I’m fascinated by science and space exploration.
I have taken great interest that in preparation for the colonization of the Moon and the eventual mission to Mars. Did you know that NASA and Space X had recently put several cows into orbit. It was the herd shot round the world.
Don’t laugh, the steaks have never been higher!
They burned up on reentry. So it was not well done; it fact it was an udder disaster.
I’m going to get some searing comments about that one.
Anyhoo, I like a good steak. Even more, I enjoy a good meal around a fancy table with friends and everybody having a good time. I’m very blessed to have a nice set of China donated by a woman named Helen and an equally nice set of silver to go with it.
I encourage you to break out the good China and crystal at least once a week, maybe for Sunday dinner and cook up an outrageously elaborate meal and share it with those in your bubble.
There are lot of reasons for doing this.
1. It’s fun.
2. It brings elegance and class into an increasingly drab world.
3. It’s a good way to give thanks to God for his generosity.
This aspect of gratitude is a lot of what Our Lord is getting at in the Parable of the Royal Wedding Feast. Like all parables, this one lends itself to multiple levels of interpretation. For our purposes here, I’m going to concentrate on the image of the wedding garment.
You can imagine how elaborate a royal wedding feast could be. That is the image that Jesus wants in people’s minds when he is talking about the heavenly banquet. The King sends out the invitation. The call to discipleship is universal.
It’s not about being worthy, it’s about being called. Remember, the Church is a hospital for sinners, not a rest home for saints.
The troubling part of the parable is the casting out of the fellow without the wedding garment. It’s very interesting. Jesus knew the human condition better than just about anybody. And he knew his disciples were not immune from the same tendency. In a word…don’t get smug! Don’t get complacent just because you’ve been invited to the feast.
So, what’s the deal with the wedding garment? Apparently in those days, especially at royal functions, as a courtesy to elevate the dignity of the guests and to make sure the decorum of the gathering was maintained, the host would give each guest a garment to be worn. Kind of like the swag bags you get when you sign up for a golf tournament or other festive event that has all kinds of things like jackets, ball caps and whatnot. The host wanted you to look good for the occasion.
This would have been the case at the wedding feast. The implication here is that this particular fellow was given the wedding garment when he arrived, but had removed it at some point, thus insulting the king.
The implications for us are profound. In a very real sense we have each been given a wedding garment. It is the white garment placed on us at our baptism. Very much like the one the servers and I wear at Mass. We are wearing them, of course, on your behalf. But if you wanted to, I suppose you could wear one every time you come church. Wouldn’t that be something to see?
But like this fellow who removed his wedding garment, when we sin or when we even fail to identify ourselves as disciples of Jesus by our actions or inactions, in effect we remove the baptismal garment given to us by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords when he invited us to this Eucharistic feast.
Think about your baptismal garment. What does it look like now? Is it worn or stained? Is it moth-eaten or musty for lack of use? Does it need a good mending or washing in the sacrament of reconciliation to make it presentable at feast? The point is that in the abundance of God’s love and mercy, we have each been invited to the feast.
But we must ask ourselves. Have we been good stewards of this great gift of faith? Have we cherished our baptism and worn our baptismal garment in gratitude and steadfast faith? If so, then as Paul says, we can do all things in him who strengthens us. If not, then maybe it’s time to get into the confessional.
Let me close by reminding us all of the words that were said to us at our baptism when we were clothed in white garment symbolizing that our sins are always washed clean in the blood of the Lamb.
My dear friends in Christ,
you have become a new creation,
and have clothed yourself in Christ.
See in this white garment the outward sign of your Christian dignity.
With your family and friends to help you by word and example,
bring that dignity unstained into the everlasting life of heaven.