Friday, October 9, 2026

Matthew 22:8-10 

8 Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore into the main streets and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ 10 Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad, so the wedding hall was filled with guests. 

The king widened the invitation and included those whom religious folk never would have invited to the king’s banquet. And the wedding hall, which somehow held an infinite number of guests, was full of people, both good and bad. 

This last detail is perhaps the most important detail. The new guests included both good people and bad people. If you are like me when I first heard this parable, I assume there will be some sort of judgment, some sort of process, that removes the “bad people”. (There is going to be one man who is removed, but we actually don’t know if he is one of the good people or one of the “bad people”.) The way Jesus tells the parable we must assume the “bad people” get to stay and sit at the banquet. 

Does that bother you? Sometimes it bothers me to think that at heaven’s banquet I might be seated next to the person I least liked to be with in this life. But that’s how grace works. If I’m saved by God’s grace, then even others whom I think are less deserving can also be saved by God’s grace. Maybe that’s the reason the original guests refused the king’s invitation in the first place… he is too gracious. His guest list is not discriminating enough. On the other hand, if I learn to be as gracious, then I will be ready to party! 

– Pr. Paul  

Lord Jesus, we have a tendency to limit your grace to include only those we deem worthy. Help my heart be as gracious as yours. Help my heart to forgive those who have hurt me and whom you still love. Help prepare me to sit at your banquet table with a heart full of rejoicing at who I am sitting next to. Amen.