Scripture Reflection, October 12, 2008: Invited to God's party

Scripture Readings:
Isaiah 25: 6-10
Psalm 23
Philippians 4: 12-14, 19-20
Matthew 22: 1-14

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The Scripture readings for this Sunday present images of a sumptuous banquet. We listen to these readings at a time in which people in this country and abroad are thinking less about lobster and prime rib and more about peanut butter and tuna fish. The economic crisis that has gripped our world is a source of anxiety for everyone. It was the main topic of this week’s third presidential debate, as John McCain and Barack Obama exchanged accusations about flaws in the other’s plan to rebuild the U.S. economy. On one network’s evening news this week the anchorperson interviewed a group of college freshmen on a state university campus. Several of them shared their worries about the availability of student loans which they need to continue their studies. They wondered if they would be able to complete their degree programs. What is happening on Wall Street and at stock exchanges in Europe and Japan is affecting the fortunes of people of all ages.

The people of the Bible also knew the reality of economic hardship and social struggle. The people of Israel almost always found themselves in a vulnerable position among larger and more powerful nations, and they often faced a harsh existence. Food and drink were not always in steady supply. That is why when they expressed their hope for salvation from God – their view of what the reign of God would be like – they often turned to the image of a lavish banquet. The passage from Isaiah which we listen to this Sunday speaks of the banquet that the Lord will provide for all peoples and depicts this meal as “a feast of rich foods and choice wines, juicy rich food and pure, choice wines.” Listening to this passage is enough to make you hungry! Isaiah proceeds to describe this experience as one in which God “will wipe away the tears from every face.” The fullness of God’s kingdom will be an experience of enduring joy where men and women will see the God for whom they have always longed: “This is the Lord for whom we looked; let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!”

The familiar and beloved twenty-third psalm – the response to the reading from Isaiah – also evokes the image of a banquet that is provided by God for the person who walks through the dark valleys of life: “You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes.” It is interesting that the passages from Isaiah and Psalm 23 are often used in the Church’s funeral liturgies. When my mother died a few years ago, I selected these readings for her funeral. The image of the feast suggests a hope-filled vision of God’s saving presence and power. It reflects the hope that we hold for our beloved dead. And it reminds us of the faithful God who walks with us through our times of sorrow and difficulty and who continues to offer us new life.

When Jesus employs this image of the banquet in the gospel parable from Matthew, he adds his own peculiar twist. Not only does he want to evoke the marvelous richness of the banquet, he also wants to communicate the idea of invitation and response. God invites us to the banquet but he does not compel our acceptance. God sets the table before us but does not force us to sit down and eat. In his story, those who are invited to the wedding feast by the king find excuses to refuse the invitation. Some even react violently against the king’s messengers. Jesus knew the power of human freedom firsthand in his own life. It was a power strong enough to have him crucified. For us, as for those who first heard the story that Jesus told, the reign of God continues to be offered as an invitation that calls for our response – the response of our entire being.

The fullness of God’s reign is a reality for which we continue to yearn. We look forward in hope to that experience of God bringing to completion his saving and loving purposes. It will mean the fulfillment of the reign of God that was inaugurated by Jesus in his life, death and resurrection. We believe that this will be a time when tears are wiped away, when we will not hear of war, terrorism, racism and other forms of injustice, when people will not go to bed hungry and homeless. But this vision is not only a dream about the future. The banquet of God’s reign is also offered to us now, in the present, even at a time of economic hardship and anxiety about the future. We are invited to mold our lives according to the values of the reign of God proclaimed by Jesus. The invitation is there for us in Christ’s invitation to follow him, to walk with him and to make our lives an ongoing conversation with him. We share in the reign of God now by deepening our relationship with Christ through personal prayer, participating in the sacraments, striving to live in relationships marked by justice and charity, and attending to the physically and spiritually hungry of our world.

Sometimes our slowness to respond to Jesus’ call in our lives is the result of forgetting that the invitation is there in the first place. There are times when we find ourselves walking through some dark valley in which it is very difficult to remember that the Lord is present, setting the table before us. This is true especially if such experiences evoke in us feelings with which we are not very comfortable: hurt, anger, jealousy, doubt, or anxiety. I know that when I am caught up in such feelings I struggle to remember that the Lord is present with me, walking alongside me, inviting me to turn to him to taste his presence, mercy and strength. At those moments, it is easy to be like the characters in the gospel story that ignored the king’s invitation and simply went their own way. But the invitation remains, even when we may not be feeling particularly strong or holy or good about ourselves. Sometimes the response that is called for is something as simple as the prayer, “Jesus have mercy on me,” or “The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.”

At every celebration of the Eucharist we hear the invitation to come to the table of the Lord, and the presider says, “Happy are those who are called to this supper.” You and I are indeed blessed – privileged -- to be called to the Eucharistic banquet in which Christ gives himself to us to be our nourishment and our strength. Even amidst challenging times, may we go forth from the Eucharist to communicate to others the joy and abundance that the Lord provides for us.

Fr. Robin Ryan, cp