Posted by The WORD in other words (2021) by Fr. Noel Rebancos, SVD
Thursday 20th Week in Ordinary Time
Photo credits: wikimedia commons, Society wedding reception (Meeks and Hordern families), Sydney, February 1936
A feast is recounted in today’s gospel. It presents a king who invites many people to celebrate the wedding of his son. Many of the invited refused to come, so he invites others: the good and the bad alike until the banquet hall was filled. But one guest is not wearing the proper wedding garment.
I had the privilege to participate in a “feast” – the Third Age Renewal Course that took place in Steyl, Holland, and later in Nemi, Rome, Italy, last August to October 2019. A member of my core group, Fr. James Liebner SVD, gave a reflection on this last part of the gospel, which I want to share:
“We see ourselves as welcomed by God to the banquet of his son. Am I ready when the King comes in? Am I ready when the banquet begins? Is there something missing in my relationship with God or my neighbor that would exclude me from the wedding banquet of Jesus?
Looking at my life now, is there something missing? Perhaps the wedding garment is the openness and desire to love those in need when I meet them in my daily activities.
But let us look deeply at our lives and ask ourselves the question: If today I meet Jesus, am I ready, or is there something missing? Ask Jesus for the help to grow in that love of him so that when the day comes when I am face to face with Jesus, He will welcome you and me to His banquet, for we are all dressed in the wedding garment of love.”
