Everyone loves a feast, and that was as true in ancient times as it is now. It is not surprising, then, to hear imagery about feasting to give us a sense of God’s overabundant generosity. “A feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines,” we hear in today’s first reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. Just listening to these readings makes my mouth water. And, you’ll notice that the prophet Isaiah sets God’s feast of rich food and pure, choice wines on Mount Zion, the location of Jerusalem and the temple. His audience would know that offerings to God at the temple were understood to be, in some mystical way, as sharing a banquet with God. And, you’ll notice that Isaiah quickly moves on from the material imagery of food and drink to the even greater riches that God will provide. As God destroys death forever and wipes away the tears from our eyes, eternal life, joy, salvation, and most importantly, God’s very presence – the hand of the Lord – will rest on this mountain. What a beautiful, powerful message of hope.
St. Paul uses similar imagery of riches in our second reading from his letter to the Christian community in Philippi. “My God will fully supply whatever you need, in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus,” we hear him declare. St. Paul is thanking the Philippians for their material generosity toward him and his ministry, and in the verse just prior to the one we heard, he calls their gifts a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. Paul reminds the Philippians – and us – that we have nothing to bring to the banquet of our own. Rather, all we bring has its origin in the abundance of God. As God shares extravagantly, we receive it not only to enjoy ourselves but for the added enjoyment of sharing extravagantly with others, and so acting as much like God as we can in this lifetime.
The image of feasting continues in Jesus’ parable, which uses the example of a king providing a wedding feast for a son – perhaps the most extravagant image that could have been chosen at that time – to place before us the shocking reality that we do not always accept God’s abundance. Sometimes we are too busy with our material lives – our cares, our worries – to accept the invitation to the banquet, or even to notice that we are constantly being invited. And so, the banquet hall in the kingdom of heaven will not be filled with the most powerful or influential, but with those who are willing to hear and accept the invitation – “bad and good alike” as we hear in today’s gospel. This gives us reason to rejoice, for in other words, none of our imperfections or failings are a barrier to God sharing his abundance with us.
Of course, we have to clothe ourselves with God’s garments. Don’t miss this last section of today’s gospel about the man not dressed in a wedding garment. As was customary at that time, the king would have provided a wardrobe with wedding garments for those who could not afford to buy their own. The man who entered the hall not dressed in a wedding garment had accepted the king’s invitation but had not accepted the wedding garment offered to him. He wanted to enter the wedding hall on his own terms, not God’s. This is another very important lesson for us. What are God’s garments? Simply put, they are his requirements to worship him and love one another as he loves us.
So, we have very easy-to-understand lessons in today’s readings. First of all, God has invited us to join with him in his heavenly banquet. From the time he placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden to tend his garden – a garden intended to grow the food for God’s table – he has intended for us – we who are made in God’s image and likeness – to feast with him. Even after Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden because they choose to side with Satan rather than follow God, God continually invited us to share a meal with him. Remember the meal that God’s angels had with Abraham when they promised him that he would be with child. Recall the Passover meal that God commanded Moses to establish with his people before God freed them from slavery. Don’t forget the manna and quail that God provided his people in the desert and the great feast they enjoyed after making a covenant with God at Mt. Sinai. And, most important, remember in the Last Supper, when Jesus offered his followers himself as the Lamb of God. We are privileged to come to the Table of the Lord right here and now; how blessed we are! As St. Augustine, a sinner-turned-saint assured us, “The Eucharist is not the reward of saints. No, it is the bread of sinners.” We have accepted our Lord’s invitation this evening to come together to this greatest of feasts that this world has to offer. We have clothed ourselves in God’s garments, worshiping him and caring for one another. At the end of this celebration, we will be called to accept the call to share in God’s lavish abundance as we are sent off with “Go and proclaim the gospel of the Lord.” We then go out and lavishly share God’s abundant blessings with everyone we meet – by word and deed – until that time when all of us – saint and sinner alike – will be invited to the heavenly banquet.
Today’s Gospel ends with the strong admonition: “Many are called but few are chosen.” This is an obvious reference to the end of our lives and the end of time. We have all been called – invited to share in the eternal, heavenly banquet. But, we must accept the invitation and be properly prepared when the final invitation comes at the end of our lives. Then, we will be chosen to join with all the saints around our Lord’s Table. Otherwise, we will join the man in today’s gospel, thrown into “the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.” It’s our choice; let us choose well. The feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wine awaits us.