Thursday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
In today’s readings, we see a theme of sin and redemption with God’s love shining throughout. The passage from the prophet Ezekiel is a well-known one: here God reveals his dedication to the people of Israel who have turned away from him. The Lord speaks of bringing the people back, cleansing them from their false worship, and giving them a “new heart” and a “new spirit” (Ez. 36:26). Even though the people have deserted God and worshiped other gods, the Lord remains faithful, and in this fidelity to his sinful people, God is willing to do the cleansing, to give the people another chance.
This passage is merely one of many in the Old Testament where we can see Christ foreshadowed. For it is in Christ that we are ultimately cleansed of our sin—that we receive a new heart (his own Sacred Heart) and a new Spirit (the Holy Spirit). The gospel passage for today gives some sense of what this is like. Jesus’ parable describes a wedding feast where the guests are reluctant to come. In fact, they are not just reluctant, but some people are downright disrespectful of the invitation. Jesus seems to imply that throughout salvation history people have been invited into God’s kingdom and refused the opportunity, shunning prophets such as Ezekiel who preached God’s love and the necessity of repentance.
Jesus now describes the feast as open to all, good and bad, Jew and Gentile. Everyone is welcome to this glorious celebration. The only catch is that those who come ought to be prepared, that is, dressed for the wedding. At a surface level, the proper apparel is a sign of respect for the solemnity of the event. At a deeper level, we see that, once invited to this feast of the kingdom of heaven, we must enter it knowing what the feast requires of us. Those who are “chosen” are those who willingly cooperate with God’s grace offered to them through Christ’s salvation. This will result in a change of life, where thoughts, words, and actions are dedicated to the service of God.
Every Sunday (and even every day), we have the opportunity to partake of the feast of the Kingdom of Heaven. It is in the Eucharist that we receive not only the grace of Christ, but Christ himself. It is here that we the Church confirm our new heart and our new spirit, our continued dedication to God in worship and in life.
“Ite missa est” – “Go, you are sent” are the words that end every Eucharistic celebration. As you live your day today, try to reflect on how your worship at the Eucharist transforms the rest of your life. How does the tedium of daily life reflect the feast of the kingdom to which we all, even in our sinfulness, are called?
- Maria Morrow