Saturday, October 11, 2014

28th Sunday Ordinary Time - Matthew 22: 1-14 - "Put on Christ"

“Come one!  Come all!
A banquet is offered.
A feast is prepared.
All are invited into the palace to partake of the generosity of our host.
Sumptuous foods are prepared.  The choicest wines are available.
Come, eat and be satisfied.  Drink, quench your thirst.

All is ready.  Be welcomed to the table of our host.
He has made all preparation for your enjoyment and comfort.
He has selected the finest from among his bountiful larder.

Come one!  Come all!
Make ready to be received in gladness and joy!

Today we see a God who provides all for His people.  He is a God who loves His people so much as to see to their every need.  In Isaiah, in the 23rd Psalm, in Paul’s letter to the Philippians and in the Gospel of Matthew, we see a God who makes available for us the finest of food and drink; satisfying all our needs.  We see a God who heals our wounds and comforts our sorrows, a God who protects us from evils and gives us hope, a God who invites us into His Kingdom where we will freely partake in all the riches of His love.  
This is a God of compassion; generous and loving, who desires all peoples to be with Him; sharing in all He has.

On Sunday all people of this community are invited to the Mother of Mercy parish picnic.  All are invited to be community with one another, to enjoy the company of one another, the share with one another our life in Christ in this community of invited guests.  While this feast may pale in comparison with the banquet of the Lord, it is still a banquet of His people who are joined together through their professing belief in His Son, Jesus Christ.

He calls us together to love one another as He loves us and to be with one another as He is with us.  As we are united with Christ, we are united with all Others, especially among ourselves as a Christian community.  Our God calls us, not only to be with Him, but to be with one another in communion with Him.  For it is in loving the Other that we find the love of God.

So, dress for a wedding feast. Prepare to enter the palace.  Put on Christ.  Come, clothed in holy attire, into the feast of the Lord.  Partake of the joy and love of God found in His people, the community known as Mother of Mercy.  Put aside all busyness: 

  • awake from the deadliness of lethargy, 
  • cast aside all fears and doubts, 
  • turn away from the things that distract, 
  • ignore the false promises of the evil one
  • bring an end to the excuses that keep separated from our God - through His holy people.  

Receive with great joy and excitement the Lord’s invitation to share in His bounty!  Be welcomed into the light of His banquet hall (or in this case, the sunshine in the parish parking lot). Come, satisfy your hunger and slake your thirst on the feast of the Lord found in His people.  Taste and see the goodness of the Lord living among His beloved.  

Be among the chosen.  Put on Christ.  Attire yourselves in holy array, clothe yourselves in the Lord’s love, stand in His light and partake of His life.  Accept God’s invitation and welcome into His holy feast - for in refusing, we cast ourselves out into darkness, where there is wailing and grinding of teeth. ~Amen.

Peace,
Deacon Don

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