Today’s gospel is about a big, awesome, off the charts party. The king invites certain guests, “but they refused to come.” Can you imagine refusing the invitation to the party of the year? He sends his servants out again and the invitations are ignored. Some people kill the servants! In Luke’s account, the guests say they are busy with other activities. At this point the king invites everyone, “the good and the bad.” He invites the cool kids, and the not so cool kids, the nerds, the artsy kids, the quarter back, and the new kid who moved to New Jersey from Wisconsin – to put it in high school terms! No one is left out from an invitation to the party.
What does the party symbolize? Jesus tells us at the beginning of the parable – “the kingdom of heaven.” We are all invited, but we have the choice to respond to Christ, to ignore Christ, to even kill him through our sins. We can make excuses and say we’re busy. We can ask him to invite us at a more convenient time. The truth of the matter is he invites us now. He invites us into a personal relationship with him. He invites us into a vibrant church community. He constantly invites us to receive him in the Eucharist and sacraments. He invites us to serve, to be his hands and feet to those around us. He invites us to witness to faith. These are the elements that make his invitation the best. Faith, service, and community certainly trump cake and ice cream! Sure on this side of the veil, it’s not always so easy. Sometimes living out Catholicism feels like eating mud pies, but those moments are when we must fix our eyes on what awaits us in heaven. Saint Paul gives us some good advice in the second reading: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” I can eat mud pies, with Christ’s grace. I can love when it is challenging, with Christ’s grace. I can do the right thing, even if no one else will, with Christ’s grace.
There are countless saints who have gone before us, who responded to Christ’s invitation during their time on earth. They are united with Mary and the Angels worshipping God. What a party that must be! I imagine many holy people who I knew, and others I can’t wait to meet, who get to participate in that joy. And I, for one, cannot wait to join them. May we have the grace to respond to the invitation of Christ and live our lives for him so we can join him in the eternal party inside the gates of heaven.
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