| Reading 1 Responsorial Psalm Reading 2 Gospel |
Both this week and last week we have heard Jesus reach out to the
religious leaders of his time with an almost desperate voice,
a desperate love
He saw where they were headed
(he sees where some of us are headed)
He knew how much they were entrenched in their sin
And he longed to call them to conversion
He loved them
(Sometimes you yell the most at the kid you love the most)
Last week
The religious leaders of his time were represented as the unfaithful tenants in God’s vineyard
They were those who refused to listed to the prophets and even killed the Son
This week
The religious they were the invited guests to the wedding banquet
It was the custom of the time to send runners out with invitations
Informing the invited that there would be a wedding feast soon and to get prepared
When the meal was ready (no microwaves then)
the runners would return to bring back the guests
The guests (the Jewish people and religious leaders of his time) knew that they were invited
They knew they were the chosen people
They knew that it was a special occasion
and theirs was a privileged place
They knew that had even received several invitations
God had invited them to fellowship over and over again in their history
Yet somehow and they refused
They were busy
They were otherwise concerned
one went to his business, another his farm,
some even beat up those bringing the invitation.
The guests were being invited into happiness
Into joy
They were being invited Into friendship and fellowship with the king
What kept them away?
Why did they refuse ?
The answer is probably different for each of them.
Some were too focused in the moment
They were probably overwhelmed by what was happening at that moment in their lives
(That happens to all of us some time)
Some just were not interested
They were betting on themselves
they thought that they had a good life already
they didn’t believe that the banquet would be better
Some probably resented being told anything.
How dare that king tell me when I am supposed to come
I am the master of my own destiny….
I’ll come when I am ready
Some just didn’t want their lives to change
They were afraid of change
They were afraid to change
Because of their hardened hearts they lost their chance
Because of their refusal of God’s love
they did not enjoy the banquet of the Lord
So the king invited a whole other group of guests
People who never thought they would get an invitation
They were the outcasts
The religiously incorrect
The sinners, the broken ones
Those burdened with addictions
The bandits, the prostitutes, you get the picture
He invited people who never thought they had a chance
And
When they received the invitation
which they never expected
they responded
They responded with a conversion of Heart
They did their best to leave their sad pasts behind them
They trusted the king and they came
They dared to hope for more.
And They even came properly attired
For the feast
They came with dressed with the desire to live virtuously
They were admitted to the banquet because
The love of the king even when they were sinners overwhelmed them
Sadly one man tried come without this change of heart
He entered the banquet without being clothed in virtue
or even the desire of virtue
He wanted the benefits of the Heavenly banquet without being willing to pay the prices
The King even approached him and asked him why he was not properly attired
He Probably in the hope that he could reason with the man
give him one more chance
Sadly the man was not ready to change
He was not ready to even try to be
Be the person that God created him to be
And he was thrown out back into his sadness
Friends…
The Word of God transcends time
The Word of God was not only addressed to the Jewish people at that sad moment in history
The Word of God is also addressed to us.
We are the guests
We are the invited
We are the chosen ones
We who have the gift of faith
We who through no merit of our own have been given the incredible gift of faith
Which one of these characters in the this parable are we
Which one of the characters in this parable represents our lives and the choices we have made
We have to ask ourselves…
Which one?
All of us have been invited
Have we accepted the invitation
Or are we too busy
Are we too busy to give more than 1 hour a week to God
How much of our time, and our energy are we willing to place in God’s call to fellowship
What are we bringing to the banquet
How many of us feel so lost in the present
that we can’t even think of God and God’s call
You know the drill you find yourself thinking
I have so much to do
So much calling is calling for attention
How many of us have found ourselves saying thing like
I want holiness
I want to life a virtuous life a good life
But I don’t have time now
How many of us have convinced ourselves in our hearts that
we have everthing we need right now
How many of us trust ourselves our world and our riches
more than God
How many of us kind of say Yes I’ll come to the banquet but when I’m old
And when I don’t have any better options
Yes God speaks to us
God speaks to each one of us
With a kind of desperate voice
A desperate love
He longs for us to enjoy the heavenly banquet
Pray God we all say yes.
Pray God that we and the people we love are not tricked into refusing the invitation
Pray God that all of us and the people we love are able
To make the changes needed in our lives to worthy of attending.
Amen
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