways certainly referred to the Gentiles and to sinners. This is certainly an invitation of grace – undeserved, unmerited favor and kindness! But this invitation also contains a warning for those who refuse it or who approach the wedding feast unworthily. Grace is a free gift, but it is also an awesome responsibility.

Dieterich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran pastor and theologian in Germany who died for his faith under Hitler's Nazi rule, contrasted "cheap grace" and "costly grace".  "Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves ..the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance ..grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate. ..Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.  Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ.  It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life."

God invites each of us as his friends to his heavenly banquet that we may celebrate with him and share in his joy. Are you ready to feast at the Lord's banquet table?

"Lord Jesus, may I always know the joy of living in your presence and grow in the hope of seeing you face to face in your everlasting kingdom."

S upplementary Reading

oH, To HAVE BEAuTIful fEET!

For the yoke I will give you is easy, and the load I will put on you is light. – Matthew 11:30

I got tired shopping for Christmas gifts for my friends, so I sat on a bench at the mall while I waited for my husband who checked out a photo exhibit.

As I sat there, I looked at the feet of passersby, especially those who were wearing fancy flip-flops that were so in fashion that season. Everyone had smooth feet.

I couldn’t help but sulk because, for the longest time, I’ve suffered from psoriasis and I have sores on my feet. They’re so ugly so I don’t dare wear flip-flops. In my mind, I kind of talked to the Lord, saying, “Lord, I am the only one with ugly feet. Would it spoil Your Grand Eternal Plan if I had beautiful feet?”

After the holidays, a friend told me that her relative who suffered diabetes had an amputation. Although she now has only one leg, she has well recovered and seems to have accepted her situation.

When I went home that day, I looked at the sores on my feet and they didn’t seem as ugly as I thought they were.

Be it psoriasis or diabetes, our burden will ultimately be light, because the Lord promises so in today’s Gospel. Cynthia Santiago (Kerygma)

R EFLECTION:

By His wounds, we are healed.

Lord, I lay down all my burdens at Your feet today.