"Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.' So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. "But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless. "Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' "For many are invited, but few are chosen." (Matthew 22:8-14)

The parable continues.

Given the turn-of-events shouldn't the concluding line be, "For many are invited, but a few are thrown out?"

Was this one friend - the Greek is closer to clansman - the only guest who had failed to don his wedding robes?

What is Jesus saying when it is explicit that both good and bad people have been gathered, yet the focus is on what one man is wearing?

Or is the king's attitude the result of the man's speechless non-response to his question?

Would the man have been allowed to stay if he had responded with thanks or an apology or a request for forgiveness or just an excuse?

The kingdom of heaven requires us to do our part. The original guests rejected the invitation. Most of the random guests found an opportunity to change into their party clothes. The one guest who stood out in his street clothes was given an opportunity to explain.

It is not our party. We don't have to do much. But we do have to show up ready to celebrate.

Above is the Wedding Feast at Cana by Paoli Caliari (Veronese).