AN INVITATION FOR THE BANQUET OF THE LORD
Introduction: Today's liturgy speaks about the heavenly banquet God prepares for all people. First reading from the book of Prophet Isaiah speaks of the great banquet prepared for God's people on the mountain of the Lord. In the Gospel we have the parable of the wedding feast of a King's son where people of all walks of life are invited. Some of the invited guests refuse to come for the feast. God in His goodness and mercy calls everyone to experience the joy of His heavenly banquet. We refuse to accept His loving invitation on flimsy pre-texts. Yet God, with great forbearance continues to invite us for the heavenly banquet.
First Reading: Isaiah 25: 6 to 10
Second Reading: Philippians 4: 12 to 14 and 19 to 20
Gospel Reading: Matthew 22: 1 to 14
*First reading is from the book of Prophet Isaiah. Isaiah speaks about a great banquet prepared by the Lord God on the mountain of the Lord. The imagery of the banquet describes the great and wonderful blessings that the Lord God has in store for the people of Israel and for all nations. It is a pre-figuration of the many blessings that will be brought about by the Messianic Kingdom through the coming of Jesus Christ.
*Second reading is from the letter of St. Paul to Philippians. Paul describes his own contentment in all situations in life. He thanks the Christian community at Philippi for supporting him in his mission journeys. Paul expresses his total and unquestionable trust in the Lord Jesus who always strengthens him.
The parable of the wedding feast Today's Gospel reading is from St. Matthew. It is a strange story about a King who invites various types of people for his son's wedding. We meet four different types of people in the parable: 1. Those who make light of King's invitation and do not go to the banquet due to various reasons. They are busy with matters of their own. Eventually, they do not respond to the invitation of the King. 2. There are some who treat the servants of the King shamefully and even kill some of them. These are evil people who try to do away with the reign of God. 3. Those who are called from the by-lanes. These are people who represent all nations and are willing to accept the Kingdom of God. They are admitted to His Kingdom without going to their antecedents. 4. After being admitted, those who refuse to wear the wedding garment at the banquet. Those are people who accept the invitation of the King but are unwilling to be part of the wedding due to their refusal to follow the rules of the wedding. The wedding feast symbolizes the heavenly banquet prepared by God for all humans. In the world today, we meet all these four types of people. Matthew 8: 11-12 says: "I say to you that many will come from east and west and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of heaven, but the sons of the Kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Conclusion: God is very generous in inviting all of us to His banquet. May be we have many reasons to make light of it, totally reject it or accept it with an open heart. We may have many different reasons not to accept God's invitation. The people who refused King's invitation did so not from any evil motives but apparently good and reasonable ones. One man wanted to attend to his land, another to his business and so on. All perfectly good occupation in themselves. But this is precisely what makes them dangerous. The greatest danger facing us is not that we might abandon God and turn to evil, but rather that we might ignore His invitation and go our own way. When we accept His invitation wholeheartedly and unconditionally, we can receive abundant blessings that only the Almighty can dispense with.
May the heavenly Father, who invites you to His Son's wedding feast, bless you with His abundant blessings. Amen.
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