Holy Metropolis of Ierapytni: The Parable of Royal Weddingstranslated

Ecumenical Patriarchate HOLY METROPOLIS

HIERAPYTNIS AND SITEIA WRITTEN SUNDAY SERMON OF MATTHEW

The parable of royal weddings

(September 6, 2026) My beloveds, in today's Gospel passage, we heard Jesus tell the parable of the royal weddings, saying the following: "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who married his son. And he sent his servants to call those who had been invited to the weddings, but they did not want to come. Again he sent other servants, saying: "say to the guests: Behold, I have prepared my meal, my bulls and herds have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the weddings." But they did not care and left, one for his own field and another for his trade. And the rest, after they caught his servants, cursed them and killed them."

Jesus likened the Kingdom of Heaven to royal weddings, because just as in weddings there is joy and happiness, so in the Kingdom of Heaven there will be constant joy and happiness. The King who organizes the marriages of his son is God; and his son is Jesus Christ, the Bridegroom of the Church.