Tuesday of Holy Week
One
The Parable of the Wedding Feast
On Tuesday morning of Holy Week, once again Jesus returned to the Temple and began teaching the people openly. To instruct them, He told this parable, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a feast for his son's wedding. He sent his servants to call those who had been invited, but they would not come. Next he sent some more servants. ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have my banquet all prepared, my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, everything is ready. Come to the wedding.’ But they were not interested: one went off to his farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his servants, maltreated them and killed them. The king was furious. He dispatched his troops, destroyed those murderers and burnt their town. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready; but as those who were invited proved to be unworthy, go to the crossroads in the town and invite everyone you can find to the wedding.’ So these servants went out on to the roads and collected together everyone they could find, bad and good alike; and the wedding hall was filled with guests… For many are called, but few chose to enter.”
Two
Everybody gets the invitation – some are not interested.
God sent His Son, Jesus, to gather everyone into His Kingdom, which on earth is the Catholic Church. Everyone is invited, the bad and good alike. It doesn’t matter how broken you are. It doesn’t matter what your past was like; everyone gets an invitation.
In the parable, some of the guests invited refuse to come, others are not interested because they are too wrapped up in lesser things. Some of those invited actually become so angry that they kill the messengers. Refusal to listen, wrapped up in other things, and angry when religion is brought up. This is a good description of the way we probably were before our conversion or reversion. And it is probably a good description of many of our family and friends today.
In the parable, the King sends out his servants to invite everyone to the banquet. We are those servants. And yet, too often, we don’t invite anyone. Maybe it’s because we’ve been met with an icy or hostile response. Maybe we think it’s the job of priests or “professional” Church people, youth ministers, and others. Maybe we don’t feel prepared. Or maybe we don’t feel worthy enough to do it.
But we can’t get discouraged and quit. So, what do we do?
Three
Friendship with Jesus and Friendship with Others
You are not responsible for the conversion and holiness of your family and friends. You can’t make anyone convert. Neither could Jesus. He respects our freedom too much for that. But we are responsible for living a simple and beautiful way of life: of living friendship with Jesus and friendship with others.
Step one is friendship with Jesus. And what does friendship take? Time spent together, talking, listening, and simply being with Him. That is prayer. Talking to Jesus about everything you are thinking and feeling. Then, reading the Word of God and thinking about it. That is how you listen. And if we really listen, I mean really pay attention, then we will put into practice what He is saying. That’s the resolution.
So the commitment to daily meditation and a resolution is the first step to helping your family and friends to God. The end of Lent is not the time to take a break from daily meditation and a resolution. It’s time to step up your game because your loved ones depend on it.
Four
Step Two: Friendship with Others
Friendship is the bridge by which we cross over to others and help them cross over to God. Here is what we all need to do: Remove those things that are distracting you from really engaging with people. In other words, get off entertainment, news, sports, shows, and YouTube. Then invite someone to do some fundamentally human thing together, invite them to take a walk, have a meal, or a drink. While you do this, be genuinely interested in them.
Ask them what they think about things. Ask them: What is the number one thing on your mind the last thirty days or so? What is the best part of your life? What is the most challenging part? (Pain is the generator for reflection). Then say honestly to them things that will leave them thinking better of themselves.
If you are patient and persistent, you will get an opportunity to invite them to encounter Jesus by some form of prayer.
Five
Are you dressed for the Feast?
The parable we began with ends in a disquieting way, “When the king came in to look at the guests he noticed one man who was not wearing a wedding garment, and said to him, "How did you get in here, my friend, without a wedding garment?" And the man was silent. Then the king said to the attendants, "Bind him hand and foot and throw him out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth."
Wow! This poor guy gets kicked out of the wedding feast for not having a wedding garment. The wedding garment signifies the grace and the virtue we must be wearing when we die and show up to Heaven. By virtue, we mean love, otherwise known as charity. Charity is the virtue that enables us to love as God loves. It means loving God for His own sake, not for what we receive in return. It means loving God above all else.
It also means keeping God’s commandments, because as Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15).
And it means loving our neighbor, all the people God placed in our lives. That includes forgiving everyone and holding no resentment. Oh, and it also means loving our enemies and doing good to them. Jesus commands us to love and pray for those who oppose or persecute us (Matthew 5:44). This doesn’t mean we need to have warm feelings toward them, but we are to desire their good, forgive them, and pray for them.
Please God, give us the right wedding garment. Give us the grace and charity. Give us love for You and for the people around us. Let the wedding feast begin for us now, so we can celebrate with You forever.