GOD’S INVITATION
It seems that the parable of the banquet was very popular among the first generation of Christians, and got recounted in Luke, Matthew and even in the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas. The versions are so different and the applications that are extracted so diverse that we can only approximate the essential elements of the original story.
God is preparing a final celebration for all God’s children, since God wants to see them all seated, next to God, around the same table, enjoying forever a full life. This was certainly one of the images most beloved by Jesus to «suggest» the final end of human history. He wasn’t satisfied with just saying it with words. He seated himself at table with everyone, and even ate with sinners and the undesirables, since he wanted everyone to be able to tangibly see something of what God desired to bring to fulfillment.
That’s why Jesus understood his life as a great invitation in God’s name. He imposed nothing, pressured no one. He announced the good news of God, awakened trust in the Father, banished fears, lit up joy and the desire of God. His invitation ought to reach everyone, above all those most in need of hope.
Jesus was realistic. He knew that the invitation could be rejected. In Matthew’s version the various reactions are described. Some reject it consciously: «They didn’t want to go». Others responded indifferently: «They paid no attention». Their lands and businesses are more important to them. There were those who reacted hostilely against the servants.
There are many who no longer listen to any call from God. It’s enough for them to respond to themselves about themselves. Without being very conscious of it, they live a «solitary» existence, enclosed in a perpetual monologue with themselves. The risk is always the same: live each day more deaf to every call that could transform their life at its root.
Maybe one of the most important tasks of the Church would be to create spaces and facilitate experiences today where people could listen to God’s invitation proclaimed in Jesus’ Gospel in a simple, transparent and joyful manner.
José Antonio Pagola
Translator: Fr. Jay VonHandorf
