We begin our Mass singing “Gather the People” by Dan Schutte where we encounter the Gospel message for the first time: “Gather the people! Enter the feast! All are invited, the greatest and least. The banquet is ready, now to be shared. Join in the heavenly feast that God has prepared.” (©2004 OCP) You guessed it – the parable of the wedding feast thrown by the king where no one will come. The idea of being invited to share in a banquet and not choosing to partake is related to God’s willingness to call us to His eternal banquet in Heaven and us having the choice to say yes or no. What is our response going to be?
On a side note, in case a little detail has caused you to wonder about this parable as it has me in the past, why did the king throw out a person without a wedding garment, especially if this person was homeless, or in the streets, as the invited people did not come? How was he supposed to have on a wedding garment? In those times, wedding garments were provided to the guests when they arrived, so there would be no excuse for someone not to have one on. This person rejected the host’s offering of it. Thus, that’s why the king was upset and threw him out. Does Christ give us what we need to wear to make it to heaven? Do we accept it? And, no, I’m not talking about clothing now! Do we clothe ourselves in love for others?
Our Communion song likewise ties into the Gospel message. The refrain text to “A Place At Your Table” by Ben Walther (©2015, OCP) follows:
Here in your presence the greatest are least,
The burdened find rest and the hungry can feast.
By love we’re invited, here mercy prevails.
God, in your goodness, we share a place at your table.
Let us go forth into our week, seeing God’s goodness in all that we do, and accepting a place at His table by following His commands.