Matthew 22: 1-14
The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101126.cfm
May your grace, O Lord, we pray,
at all times go before us and follow after
and make us always determined
to carry out good works.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the
Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever.
(Collect of Mass)
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A woman decided that
she was going to have a dinner party for a good number of her friends. So, she spent most of the week cleaning,
baking, cooking, and preparing the table.
And when everyone finally arrived and sat down to eat, she turned to her
six year old daughter and said, “Honey, why don’t you say the blessing?” “Mommy,” she said, “I don’t know what to
say.” “Just simply say what you hear
Mommy say.” So the little girl bowed her
head and said, “Dear Lord, why on earth did I invite all of these people to
dinner?”
Like the woman in the
story, you and I can occasionally have regrets about the invitations that we
offer. But that is not the case with our
God. For our God is a God of
invitation. A God who is constantly
inviting all people into relationship, inviting all to share in divine life and
love. And while at any wedding the bride and groom are the center of attention, here it is the King, who is God himself, who is the center point and the one who relentlessly continues to invite us.
In the time of Jesus,
Jewish weddings involved two invitations:
one to invite the guests and to let them know the son/daughter was being
married and another, after the necessary preparations had been made for the banquet,
etc, to tell the invited guests the when and where. After all, Jewish weddings
went on for at least five days of feasting and joy. No wonder the wine ran out at Cana! Believe
me, we priests can write a book about what we’ve seen, heard and been asked at
a wedding.
Still, of all the
details that go into creating a wedding celebration, the one which seems to
cause the most stress is who to invite. Invitations are sent hoping that
everyone is included, and no one suffers hurt feelings.
Our readings this
Sunday speak both of a feast and of a royal wedding. The prophet Isaiah speaks
of a “feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy rich foods and pure, choice
wines . . .”
It is God himself,
the Lord of hosts, who has prepared this banquet for us and it is God himself
who invites us to attend and enjoy the grace of knowing him. Unlike ourselves,
God does not discriminate but invites anyone who will accept it. Yet, some
strangely refuse the generous call.
This Feast is a foretaste of heaven. An invitation to share in the banquet our King has prepared and extended to us through his own Son. This sumptuous feast is available to all. Why would you not accept an invitation to the royal wedding?
Imagine that you
received a messenger at your door who hands you an engraved invitation from the
King of England to the royal wedding of his son. Or the President of the United
States does the same and invites you to the marriage of his son/daughter at the
White House. Who would say no to such an
honor? Or Pope Leo invites you personally to attend a major event at the
Vatican. Would anyone say, “sorry, can’t
make it.”
One would think that
anyone would be honored by such an opportunity. Yet, this story of Jesus takes
a weird turn. While the parables of
Jesus are not meant to be taken in a literal sense, they provide an allegorical
image for us to ponder. In this case, the Lord in his exaggeration, is striving
for our attention to his message. “Wake
up!” “See what God has done!” “Don’t pass this by! "For, in this parable
we see the never-ending theme of God's relentless pursuit for our
attention. Though we may feel that it is
our search for God that drives us, it is truly his search for us and his
invitation to us hoping for our positive response. Just ask St. Augustine what
he came to realize he had been missing. But, alas, that great blessing from God
is not always received well.
Still, despite the
invitation, some refused. Others found themselves just too busy to come making
up silly excuses to their own eventual regret. How strange that sounds.
So, the king sent
servants into the byways and highways to invite everyone both the bad and the
good. The wedding hall was filled, the party began, and the very generous king
arrived. One would think that wedding attire
would not be an issue considering where the servants went to fill the hall with
guests, but the king spots a guest “without a wedding garment.” That person is
treated harshly and eventually thrown out of the banquet! Again, don’t take
this literally. It isn’t about a proper
piece of clothing as it is rightly about our response to the invitation.
Sure, I came and here
I’m enjoying all the feasting but the call to conversion and grace that God
requires of us, is not worth the effort. With the invitation goes an
expectation of gratitude and taking this seriously on our part. Showing up is a
good thing but it’s only the beginning.
So, leave the banquet and maybe reconnect when the time is right for you
–properly “dressed.” Like all the parables of Jesus they are meant to have a
twist or to pull the rug out from us to think about a deeper implication.
In a real sense the
“wedding garment” is a symbol of the white baptismal garment and the virtues we
have acquired in our lifetime. It is the moment to “put on Christ” as Paul
reminds us and to acquire a life of virtue: love, forgiveness, compassion, selflessness. To put on Christ and to conform our lives to
his is how we must be clothed to enter the Feast of heaven. So, we can’t just show up – it’s more than
that.
In a way, in telling
this parable, Jesus’ invitation was consistent in his ministry. God, through Christ, has proposed a new
vision for humanity and the values of the kingdom are its blueprint. Through
his preaching, miracles, his person he constantly extended the invitation yet
many surprisingly said "not now" and many accused him of siding with
the sinners and outcast. It was the poor
and fringe population that embraced his call.
Like those invited to the parable at the end, those Jesus received were
among the forgotten, the fringe, the poor and powerless.
Maybe an interesting
question that we must all ask is “why am I here and about to share in the very
body of Christ? What brings me to this
Mass?” Even in this time which is so challenging to our faith we still must
seek an answer to this fundamental question. We can find an excuse for anything,
but why would we refuse the invitation that God himself is offering us?
That feast is a sign
of both our Christian faith and the joy of sharing in the Eucharist. Are we joyful Christians? Are we here just out of obligation or do we
come because we truly want to keep our lives directed in the ways of the
Gospel?
So, if we want to be
dressed well, put on Christ and enjoy the party!
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