Readings; IS 25:6-10A; PHIL 4:12-14, 19-20; MT 22:1-14

Now imagine you were invited to a party at a person’s home you have always dreamed about being invited to, then when you get there, you realize you are way under or over-dressed. You would stand out like a sore thumb. Would you go in or would you turn around and leave.

 

For those of you who watch sports on TV, you may have seen the ad that relates to this. The person comes dressed in a costume for what he was told would be a fantasy party. He missed the part of it being a fantasy draft party. Needless to say, he is certainly not dressed appropriately and decides he will leave rather than stay and feel embarrassed or be mocked.

 

Now let’s put this in perspective of the readings we hear today. In Isaiah, we hear about a party that the Lord will hold a feast on the mountain for all his faithful that will be held to destroy death forever and bring all the nations together. Who would not want to be invited to a party like this?

 

In the Gospel, Jesus tells a parable about a wedding feast being held by the king. All the invited guests are too busy to worry about showing up. He sends his servants out to remind them that he has set out a banquet that was fantastic. His servants were ignored or in some instances were mistreated and even killed. Then he decides he has this feast all prepared so instead of the entitled folks who turned their noses up at him he sent his servants out to invite all of the people of the area, regardless of their standing in the community.

 

The one apparent stipulation was that you come dressed appropriately for a wedding feast. Well, one guest ignored this aspect, and instead of leaving when he realized his mistake he thought he could sneak in and not be noticed so he would be able to enjoy the feast.

 

Jesus is reminding us of the prophets and how they were ignored, mistreated or killed by the Jewish people over time. He is also reminding us that His call is to all people not just the Jewish people of the time. With these things comes his message of loving all people, even our enemies. We are called to the banquet every time we come to Mass with the Eucharist.

 

The trick is are we dressed in our wedding garment or are we just dressed as we would be to go to the gym. As a reminder, this has nothing to do with the clothing we wear. For we can wear the most beautiful designers and newest fashion but at the same time not be following what Jesus has taught us we need to do.

 

In St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians he reminds us that he has learned how to live at both ends of the spectrum, whether he was wealthy or lived in poverty. He goes on to mention to us the most important thing we need to remember. “My God will fully supply whatever you need, in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”

 

He is reminding the Philippians that the feast on the mountain to celebrate the end of death was fulfilled in Christ Jesus. All we need to do to take part in this is to live in accordance with Jesus’ teachings.

 

Do we do this all the time? I know I do not, but I strive every day to let go of the things of this world so I can concentrate on the things that Jesus wants me to concentrate on, there will always be times where we can feel like the world is against us. This is the most critical time to come dressed for the party.

 

When we dress ourselves in Christ and show those around us that he is alive in us, we will be working our way to making ourselves ready for the wedding banquet. Many people have shown me this way to live. My Grandfather was such a man, regardless of the situation he found himself in he would live as if the time was a blessing. This could have been when he was asleep in the gutter because he had so much to drink he could not make it home. This was also evident when he was doing well enough to retire early and tour the country with my grandmother multiple times.

 

The interesting thing about it was that my grandfather was not a person who went to church on a regular basis, but he positively exuded the Love of Christ in how he dealt with everyone around him. He would remind us grandkids that our faith in God was important, and it was certainly essential to come to church, but it was equally important to live as God wanted each of us to live.

 

How many of us fail during the week to live as Christ teaches? My grandfather would offer his advice as the idea we should live what we believed. Not just on Sunday, but every day of the week as well. This is what the prophets tried to tell the Jewish people, and it was what Jesus was reminding the chief priests and elders of the people. Of course, we remember that these folks were treated pretty poorly.

 

We can all be guilty of treating those who are trying to help guide us on this path poorly at times. The question we need to continually remind ourselves is that being a Christian is not a part-time thing. It is a full time, 24/7/365 thing. We see the results that have been sewn by the evil one. It has led to divisions along political, social, economic, race and gender lines. With all these divisions it is easier to take a side, rather than try to reach across the divisions to bring people together, not tear them apart.

 

The line in the hymn “They know we are Christians by our love” goes a long way to explaining some of what we hear today. While showing our love does not mean we need to allow those around us to do whatever they want. It means that just as the King finally did, we invite everyone to be part of our party. We for our part cannot come to the party dressed improperly, so we need to put on Christ.

 

There is nothing that says life will be comfortable, or profitable, but we are told if we dress ourselves appropriately we will avoid the wailing and grinding of teeth that those who don’t come properly dressed to the banquet. How will you come dressed to the banquet?