“Seven Weddings!” by Brian Flanagan, Fiat Ventures
Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
By the time Christmas comes, I will have been to seven weddings this year! Some have been close by, some out of state, and one was even a destination wedding on Mackinac Island, Michigan. Some of them I knew the bride well, others the groom. And all of these beautiful couples have had one thing in common – and I don’t just mean newlywed bliss, or a table full of gifts and cards – I mean the sigh of relief that the planning is over!
There’s so much that goes into planning these weddings that there’s a whole industry built around it. Everything from dress fittings, to cake tastings, to selecting the invitations. Oh, the invitations! So much care is put into them, but even I’m guilty of letting it sit on the counter a little too long, and getting a text from the bride saying, “So…u coming to the wedding?”
Apparently people have been ignoring wedding invitations for 2,000 years. This week’s Gospel is a parable about a king throwing a wedding feast for his son. He sends out the invitations, but almost everyone ignores them – some just go about the “more important things” they have going on like their farms and businesses, and some RSVP with a big fat NO in black sharpie on the card.
So the bride and her husband-to-be log all of this in their excel spreadsheet, and move onto the “C list”. They invite the barista from the Starbucks around the corner, their middle school bus drivers, and even the bride’s third cousin Glenn who always seems to ruin family reunions with some remark or another.
The day of the wedding comes, and all these people show up. The barista is thrilled to be invited. He puts on his best suit, goes to Hallmark to get a nice card, and has a grand old time at the wedding and the reception. He knows deep down that he wasn’t on the A list, but he’s deeply honored to get the invitation.
But in walks Glenn in a wrinkled polo shirt, exclaiming, “Hey waitress, bring some of those bacon wrapped scallops over here!” The best man pulls him aside and says, “Dude, what are you doing? You’re making a scene. And what are you wearing? I think you better leave before you embarrass yourself even more.”
The Gospel passage then ends, “Many are invited, but few are chosen.” Now let’s remember that we’re really talking about the Kingdom of Heaven here. We’ve got our invitation, but what do we do next? Will we let it sit on the counter, collecting dust, until God follows up with us? Or will we respond right away? Will we be deeply grateful to even be invited, or will we be presumptuous about it and make little extra effort to get ready?
Put your invitation in the mail, and go get a nice gift from the registry! Don’t wait another day. This wedding feast is not to be missed. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to to get measured for my next tux!
