Are You Ready for the Invitation?

As we approach the end of the liturgical year, the Gospel readings during Holy Mass begin to place an emphasis on the end times and an understanding of the Kingdom of God.  These lessons are most often presented to us in the form of parables.  We will hear a number of them over the next several weeks.  In hearing them, we must remind ourselves that parables are given to us so that we may spend time in contemplating all that is said within them.  There is never just one lesson, but often many which can be applied to various aspects of our lives.

On the Twenty-Eighth Sunday of this Ordinary Time this year, we hear one such parable of our Lord.  “Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.  He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come.  Again he sent other slaves, saying, “Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.” But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them and killed them.’”  (Matthew 22:1-6)

At a first level we know that we too, as followers of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, have been invited to a banquet.  It is the banquet that is set before us each and every time we gather for Holy Mass.  During the celebration of Mass we are fed and sustained on the Word of God as it is presented to us in the readings of Holy Mass and opened further within the Sacrament of the Word of God, the homily.  We are then further fed with the food of eternal life, the Holy Eucharist, Holy Communion, which is the very Body and Blood of our Lord.  But when we consider the parable, and consider the response of the invitees, we ask, why would anyone not come to the banquet given by the king?  In the context of the parable it seems like such a foolish and short-sighted thing to do.  Certainly any other thing we had to do, however important it might be, could just wait a while.

The problem is that we do not apply this conclusion to ourselves.  How many, including ourselves, have found some reason why we do not attend the banquet of life that is set before us each and every week.  So often something comes up that we think is just so important that we must attend to it rather than come to the banquet that is the Holy Sacrifice of Mass.

 This is especially true when we realize that the banquet will go on if we do not choose to come.  Others will be invited and the work of the kingdom will continue.  If we do not attend the banquet we are excluding ourselves from the work of the kingdom.  The parable continues: “Then [the king] said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy.  Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’  Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.” (Matthew 22:8-10)

In reflection on this portion of the Gospel reading, we realize two important aspects of the parable.  First is that the banquet is not just for some special guests.  We can never say that only certain sorts of people are invited.  All are invited and are then able to participate fully in the banquet.  The king might send invitations in different ways, but all are invited and welcome.  For ourselves we realize that individuals may come to the church in various ways.  Some are a part of the worshipping community from the time they were very young.  They might have been raised in families that come to the Church.  Others come when they first begin to understand the stirring of a spiritual life when they begin to attain maturity.  Others may come at later, even much later, periods in their life.  But all are invited, and all are welcome.  A second matter is that the banquet will not wait for any individual.  The king did not postpone the banquet in hopes that the invitees will eventually figure it out.  The invitation is made and the banquet time is set.  We only have a limited period of time within our lives to answer the invitation.  Our time on this earth is limited, the span of our life is limited, so we then must not delay in answering the invitation of Almighty God to attend the banquet.

The parable also has a final lesson for those who are attending the banquet as well.  The parable continues: “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’  And he was speechless.  Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’  For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:11-14)

As we reflect on this portion of the parable, we are reminded that accepting the invitation puts certain requirements on us.  In the immediate way we know that when we attend the banquet that is the Eucharist we must be ready to prepare ourselves to participate.  We begin with our preparation before attending Holy Mass.  We must spend some time in spiritual preparation.  We must examine our conscience to prepare ourselves to take the Sacrament of Penance seriously.  We must be intentional about our worship in that we enter into it in a profound way.  We must prepare ourselves to receive Jesus Christ, truly present in the Blessed Sacrament.

As we spend some time with this parable, we must realize that we have been invited to the best of all banquets possible.  We have been invited to join our Lord Jesus Christ in the Eucharistic banquet set by the Almighty Father.  We must make sure to make this a priority within our lives.  No amount of work or business, or any other important item in our lives can take precedence before this vital and important part of our daily living.

We must also remind ourselves that there are responsibilities when we attend this banquet.  We must prepare ourselves in moments of prayer and in the Sacrament of Penance.  We must be intent to immerse ourselves in the liturgical readings and seek to gain more strength and understanding within the Sacrament of the Word of God.  Finally we must accept the Eucharistic gifts with profound gratitude and thanksgiving that our Lord Jesus has shared His life with us.

And we must also be aware that even with these preparations that must be performed, that the opportunity to attend this Eucharistic Banquet is the highest of all honors possible.  It is the place where we encounter the Lord Himself.  It is the place where we are fed the food of eternal life.  It is the place where we participate in the work of the kingdom.  Ultimately, it is the culmination of our joy as Catholic Christians.  It is for this reason that we refer to the celebration of Holy Mass as the summit of our life of worship and work.

My brothers and sisters, know that you have been invited.  Answer the invitation by making sure that you put nothing ahead of the worship of Almighty God and the reception of His Son in Holy Communion.  Be prepared for this banquet by your life of prayer and participation in the Sacraments.  Come to the banquet set by the Almighty Father.  Participate in it fully that through this celebration you may participate fully in the worship of God and the work of the Kingdom.