5 November 2013 - dining companions

5 November 2013 - dining companions

We hear Jesus say, "Come, everything is now ready."  The time for his banquet is now.

And yet we have other things to do. 

"I ask you, consider me excused."

Of course the great dinner sounds appealing but there are just these pressing matters which we need to take care of first.  We don't really recognize the significance of the meal to which we have been invited.  But the "one who will dine in the kingdom" is blessed indeed.  Jesus seeks those who realize this:

'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town
and bring in here the poor and the crippled,
the blind and the lame.’
The poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame more fully appreciate the generosity of Jesus in giving this banquet.  They are not busy with illusions of worldly self-sufficiency.  They aren't distracted.  They know their state of dependence. 

What about us?  We aren't poor or crippled.  Are we excluded from this feast?

‘Sir, your orders have been carried out
and still there is room.’

Jesus has an abundance he wants to give.  But now if we want to join him we will need to do so in solidarity with the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.  They will be our dining companions.  They show us how to hear and accept the invitation Jesus offers for they do so ahead of us.  They teach us the frivolty of worldly pursuits.  They teach us to put aside distractions.  We are often busy with things to great and sublime for us.  But the other guests at this feast teach us to quiet our souls and hear the invitation without distraction.

Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted
my soul like a weaned child.
Like a weaned child on its mother’s lap,
so is my soul within me.

This is what happens when we "[l]et love be sincere."  We must have empathy toward the joyful and the sorrowful.  We need to associate with the lowly and even bless those who curse us.  This sincere love is how we come together as "one Body in Christ and individually parts" of it.  It teaches us to use the gifts we have been given selflessly to build up this body.  Even though the guests at the feast of the lamb are poor we find in these gifts riches in abundance.

Since we have found our peace in the LORD let us hope in him both now and forever.  May we receive the fervent spirit to serve him tirelessly.

Do not grow slack in zeal,
be fervent in spirit,
serve the Lord.