The Gospel reading one recent Sunday was from Jesus’s parable in Matthew 22:1-10 of a king who invites folks to a wedding feast for his son. He has generously provided quite a spread for the guests, but many of the invitees either refuse the invitation or ignore it altogether. Some who have been invited so resent the invitation that they viciously beat up those who were sent to invite them!
Jesus’s parables are meant to confront us and make us think, so they have unexpected or even outrageous elements in them. Here, it’s the idea that rather than responding to a king’s invitation to a celebration gratefully, as a wonderful opportunity and an amazing privilege, people are refusing, ignoring and even resenting it.
Our King – God Almighty, our Heavenly Father – is always inviting us unworthy commoners to come into his house to enjoy the delightful feast of his Son Jesus. He deeply desires our company in order to complete the joy of his heart. His desire for our pleasure in being with him and celebrating with him is the very reason he’s gone to so much trouble.
But instead of dropping everything and eagerly flocking to the feast, we so often settle for so much less. We’re too busy with other stuff, and our focus and attention is divided and scattered in a thousand directions. Sometimes we even refuse: we turn away to everyday concerns as though this invitation is nothing special.
What’s this feast? It’s the supernatural feast of the Eucharist present at each Mass, feeding us with Jesus, the food of immortality. It’s the table of Scripture spread before us, laden with delightful, nourishing, wise and life giving words. It’s the sweetness and fulfillment of prayer, that intimate connection with our loving, generous Host which allows us to partake deeply of his goodness. And it’s the time spent in true community, enjoying each other and sharing ourselves with each other.
What do I substitute for saying yes to the King’s invitation to enjoy his feast? Lesser things, for certain. The quest to find that perfect item on Amazon? Spending hours surfing the Web or watching YouTube videos? Being so preoccupied with my appearance or my reputation that ordinary life kind of passes me by? How easy it is to let the stuff that seems so urgent in the moment crowd out the most important stuff.
Saying yes to something always involves first saying no to something else. We all have limited time and attention. The worldly things which beckon to me – the pop-up video, the engaging, seductive ad, the latest “thing” on social media, etc. – steal my focus away from cultivating real relationships, first with God, then with other people and even – in rare moments of silence and solitude – with myself. May God help us to get into the habit of making better choices.
