The parable is addressed to the chief priests and the elders of the people to show how distant those who are near and how near those who are distant can be. Those invited for the wedding banquet, after accepting the invitation, made last minute excuses for not going. Matthew's ending that "many are called but few are chosen" affirms that the call does not automatically mean salvation achieved. Isaiah also projects an image of God as a generous host who will 'remove the mourning veil and destroy death forever'. So both in Isaiah and the Gospel, one very aspect that features extraordinarily in the image of banquet and feast, is pecisely the liberating effect of true worship. Today's readings, especially the parable of the wedding banquet offered by the King for his Son, warns that salvation is not guaranteed inside the church. God's feast is a summons for everyone, and is a very inclusive invitation. God is capable of gathering all sorts of people from the 'crossroads'. The Church needs to be clothed in glory to be exactly what she is called to be. This is the call for the church in our times to be purified.
