Tuesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
One thing that some Christians like to think about is how we get to heaven. Who gets in? What do they have to say, do, or believe to be allowed in? Is it all about who we know (Jesus), or what Sacraments we’ve had? A disciple of Jesus says in today’s Gospel as he enjoys a meal with Him says, “Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God.” Maybe this person was complimenting the meal they just had, or maybe he was looking forward to the fulfillment of the Kingdom. We don’t know, but what is clear is Jesus’s answer: The Kingdom of God is going to be like a great dinner party. The thing that we can sometimes forget about God is that the Divine Will shall be accomplished whether we help or not. When the Lord says there will be a party, you can bet that it will happen. For you and I, our parties will not happen unless the people we invite show up. God is not okay with that arrangement. The Kingdom is something to celebrate; if those who are invited first don’t show up, God will find someone else with whom to celebrate. The party can’t be stopped!
It’s tempting to have expectations about the kind of people that will be next to us in Church, or hopefully beside us in Heaven. We are sometimes disappointed when our fellow Christians are not as kind, thoughtful, faithful, or otherwise thinking, acting, and talking like Jesus as much as we want them to. But this reading seems to be reminding us that our Lord desires that no one will be lost, including all the difficult, misguided, and broken people like me and you that happen to also be Christians. Our Church is indeed a place for saints, but it’s also a place for sinners. Those two titles apply to the same people.
Will you and I ‘taste the Master’s dinner?’ If today’s gospel is any guide, it will depend on whether we excuse ourselves from the ‘obligation’ of joining Jesus at the table (reminds me of Mass!). But it will also depend on God’s merciful, catch-all invitation to fill up the Kingdom party. It won’t depend on how well we know our Lord, or how good we are. Those choices to live in the Spirit will give us peace and make the world a better place, but they have nothing to do with who fills the Master’s table in this parable. It has everything to do with who says ‘yes.’ So today, Let us say ‘Yes’ to Jesus’s divine call to celebrate. Amen.
- Chris Nieport