Today is the Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity. Today’s reading from Matthew’s Gospel is preparing his readers for the crucifixion and for an interpretation of that momentous event. Today he does so through the parable of the invitations to the wedding feast. Through the imagery of the Old Testament, the wedding feast had become an established symbol for the age of the Messiah. This parable spells out how the people originally invited (the people of Israel) had declined the invitation. Therefore, God will invite others to the table.
For those of you who wanted to do some thinking and preparation for today’s service during the preceding week, I invited reflection on the image of party invitation. In today’s picture from their book, Celebrations, Aled is bringing his letter of invitation with him to Sian’s party.
Lord Jesus Christ,
you invite us to your table.
Give us grace to accept your invitation,
that we may sit and eat with you in your kingdom;
for you are our God.
Amen.
Next Sunday is the Twentieth Sunday after Trinity when the Cathedral is keeping the Feast of Luke the Evangelist. The Gospel reading is Luke’s account of Jesus appointing seventy apostles to go ahead of him. The image to help prepare for this theme is Messenger. You can find out more about that theme by looking at the Educational Resources and the Preparation Resources.
Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity – Exploring the Sunday Gospel