On this mountain, the Lord of hosts will provide a feast of rich food for all peoples. The theme of the universality of God’s salvific acts towards God’s creatures enters its third week this Sunday (we have been reflecting upon it in the last two Sundays). In the First Reading, the prophet Isaiah extols the mighty power of the Lord through which victory will ultimately be wrought for God’s people. And while the contents of Isaiah’s poem had Isaiah’s community that was languishing in exile as the immediate recipient, those beautiful words were also directed to the entire created universe (for the salvation of the universe was dependent on Israel’s salvation [cf. Genesis 12:2-3, 22:18]). Isaiah likens the salvation of the entire universe to a glad feasting that will take place on God’s holy mountain. While the mountain in question remains unnamed, it goes without saying that it is Zion, the symbol of the heavenly/new Jerusalem. Unlike the earthly Jerusalem which is the capital of one nation (Israel), the new/heavenly Jerusalem will be the capital of all the nations of the earth, for towards it shall all the nations march (cf. Isaiah 2:2; Micah 4:1-2). It will be a place where the ancient curse of death will be lifted, for as the abode of God, only wholeness and life shall be found on this mountain. 
Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem and the abode of God, symbolizes the culmination of the grand plan of God for creation. God’s plan since creation of the world was the coming to rest of creation in God (salvation). It is a plan that was ‘interrupted/inconvenienced’ by the rebellion of Adam and Eve, our first parents. Because of their rebellion, the fullness of life that was God’s gift to creation was lost. What ensued was death in all its forms. However, the plan of God had to come to fulfillment, and to this end, the Lord elected the nation of Israel to shine forth as a light to the nations of the world (cf. Isaiah 49:6). It was a privilege that Israel had to carry out as a responsibility for the benefit of the entire created order (cf. Acts 13:47). Unfortunately, Israel did not fully understand the universal scope of her mission and consequently failed to live up to her call. It was only in the life and ministry of Jesus that God’s plan for the created order begins to be fulfilled.
Like Israel, Jesus’ mission is that of leading men and women to their ultimate destiny: union with God. As a continuation of Israel’s mission, Jesus’ mission was rooted in the history of Israel’s election and was not to be understood as superseding or replacing Israel’s own salvific struggles. Jesus himself understood the importance of Israel ultimately attaining her salvation and only wished that Israel would recognize his (Jesus’) role in the attainment or coming to culmination of this goal (cf. Luke 19:41-44). However, as it had happened with other messengers of God, Jesus was rejected by his people. However, Jesus’ rejection as the anointed of God did not hinder the proclamation of the Good News. Since the Good News of God’s impending visitation (salvation) had to be proclaimed, Jesus’ disciples turned their attention to the nations where, to the surprise of many, God’s message found eager listeners (cf. Acts 18:6; 28: 23-28). From hindsight, the rejection of Jesus by his own people turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Jesus’ rejection became the beginning of the fulfillment of God’s salvific plan for the nations. It is this rejection of Jesus’ messianic mission by his own community and the subsequent acceptance of the very message among the gentiles that the parable of the wedding feast of which we hear in today’s Gospel Reading is all about. 
God’s plan for creation, very much like the wedding feast hosted by a king, can never fail to be realized. Not even the mistreatment of the king’s messengers (the prophets) or the boycott by those who had been invited (the elected nation) can stand in the way of the king honoring his son. Just as the king could not rest until his son’s party was packed, so will the Lord God remain restless until we are all gathered around his son. It was important for the king’s subject to attend the wedding feast of the son since it was the king’s way of thanking his subject. When we gather around Jesus as his disciples, we demonstrate our appreciation to God going out of his way to have us as members of his kingdom. For the wedding feast of a king’s son is less about the king or his son and more about the kingdom. We have been made members of the kingdom of God. May we never refuse the Lord’s invitation to gather with him as we render gratitude for our belonging in the kingdom.