Book of Common Prayer

Peace and hope

5 The result is this: since we have been declared “in the right” on the basis of faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus the Messiah. ² Through him we have been allowed to approach, by faith, into this grace in which we stand; and we celebrate the hope of the glory of God.

³ That’s not all. We also celebrate in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces patience, ⁴ patience produces a well-formed character, and a character like that produces hope. ⁵ Hope, in its turn, does not make us ashamed, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the holy spirit who has been given to us.

Jesus’ death reveals God’s love and guarantees final salvation

⁶ This is all based on what the Messiah did: while we were still weak, at that very moment he died on behalf of the ungodly. ⁷ It’s a rare thing to find someone who will die on behalf of an upright person—though I suppose someone might be brave enough to die for a good person. ⁸ But this is how God demonstrates his own love for us: the Messiah died for us while we were still sinners.

⁹ How much more, in that case—since we have been declared to be in the right by his blood—are we going to be saved by him from God’s coming anger! ¹⁰ When we were enemies, you see, we were reconciled to God through the death of his son; if that’s so, how much more, having already been reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. ¹¹ And that’s not all. We even celebrate in God, through our Lord Jesus the Messiah, through whom we have now received this reconciliation.

The parable of the wedding feast

22 Jesus spoke to them once again in parables.

² “The kingdom of heaven,” he said, “is like a king who made a wedding feast for his son. ³ He sent his slaves to call the invited guests to the wedding, and they didn’t want to come.

⁴ “Again he sent other slaves, with these instructions: ‘Say to the guests, Look! I’ve got my dinner ready; my bulls and fatted calves have been killed; everything is prepared. Come to the wedding!’

⁵ “But they didn’t take any notice. They went off, one to his own farm, another to see to his business. ⁶ The others laid hands on his slaves, abused them and killed them. ⁷ (The king was angry, and sent his soldiers to destroy those murderers and burn down their city.) ⁸ Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but the guests didn’t deserve it. ⁹ So go to the roads leading out of town, and invite everyone you find to the wedding.’ ¹⁰ The slaves went off into the streets and rounded up everyone they found, bad and good alike. And the wedding was filled with partygoers.

¹¹ “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who wasn’t wearing a wedding suit.

¹² “ ‘My friend,’ he said to him, ‘how did you get in here without a wedding suit?’ And he was speechless. ¹³ Then the king said to the servants, ‘Tie him up, hands and feet, and throw him into the darkness outside, where people weep and grind their teeth.’

¹⁴ “Many are called, you see, but few are chosen.”