Wedding banquet parable reveals why humans should accept God's love, says South Carolina priest

Fr. Jeffrey Kirby of South Carolina reflected on the Parable of the Wedding Banquet, a story about a king who banishes improperly dressed guests to a wedding.

"But when the king came in to meet the guests, he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment. The king 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" (Matthew 11-14). 

The story in these verses is an example of God's constant offering of His love to humanity and the need for humanity to reciprocate this love, said a South Carolina-based priest. 

These verses come from the Gospel of Matthew, one of the three synoptic Gospels in the New Testament of the Bible.

Not much is known about St. Matthew, who is credited with writing the Gospel of Matthew, according to the Christian website Overviewbible.com. 

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When Jesus called Matthew to be one of His disciples, Matthew was employed as a publican or tax collector, which was a "reviled profession" at the time.

And while he's one of the authors of the Gospels, St. Matthew is only mentioned seven times, said the same website.

The story in these verses is known as the "parable of the wedding banquet," said Fr. Jeffrey Kirby.

Kirby is pastor of Our Lady of Grace Parish in Indian Land, South Carolina, and host of the daily devotional, "The Morning Offering with Father Kirby."

"We are invited into God’s banquet, which is the biblical symbol of His love," Kirby told Fox News Digital.

"In the parable, a wedding banquet is prepared and the original guests choose not to come," he said. "In response, the host tells his servants: ‘Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.’"

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The door to the banquet is "opened wide, and everyone is encouraged to come in," said Kirby.

And while many accepted the invitation and filled the hall, "some refused to wear the wedding garment."

This may seem confusing to modern readers of the verse — yet "at that time, such garments were offered as a gift by the host," he said. "It was an offense and an insult not to wear the garment." 

Kirby added that the king was angered that so many of the guests were not wearing the wedding garment — and threw the guest out of the hall, "into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth." 

The parable concludes with Jesus saying, "Many are invited, but few are chosen." 

The story told in the parable is one about love, Kirby explained to Fox News Digital.

"In our lives, we don’t have to follow the way of God to convince Him to love us," said Kirby. 

"We cannot even earn His love by our own efforts and designs. God’s love is a gift. It is constant and unconditional. It cannot be lost."

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For humanity, "our task in life is to accept God's love, die to our own fallenness and seek to reciprocate His love." 

"We are called to welcome all people, but such a welcome is not without virtue or a summons to goodness," said Kirby. 

"There is something called from within us when we receive love. If no response is given, we allow the gift of love to fade and become eclipsed within us," he said.

On the contrary, when a person responds and seeks to love in return, "the love within us grows in zeal and sincerity." 

He noted, "In the parable, the banquet hall is a symbol of the kingdom of God. The wedding garment is the grace of God, which is God’s love and presence within us, and is nourished within us by our response to His love."

By refusing to love, a person refuses the garment and rejects the gift of God, said Kirby. 

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"We are called to cover ourselves in the wedding garment of grace-filled love," he said. 

"Love," added Kirby, "creates a culture, and the culture of love is a culture of truth, life, justice and peace. It is a culture offered to everyone who is willing to accept and wear the wedding garment with its mantle of love."

When people neglect the call to love and refuse to wear the wedding garment, they "will not fit in the banquet and will not understand the culture of love." 

"If we seek the presence of God, then we need to be transformed by His love and seek to be instruments of His love to others," he said. 

In the reverse, "when we ignore or rebel against His love, every offense becomes acceptable and all moral norms are thrown to the wind," said Kirby. 

"The worst of evils become falsely justified in the heart that does not love and that does not know the God of love." 

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Kirby told Fox News Digital that examples of these evils are found in acts of terrorism, mass shooting and abortion. 

"Many are called. Everyone is welcome into the banquet hall of God’s love. Everyone is invited into the culture of love," he said. "But few are chosen."

Accepting this "summons of love" means that a person "must live by love and its demands." 

"We must structure our lives by truth, hold the standards of justice, offer mercy and compassion to all, serve others selflessly, and seek authentic peace with all men and women," he said. 

"If we refuse this transformation, then we do not choose love and it will not choose us." 

Love, said Kirby, "is the only adequate response to love." 

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