2-Oct-2008
Dear Friend,
Often in life we are invited to attend a function or a special occasion, a
wedding or a birthday celebration. While some people wait to be invited and
look forward to being invited, others shun and prefer to be left alone. But
when we are specially invited or when the person is an important person we do
not refuse or give excuses for not being at their party. Faith is an invitation
to a special relationship with God. We have no right to be invited and if we
consistently refuse the invitation ultimately we are the losers and the
opportunity may not come again. Let's enjoy God's invitation to party with him!
-Fr. Jude
Sunday Reflections: 28th Sunday of the Year 'Accepting the invitation, when it
comes!' 12-Oct-2008
Readings: Isaiah 25: 6-10; Philippians 4: 12-14, 19-20; Matthew 22: 1-14;
About 700 years before Christ's coming the prophet Isaiah foretold of the
result of his coming into the world. He described the coming as a banquet
provided by God to which everyone is invited. In his dwelling place on Zion God
would welcome each and everyone as his guest. They will share his blessings,
every tear will be wiped away, death and separation will be no more and the
chosen people would no longer have to endure the taunts of the nations asking:
Where is your God? At the banquet they will enjoy eternal happiness and
unending bliss. All their hopes and dreams will be realized in God.
What We Owe Others
An American soldier, wounded on a battlefield in the Far East owes his life to
a Japanese scientist Kitasato, who isolated the bacillus for tetanus. A Russian
soldier saved by a blood transfusion is indebted to Landsteiner, an Austrian. A
German is shielded from typhoid fever with the help of a Russian Metchinikoff.
A Dutch marine in the East Indies is protected from malaria because of the
experiments of an Italian, Grassi; while a British aviator in North Africa
escapes death from surgical infection because of a Frenchman, Pasteur, and a
German Koch who elaborated new techniques. In peace as in war, we are
beneficiaries of knowledge contributed by every nation of the world. Our
children are guarded from diphtheria by what a Japanese and a German did; they
are protected from small pox by the work of an Englishman; they are saved from
rabies because of a Frenchman; they are cured from pellagra through the
research of an Austrian. From birth to death we
are surrounded by invisible hosts -the spirit of people who never thought in
terms of flags or boundary lines, and who never served a lesser loyalty than
the welfare of mankind. -God has done and is doing so much for us through his
people. Are we grateful or take it all for granted?
Raymond R. Fosdick in '1000 Inspiring Stories'
Paul having exhorted the Philippians to be joyful and not to worry, shares his
own joy at receiving the gifts they have sent him. At the same time he makes it
clear that he is not in need of material things. He has learnt to be content
with what he has and does not crave for what he does not have. Their offering
is more than material support of their spiritual guide; it is a means of
strengthening their fellowship. The Philippians are asked to love one another
not only in imitation of Christ but also out of love for their founder. Paul
accepts their offering as an expression of their faith and love for God and him.
Happiness Is Where You Are
There was once a man who had grown weary of life so he decided to leave his
hometown and search for the perfect Magical City where all would be different,
new and rewarding. So he left. On his journey he found himself in a forest. As
he settled down for the night, he was careful to take off his shoes and point
them in the new direction he was going. However unknown to him, while he slept
a joker came along and turned his shoes around. When the man woke up the next
morning, he carefully stepped into his shoes and continued his journey to the
Magical City. After a few days he came to the Magical City. Not quite as large
as he imagined it would be. In fact, it looked somewhat familiar. He found a
familiar street, knocked at a familiar door, met a familiar family there- and
lived happily ever after.
William Bausch in '1000 Stories You Can Use!'
In today's gospel Jesus uses the image of the banquet to describe the fullness
of life that God wishes to bestow on all humankind. In fact there are two
parables -the parable of the wedding feast and the parable of the wedding
garment. Both are symbolic stories and they only make sense when we understand
what they stand for; as straight-forward stories they make little sense by
themselves. A king invites guests to the wedding feast of his son. The king is
the figure for God and the great wedding feast was the popular Jewish image for
the joy of the life to come. When the wedding feast is ready the king sends his
servants to inform those who were already invited that the feast was ready. The
servants stand for the prophets of Israel. Those invited do not pay attention
to the reminder of the servants, the servants who represent the first apostles
and their mission to Israel, but they ignored the invitation and destroyed
those who came on behalf of the
king. The King sends out a second group of servants to plead with the guests
to honour the invitation. The original invitation speaks of God's gracious call
to the chosen people, the second invitation underlies the patience of God, even
though those invited had insulted him he still hopes that they will change
their mind and come even at the eleventh hour. But they refused the second
invitation gave all kinds of excuses for not coming and killed the messengers
of the king. As Matthew saw it, the consequences of their refusal were
terrible. The armies sent by the king are a figure of the Roman armies which
besieged and captured Jerusalem in 70 AD, demolishing the temple and burning
the city. Finally, the king asks the servants to go to the highways and the
byways and invite everyone to the banquet, since everything was ready for the
feast. The inviting of the people from the highways and byways represents the
carrying of the Gospel to the gentiles, after
Christ had been rejected by the Jewish people. Matthew, through the parable is
reminding us that we have no right to the banquet, it is freely given and a
bonus we have received. If we do not avail of the opportunity it will be lost
forever and may not come to us again. We cannot give excuses for not responding
to God, we cannot keep God waiting, we have to respond now or we may have lost
a priceless opportunity forever. To this first parable Matthew adds a second
separate parable: the parable of the man who comes to the banquet without being
dressed in the wedding garment. As a part of the first parable the second
parable apparently does not make sense: why should the man be blamed for not
being properly dressed, since he was called at the last minute? Taken as a
separate parable the point being made is that though all are invited to the
banquet, to enter and enjoy the banquet one must have the right attitude, the
'proper wedding garment' namely, love.
If we want to be part of the kingdom, just being baptised, entering the Church
is not sufficient, we have to be loveable and loving people. Love is the
hallmark of those who can participate in the wedding banquet.
Wrong Choices -Opportunities Lost!
In 1923 a meeting took place in Chicago. Attending it were the presidents of
the largest steel company, the largest gas company, the New York Stock
Exchange, the Bank of International Settlements, the greatest wheat speculator,
the greatest bear on Wall Street, the head of the world's greatest monopoly,
and a member of President Harding's cabinet. Twenty-five years later the
president of the steel company, Charles Schwab, had died bankrupt; the
president of the utility, Samuel Insull, had died bankrupt; the president of
the gas company, Howard Hobson, had gone insane; the president of the Stock
Exchange, Richard Whitney, had just been released from prison; the bank
president, Leon Fraser, had died a suicide; the wheat speculator, Arthur
Cutten, had died bankrupt; the bear Jesse Livermore, had died a suicide; the
monopoly head, Ivan Kruegar, had died a suicide; the member of the cabinet,
Albert Fall, had just been pardoned from prison to die at home.
-What lesson can we draw from this true story? Why is this such a hard lesson
to grasp? "What profit is there to gain the whole world and forfeit one's life?
Perhaps everyone of these wealthy men had an opportunity to make the right
choice and accept God's invitation but preferred to choose life that ended in
emptiness and death.
Mark Link in 'Decision'
'Mr. and Mrs. X request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of their
son with Miss Y, and afterwards at the wedding reception. Dress formal.' So
runs a standard invitation. What is to be said about the unusual account
related to us by Matthew? A king who had to remind his guest twice about the
wedding of the son and people who reacted to the royal invitation with
indifference or open hostility; the sudden change from feast to punishment of
the miscreants, whose town is burnt; the guests gathered in here and there
along the roads, so that the hall might be filled; and finally the poor
unfortunate man thrown out into darkness, when he has neither the time nor the
means to dress himself for the wedding? All that is not natural, precisely
because we are dealing with the supernatural: with salvation, the feast of joy
and fellowship to which first Israel was invited, and afterwards the Church and
all mankind. But if 'many are called -few are
chosen.' It is possible to be Christian in name and at the same time fail to
be converted; it is possible to believe oneself invited to the banquet of the
kingdom and yet remain indifferent to the empty plates in front of so many
children of the world. What counts is living as one baptized, not the
baptismal certificate; it is the putting on of Christ of which the apostle
speaks, 'the putting on of the new self that has been created in God's way, in
the goodness and holiness of truth.' Without that, the handsome invitation card
is worthless in the eyes of God. -Glenstal Bible Missal
Accepting His Invitation -Doing His Will
A woman was touring a piano factory. First the guide showed her a large
warehouse where workers were shaping wood. Next, the guide took the woman into
a room where workers were building frames. Then, the guide took the visitor
into a room where people, wearing face-masks, were carefully sanding and
varnishing the piano frames. Next, the woman visited a room where a few skilled
technicians were assembling metal strings and ivory keys into the frames.
Finally, the guide led the woman into a showroom, where a musician was seated
at a piano playing incredibly beautiful music. Afterwards the woman thought to
herself: The difference between what I saw in the warehouse room and the
showroom is the difference between an acorn and a tree. It's the difference
between doing my thing and letting God do what he wants to me. The difference
between what I am now and what God intends that I become.
Mark Link in 'Challenge'
May we respond with a resounding 'YES' to God's invitation to us always!
Fr. Jude Botelho
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
PS. The stories, incidents and anecdotes used in the reflections have been
collected over the years from books as well as from sources over the net and
from e-mails received. Every effort is made to acknowledge authors whenever
possible. If you send in stories or illustrations I would be grateful if you
could quote the source as well so that they can be acknowledged if used in
these reflections. These reflections are also available on my web site
www.netforlife.net Thank you.
Add more friends to your messenger and enjoy! Go to
http://messenger.yahoo.com/invite/
