Those of us who are 60 years and older will remember the
great comedian, Bob Hope. Bob Hope was a great philanthropist who raised money
and distributed that money to many worthy causes. Along with his comic stand up and comedies, from the time of World War II onward, he would tour with other
performers to entertain the men and women in our armed forces, sometimes doing
a show in very dangerous locations close to combat. Bob Hope once said, “I do
benefits for all religions – I’d hate to blow the hereafter on a technicality.”
As we get closer to the end of the liturgical year, the
Sunday scriptures increasingly refer to the Eschaton, the last days, whereupon
the time of this earth passes into eternity. The notion
of the last days is not just an invention of Christianity, but a theme that is
present in all world religions. In the theology of Isaiah, during those last
days, all of humanity journeys to the mountain of God. It is there that
humanity will find peace, and will nourish upon not only food and drink, but
also upon the Word of God. Enveloped within this place, humanity will finally
come to understand what God intended from the creation of the world, and the brokenness
of humanity will become fully healed. The remarkable thing that Isaiah
expresses is the inclusivity of all those coming to the mountain.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus, speaking to the chief priests and
elders of his religion, dispels the notion of the exclusivity of heaven. In his
parable about the wedding feast, a king invites the nobles to the wedding feast
of his son. The nobles reject the invitation. However, the king persists and
sends out messengers to invite them once more. Some nobles ignore the
invitation, others are too busy to attend, and the rest torture and kill the
king’s messengers. The king, enraged, destroys the nobles and all they own.
Then the king sends out his messengers to invite the commoners, the nobodies,
the poor and the neglected to the feast. There is only one requirement, the
guests have to wear the garments fit for the wedding, garments provided for
them by the king. All but one guest wear the garments, and that one the king
orders to be thrown out of the wedding.
For the last several weeks, Jesus has been hammering home
that Reign of God is not something that is meant for the “chosen ones”, a
select group of people. Rather, all are personally invited into God’s Reign, by
God. The new wrinkle that this gospel offers that was absent from previous
gospels is that one must not only accept God’s invitation, but also come
prepared to enter into God’s Reign. How do we prepare ourselves for this great
event? We must clothe ourselves in the generosity of God.
What makes up the wardrobe of God’s generosity? As invited
guests, we must put on God’s generosity of spirit. We must learn to genuinely
welcome those around us, especially those we do not know. Do we welcome the
stranger, those new to our community? How well do we welcome those who are
different from us? How well do we welcome the immigrant, or those whose
language and culture are not ours? Do we withhold our welcome? If we do not welcome
all as inclusively God does, then we will find ourselves locked out from the
feast.
Wearing God’s generosity means also sharing what we have
with others more in need. This is more than contributing money to worthy
causes. To be generous as God is generous requires to invest ourselves and our
time to others. This generosity may take many forms. It may be nursing someone
who is ill, providing a service to another who may be bedridden, cook and bring
food to those who have nothing to eat, visit with those who have lost hope,
befriend those who are without friends.
To wear the garment of God’s generosity is a great honor and
a great responsibility. At times, the garment of God’s generosity may feel light
as a feather, and at other times we may find it a very heavy garment to wear,
especially at times when we do not feel particularly generous. It is at those
time, when it feels especially heavy and burdensome, that we call upon Jesus to
help redistribute the load and make it less difficult to wear.
To wear the garment of God’s generosity is to put on Christ
and to be Christ to all around us. When we wear the garment of God’s
generosity, we continue the mission of Jesus by putting on his compassion and in
service to others, remind them of God’s genuine love for all people. By wearing
the garment of God’s generosity, we will never have to worry, as Bob Hope said, about blowing the
hereafter, rather we will find ourselves in the welcoming embrace of our God.
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