Readings: Isaiah 25:6-10; Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20; Matthew 22:1-14
We all Must Partake in the Lord’s Banquet
1. The Eucharist is the greatest thanksgiving we can ever render to God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos.1359 and 1360, reminds us that: “The Eucharist, the sacrament of our salvation accomplished by Christ on the cross, is also a sacrifice of praise in thanksgiving for the work of creation. In the Eucharistic sacrifice, the whole of creation loved by God is presented to the Father through Christ’s death and Resurrection. Through Christ, the Church can offer the sacrifice of praise in thanksgiving for all that God had made good, beautiful, and just in creation and in humanity.” It explains further, “The Eucharist is a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Father, a blessing by which the Church expresses her gratitude to God for all his benefits, for all that he has accomplished through creation, redemption, and sanctification. Eucharist means “thanksgiving.” At Mass, we gather around the Eucharistic table as a family to thank God for the gift of life, for good health, our families, our friends, our nation, and everything God has done for us. This is the banquet Isaiah invites us to partake in today’s first reading. “On this mountain, the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.” Christ commands, “Do this in memory of me.” Ours is a celebration of joy and happiness; it is thanksgiving in praise of God for answered prayers, healing, strength, blessings, and life.
2. The gospel recounts the parable of the wedding banquet of the king’s son. A wedding is a time of joy and celebration in anticipation of a new family. In ancient times, kings announced the approximate time for a wedding banquet weeks in advance. The exact day of the feast was given later. To say ‘yes’ to the advance invitation and ‘no’ at a later date was an insult to the king.
3. Jesus directed the parable to the Jews of his time. Ages before, they had accepted God’s invitation to be his chosen people, his special guests at the banquet of the kingdom of God. But when Jesus came to announce the banquet – “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matt. 4:17) – they rejected his invitation and put Christ to death. But this attitude did not stop the joy of the celebration. John tells us: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him. But to those who did accept him, he gave power to become children of God.” (Jn. 1:5,11-12).
4. Like those who did not accept the invitation to the wedding feast, we have often responded in like manner to God’s invitation. Those invited had better things to do than attend the wedding feast; we often have good reasons, too. Remember, those who did not participate in the feast did not go out to drink. No, some went to the farm, and others had other businesses to attend to. Many times, we, too, have other things to do. We sometimes go to football games rather than attend Mass. We may be too tired to respond to church activities. We don’t always take the practice of our faith seriously. We do not always pray with our families. Do we pray the rosary as a family? When did we go to confession last? Do we read the bible, or do we even own one? Would we say that our spiritual life is better today than last year? Do we prepare for Mass as we should, going through the readings beforehand and being ready to receive the Eucharist joyfully? Do we always speak the truth? Do we take part in gossiping about our neighbors and everything going on around us?
5. Dear friends, saying ‘Yes’ to God’s invitation is not a one-time commitment. It is an ongoing process. It requires constant recommitment and updating. It is easy to get distracted by daily life and to forget about eternal life. It is easy to fill ourselves with the junk food of this life and forget the banquet of eternal life. When we say ‘yes’ to God, like commitment in marriage, we find joy, happiness, and peace. It is like having a family get-together where a lot of food, beer, and wine are served. God himself prepares this meal for us every day but many of us choose to be on a diet. Today’s readings attest that a meal expresses many human attitudes and emotions. It can be a powerful testimonial to a friendship that many would doubt does not exist, as when Jesus accepted the invitation to dine with a despised tax collector. (MK. 2:13-17). When the Father forgave his son in Lk 15:11-32, he gave a banquet and killed a fatted calf for the celebration. Abraham prepared a meal for the strangers who stopped by his house on their way to Sodom and Gomorrah. (Gen. 18:1-8). We travel miles and miles to join our families for Thanksgiving and Christmas meals. At these meals, there is always a lot to eat and drink. These gatherings speak the mind of God for his children. He wants his children to be happy and be glad. The meals talk to us about the banquet we will share eternally with God in heaven with his son, angels, and saints. But there is a caveat to the joyful participation in this banquet.
6. Those invited must wear their garment; it doesn’t matter when the invitation comes to you. By coming to the wedding feast without a wedding garment, one refuses to prepare and openly insults the host. The kingdom of God is a gift to which the Spirit awakens us. It grows within our hearts as we live by gospel values. The wedding garment is woven with strands of humility, gratitude, willingness to change, readiness to forgive and be forgiven, to love and be loved. Openness to the generosity of God is the ticket to entering the kingdom.
7. According to William Barclay, this parable has nothing to do with the clothes we wear to Church; it has everything to do with the Spirit in which we go to God’s house. It is profoundly true that churchgoing must never be a fashion parade. But there are garments of the mind, heart, and soul – the garment of expectation, the garment of humble repentance, the garment of faith, the garment of reverence - and these are the garments without which we ought not approach God. Too often, we go to God’s house with no preparation at all; if every man and woman in our congregations came to Church prepared to worship, after a bit of prayer, a little thought, and a little self-examination, talking less to others in the Church and talking more to God, then worship would be worship indeed – the worship in which and through which things happen in men’s souls and the life of the Church and the affairs of the world. Is there anything in our lives that distracts us from fully accepting the Lord’s awesome invitation to share in the life of our generous God? Let us celebrate our faith, the Eucharist, and life in this community. May we always approach our Lord in the Eucharist with joy and thanksgiving in our hearts! Amen.
Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP
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