After my last message I should have just gone to sleep but I have had some thoughts running through my head since the middle of the week. I had gone to a zoom meeting on Wednesday evening for our parish. Fr. Martin has started this to help us get to know each other while we keep our social distance during the pandemic. I thought it was a good idea so i joined the group to see who I could meet.
Fr. Martin talked about the news of our parish that is under formation. Then we read the Gospel for the next Sunday together and reflected on what we thought it meant. Then Father asked us to share, if we desired, a time when God was present in our lives. In the discussion, Fr. Martin suggested a book to read that might help us understand the Gospel reading. I could not refuse a good book, so I immediately went on our book app and found the audiobook version of “The Great Divorce” by C. S. Lewis. I have now listened to it twice. And reread the Gospel reading this early morning.
The Gospel has a very hard to understand parable that Jesus shares while be questioned by the pharisees and chief priests. In the parable, the king was refused by his invited guests to a wedding. So he asks his servants to go out into the streets and invite anyone to enjoy the wedding feast. Here is the part that has always seemed troubling to me:
“But when the king came in to meet the guests, he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment. The king said to him, ‘My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?’ But he was reduced to silence. Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’ Many are invited, but few are chosen.” Matthew 22: 1-14
Again, we discussed this passage on Wednesday night. Father asked for our explanations but nothing seemed very satisfactory. He mentioned the book and how it might help us relate to the passage. He said he would share more with us on Sunday at Mass. I just could not seem to get it off my mind. So when I woke up this morning with it still on my mind, I thought about what it might mean. And this thought came to me:
What if the wedding garment is really this glorified presentation of ourselves giving our lives over to Christ? That would mean we don’t need to present ourselves after death in fancy clothes. This is an analogy of giving ourselves completely to God. After all, if it were just about the clothes we wear, would God really get so upset about a man not being fancy enough when he was just picked up off the street to attend the wedding?
This is about God giving us all the opportunity to join in the banquet of Heaven. Where once it was thought to be reserved for a select group of chosen people, God is saying all are invited and welcome. However, he does ask one thing of us. He wants us to accept his will in our lives to believe that Jesus is our God and Savior.
So God does not reject this man at the feast. This man chose to not come to Heaven prepared to accept God’s will. He wanted to wear his old beat up clothes full of remorse and sadness, anger and revenge, lost hope and despair...or whatever else might keep him from giving up his old self and being presented to God as a new creation.
Reading the book by Lewis got me thinking about what Father saw in connection with this Gospel reading. If you have not read the book, I encourage you to take the time. It is short and easy to read. It is about a man seeing what it is like to crossover into Heaven.
I think the man in the passage from Matthew not wanting to put on a wedding garment represents us. Are we willing to set aside our issues...our sins...our annoyances...the times when others have bothered us and we wanted our grievances heard...the times when those closest to us have hurt us or disappointed us in some way? Are we willing to even set aside what we love for the acceptance of the wedding garment, so we can be prepared by God for the banquet in Heaven?
None of us know how long we have on this earth. Any of us could be gone in the blink of an eye...even this very day. We must prepare ourselves for the wedding feast. We must prepare ourselves to be able to answer that request to let God place the wedding garment on us by letting go of our life and all its trappings.
Praying for all of us to see how beautiful we will be at the banquet in Heaven. God bless you!
COMMENTS
I went to Mass and Fr. Martin gave his reflection on the reading that I reflected on. I could mot help but take some notes.
The feast represents the Abundance of God for the love of his people. He wants to share with them the joy of His Son. Those not willing to come to the banquet because of their busy-ness did not understand the importance of the feast and thought their time was spent better served by doing things on earth. Jesus wants everyone to know they are invited to the feast for even those considered on the outskirts.
Then we have the man invited who came who did not come with a wedding garment and was thrown out. Why?
Faith and hope and love are our garments.
In the open doorway of heaven, many come in with various struggles and have wrapped themselves too tightly with their attachments that keep them from entering heaven.
We must trust in God to be allowed to be clothed in the wedding garment.
Angie Fischer Artho
That passage has always bothered me a bit because my lack of understanding of what it meant. Thanks for your reflection on it.
DeDe Noel Rogowski
Thank you for a beautiful reflection. I’ve always been puzzled by this passage. You have given me new perspective!
RESPONSE
I am still working through this too I was just telling my mom that this is why the Bible is the Living Word. I was following the trail of the wedding garment. I could be on that word phrase for a long time. Throw in the wedding banquet/feast and it goes even deeper. Much to ponder indeed!!!
Diana Brock Dow
That parable is similar to what Jesus said in Matthew 7: Not everyone who says to Me Lord, Lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven... There are many people who think they are doing God's will but in reality are only doing what they think is right. That's not good enough for God. He wants complete surrender to Him in all areas of our life. How sad it would be to live our lives thinking we are pleasing God only to find out too late that we were just pleasing ourselves. Thank you for taking the time to remind us all of this parable.
RESPONSE
Diana Brock Dow thank you. I thought there was a similar parable...maybe in another Gospel...but could not find it. Yes. I think it is funny that we would think we could earn our way into heaven. Another topic to reflect on for another day.
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