Sometimes meal times are rough.
Last night, I put out a kid friendly meal of chicken patty sandwiches and broccoli mixed with cheesy pasta. I thought it could be a winner. Then, I called the boys to the table.
“Mom, what’s this? I like broccoli but why is it mixed with Mac and cheese?”
“Mom, I like chicken patties but not this bread.”
“Mom, I don’t like this food.”
Ugh. Here they were invited to the feast, and all they had were complaints!
This morning, in contrast, my husband is making pumpkin banana bread. This sweet treat will probably be gobbled up right away with no complaints and even demands for “more please!”
So is how we receive the feast dependent on what the feast entails?
Today’s Gospel is a parable about the king inviting the usual and expected people to the feast, but they don’t care for the invitation. So, he sends his servants out to find all people good and bad to fill the seats. Still even though the king invites a new group of people to the feast at the last minute, he still expects them to be prepared to participate fully in the feast set before them.
When God invites us to something, do we come? And when we do are we fully prepared to be present to it?
My prayer for us today is that we see the gift of being invited by God to the table… and we make room for others to come as well. May we be graced with the courage to say “yes!” and mean it.
