Peru
In today’s Gospel, August 20, 2026, Jesus presents a parable addressed to the chief priests and the elders of the people.
Jesus compares the Kingdom of heaven to a king who celebrated the wedding of his son. This king sends his servants to summon the invited guests to the wedding, but they refuse to come. The king then sends other servants to invite the people, but with excuses and justifications, the outcome remains the same: no one wants to attend.
How many excuses and justifications do we sometimes put forward not to work for the Kingdom of God and not to take our baptismal commitments seriously!
The universal invitation and the refusal of the guests
Finally, the king tells his servants to go and invite everyone, good and bad alike, because the banquet is ready. And so the hall begins to fill with people, both good and bad.
The invitation is always God’s initiative: He desires that no one be left behind in His Kingdom, because salvation is for all (and this was reiterated by Pope Francis in Lisbon in August 2023).
Personal decision and the wedding garment
However, the decision is personal: the guests, in reality, freely and willingly decided not to take part in this joyful banquet.
And you, dear brother, dear sister, what do you decide? Do you want to attend this banquet? Do you want to wear the festive garment, essential to participate in this banquet, represented by your sincere conversion, your good works, and your lived experience of the Beatitudes?
Image created digitally by spazio + spadoni
