Inviting others to the banquet

Good News ReflectionThursday of the 20th Week in Ordinary TimeAugust 20, 2009
Today's Memorial: Saint BernardPray that your talents, resources, time, experiences, spiritual growth, and even your hurts will be useful to God, so that nothing is wasted:http://wordbytes.org/saints/DailyPrayers/Bernard.htm
Today's Readings:Judges 11:29-39aPs 40:5, 7-10Matt 22:1-14http://www.usccb.org/nab/082009.shtmlUSCCB Podcast of the Readings:http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/09_08_20.mp3
Inviting others to the banquet
When Jesus told the parable of today's Gospel reading, he was addressing those who stubbornly refuse to enter into a right relationship with their Messiah. Through the voice of the king who gave a wedding feast for his son, God the Father speaks: "You have been invited to the Eucharistic banquet of the Savior, but you're saying no and therefore you're going to face terrible consequences. Some of you think you're religious enough and don't need to change. There are terrible consequences for you, too."
Have you ever experienced that sort of person? Perhaps you've invited someone into a healthy, Godly friendship with you, but he's rejected you or she's tried to be your friend under the terms of her own unhealthiness and immorality.
As Christians, we're called to bring Christ into the world by being invitational, open to new relationships so that we can reveal God's love to more people and help them discover Jesus in the banquet of the Church. But what if the people you invite say no? What if they say yes for the wrong reasons, unwilling to be transformed by the holiness of your love?
Jesus shows us in this parable that God does not drag the unwilling into his celebrations (not even to Mass). Sure, he gives people unlimited (until they die) opportunities to repent and join the party, but his banquet is meant for true friends. Only the true friends of Christ want to be changed by the transforming power of the Eucharistic feast. When people say no to this wonderful opportunity, he lets them fall deeper into the pits they're digging. He lets them meet up with the terrible consequences they're creating so that they eventually become desperate enough and humble enough to want to change.
God deals similarly with those who are faking it, i.e., those who want God's love, kindness, patience, eternal life, etc. and who claim to be Christian but really don't want to be Christ-like. These are the people who come to Mass without any desire to be transformed by it. He tells them, "ENOUGH! You don't belong here and you can't trick me into thinking that you do. Get out of here until your terrible consequences awaken you to the truth and humble you!"
Because we are true friends of Christ, we care about those who are not yet enjoying the banquet of his love, and so we invite them to join us, but we must not force them as if we're responsible for their decisions. Sometimes all we can do is be living examples of the blessings that come from friendship with Christ and involvement in parish life. Sometimes the best invitation is the joy we experience from celebrating his Eucharistic banquet. (Ahhh, DO you experience this joy? Is it obvious?)
As this parable shows, we must not waste our time mourning the rejection and fakery of those who are unfit to join us in the banquet. If we follow God's example, we will go out again and again to seek those who really do want to be holy. We will go out of our way to make new friends, inviting both the good and the bad while letting the stubborn ones reap what they sow, so that we can enjoy the fellowship of those who take seriously the call to celebrate the Eucharist-centered life.
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