Open Invitation. 28th Sunday

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.