Thanksgiving for the Lord's Feast (28.A)

 

Unless there was a homesick Canadian working in the Vatican liturgy office, it’s just a coincidence that the Scripture readings today seem perfect for our Thanksgiving weekend.

Or at least almost perfect.

The first reading describes a wonderful meal. The psalm includes a well-set table. And St. Paul writes about being happy with what we have. But the Gospel parable seems to go off-message: even the most unwelcome guests for Thanksgiving dinner aren’t nearly as bad as those outrageous people the King invites to the wedding banquet.

However, if we look at the readings together, a common theme emerges. Each of us has been invited to the Lord’s feast, a banquet that will satisfy our every need.

If that’s not something to be thankful for, what is?

The readings point us toward the heavenly banquet. Our first reading from Isaiah says that this wedding feast takes place where death is destroyed, and tears wiped away. Isaiah’s words echo in the Book of Revelation, where we read “He will wipe every tear from their eyes” and “Death will be no more.”

And we’ve all heard the angel’s words in the Book of Revelation “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the lamb.”

The last thing we want is to ignore that invitation. We want to pay close attention to the warning we’re given in the Gospel parable today.  Why did the first set of wedding guests behave so badly? I can only think of two reasons. Either they are totally ungrateful for the royal invitation or they think the messengers aren’t serious—notice that some of them “made light” of the invitation.  Maybe they thought that these low-level servants were making it up

 So how do we respond? It’s simple: with gratitude and faith. These are the modest cost of admission to the feast God has prepared for us.

But are we to focus our gratitude only on the life to come? Must we wait for heaven to sit down at the Lord’s table? Surely not—because Paul says that God will satisfy our every need, not just in the future but now.

The King’s invitation to his wedding banquet is issued now, and the RSVP must also be now. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us plainly: the Eucharist is “already the foretaste of the kingdom to come.” (CCC 2837) However much these readings point to heaven, they also point to this altar.

On the Last Day, God will swallow up death forever. But at every Eucharist death and the fear of death is already being destroyed; our tears of sorrow and shame are gently dried, and we received the gift of hope and healing that each of us needs.

Our call to “every parishioner,every Sunday” isn’t just a way of keeping our parish community together at this time of trouble. It’s the Lord’s invitation to the wedding feast of the Lamb of God, for which he has provided his own Body and Blood.

And if every parishioner responds with faith and thanksgiving, this ‘wedding hall’ will soon be filled with guests.