The Kingdom of God is always, everywhere and close at hand.
Certainly it can feel distant, unattainable or even unreal.
And because of this, we live as if we are masters of our own
fate. Free to do as we please. How often do we feel, in our bones, that this
“doing as we please” is our inalienable right.
But, this is a shallow freedom. Its emptiness makes us feel
separated from God and his Kingdom, (and with each other) when indeed we are
not. Like strangers, or the uninvited, we feel outside looking in. But, this is
not true. God’s reality, though not ours, embraces ours. We are always loved by God and we are always invited
to share that love.
Yet, though all are welcome into that love, not all come. And
of those who do come, many do not stay. This is a painful mystery that haunts
the Church.
In the first reading the feast is prepared and the table is
set. On this mountain (Isaiah says) the Lord will provide for all people a
feast of rich food and choice wine, signifying all that is needed for a person
to flourish; all that is good, nourishing and joyful.
The Lord of hosts will prepare the feast by destroying the
veil (which is the illusion of separation from God) that covers all people.
This veil of separation, this illusion of self-sufficiency is
suffering. It is felt keenly as inner anxiety, loneliness, fear and the
loathing of death itself. Outwardly it manifest as the structures of sin, all the
disordered powers that limit, dismisses, hates and oppresses.
Isaiah continues. God (who is sovereign king) will destroy
this veil and so will wipe away the tears from every face.
All will be healed and made new. Our full potential as human
persons will be realized. True freedom will blossom as goodness and justice for
all. God will pour out his blessings and
extend his invitation to everyone and everyone will come, in freedom and joy, to
the wedding feast of the Lord.
In the second reading S. Paul affirms this all-encompassing
care and concern our Lord has for each of us and we know this love is made
concrete in Jesus Christ.
He says - I have learned the secret of being well fed and
going hungry, of living in abundance and being in need. S. Paul is saying that
through all the changes, the varying circumstances and the inconsistencies of
life he has experienced the love is unchanging and constant - I can do all
things (that is - live life) in him who strengthens me.
This love has set him free and in freedom he lives a life
held in the hands of God.
Paul is reminding us that we are never outside of God’s
domain (though it feels like we are). We are never forgotten by Jesus and we
are never abandoned by the HS.
We are always invited to the table of the Lord. And as
children of a God we are always welcomed.
And most importantly we do not have to wait or earn an
invitation to something we hope exists. We are not orphans and strangers,
doomed to be always on the outside looking into a place of light, warmth and
joy.
But, we do lack the courage to enter, or even open the door,
to the wedding feast.
We convince ourselves, or we let others connivance us, that
we are unworthy, unloved, or unlovable. In the veiled dim light we wait (by the
phone) for an invitation, we feel unworthy to receive.
We hear the Kingdom of God is like a great wedding banquet where
the king invites the usual and the expected to celebrate with him. But, many
are too busy with their own affairs to be bothered. The king, surprised and disappointed, again
sends out his servants (think, patriarchs, judges, prophets, and Jesus himself)
to remind the people of his generous invitation. But, now these servants are -
seized, insulted, and killed.
This disregard and hatred for the servants of God is a
significant but painful point because Jesus gives us this same scenario in the
parable of the owner of the vineyard, which we heard last week. But, now in response
to this insult the King sends his army to destroy the murders.
Afterwards, the king
again sends out his servants, now to invite the uninvited. Invite whomever you
find, he says, the good and the bad. And, of course, these others are thrilled
and came flooding into the great hall, within the glorious light and sit joyfully
at the table of their Lord.
But, something is amiss. Something not quite right. Something
catches the king’s attention. It appears that it is not enough to just show up.
Perhaps, this particular thoughtless guest came strictly for
the free food and drink, or because his friends dragged him along, or perhaps
he was simply curious. Whatever the reason, it was certainly not because he
loved the king. He came for the gift not for the giver.
The King calls out this ungrateful and unprepared guest, who
is without a wedding garment. Now, being without a wedding garment is not about
lack of proper attire but lack of proper attitude. To accept the Lord’s
gracious invitation we must be clothed and in our right mind as the old gospel
song says.
We must respond to the invitation, it is gracious and genuine.
But this invitation requires that we meet its demands. We come in our right
mind and dressed in our wedding garment.
This wedding garment looks a lot like a lived out baptism. It
looks like Faith and Hope, It looks like humility and kindness. It looks like full
participation in the Kingdom of God that is here and now. And it certainly looks
like active participation in the living Church.
It looks a lot like love, not just for the gifts that flow
from God or for what can God do for us, but simply for the love of God himself.
Jesus ends today’s parable with this startling truth, “many
are invited but, but few are chosen.” This is true, but I leave you with this
thought – Yes, God does the inviting, but we certainly do the choosing.
