There are a number of people in the scriptures who, by all accounts, get a pretty raw deal. Job is the first name that comes to mind. Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband, certainly deserved better. Some people sympathize with the older brother in the parable of the prodigal son. But the wedding guest in today’s Gospel who unexpectedly gets invited to the party and is then unceremoniously thrown out into the outer darkness might take the cake. Sure, it’s just a parable, but how can you drag someone into a party at the eleventh hour and then get angry at him for being underdressed?

Instead of going into a full legal defense of this unfortunate gentleman (fun though it might be), it is worth considering what the point is supposed to be for disciples in the modern age. Jesus told this parable to shake up those who had grown complacent with the fact that they were part of the covenant between God and His chosen people. Even though we have heard countless times (hopefully) about God’s boundless love for everyone and His universal salvific will, it would have sounded unthinkable to most scribes and pharisees that the Kingdom of God would be shared with people who were not sons and daughters of Abraham. This first part of the story is intended to give hope to those who are on the margins, but the conclusion is perhaps meant to keep us from making the same mistake that the scribes and pharisees did.

We have been invited into a deeper relationship with God than we could ever deserve. By virtue of our baptism, we are adopted sons and daughters of our Father in Heaven. But in the same way that that poor man was thrown out of the banquet for not being prepared, we can lose our spot by not, as St. Peter tells us, “working out our salvation with fear and trembling.” Yes, God has thrown open the doors to us and invited the entire world into His plan for salvation, but He asks us to work with Him and cooperate in this plan. We have to be ready at
a moment’s notice to meet Our Lord, for He Himself tells us in the Gospel: “watch therefore, for you know not the day, nor the hour.” Gospel passages like this one can fill us with concern and worry, but I think it’s meant to do exactly the opposite. We should be reminded that we have precious little control over our lives, and so we must place everything in God’s hands. Pray every single day for the grace of a happy death, and entrust your entire life into God’s hands. Any concern or fear above and beyond that is merely a distraction, and it won’t help us to grow in holiness. Take it to confession, say your prayers, and let it go.
 
As we draw towards the end of another year and see the changes in the world around us, we remember that all things draw to an end in this life, so we should place our hope in eternity. As Padre Pio was fond of saying, “Pray, hope, and don’t worry!”
 
Prayers always,
Fr. McC