This weekend’s parable seems easy to draw the connections with the Kingdom of Heaven and God, but when you look at the entire parable, it is rather confusing. It is full of contradictions about what the king will accept and how he treats guests. Is that how God acts and how you envision the Kingdom or is this a parable where we need to examine ourselves and how we are like the king? My guess is the latter. Parables are meant to shake us up and look in the mirror. How do we judge others based on their actions? How do we treat others when they do not behave as we think they should? I feel this parable is meant for us to examine how we treat others. Do we treat others by extending Jesus’s love and acceptance to all or just those who fit our mindset? Do we welcome everyone, but later chastise them? What are the areas in your life that you need to examine so you are extending God’s love in the world?