Word to the Wise
Thursday, August 23, 2007 - St. Rose of Lima, O.P.
[Judges 11:29-39A and Matthew 22:1-14]Many are invited, but few are chosen.
This parable is a sad reflection on the past and a warning about the future. It is a story of God's invitation and the human response to it. Notice the audience: the chief priests and the elders of the people. These are particularly the folks who opposed Jesus and Jesus is pointing out that they aren't the first to reject God's messengers. The prophets from of old were persecuted as well. The hard thing for them to realize is that Jesus IS the invitation. The Gospel of Matthew is reflecting on the response from Jesus' time to the time of the writing of the gospel, but including some historical context as well. It is clear that the invitation is rejected by many of those initially invited: the Jewish faithful. So, the invitation list becomes wider - more universal! However, even some of the later invitees may be found unworthy because they take the invitation for granted and come in an unworthy way. It's not that they reject the invitation, they don't respect it enough. It is this last category that causes me the greatest concern. The depths and riches of the invitation to an intentional faith are accessible to all Christians. This certainly includes Catholics. Yet, there is widespread indifference or a casual attitude about that faith and its expression. Granted the institutional expression of the church has failed miserably any number of times in history, but that is never all at the same time everywhere. Our own personal limitations should alert us to the importance of God's constant invitation. The same is true on the broader level of the church. We cannot preach to others if we don't practice what we preach. The man who showed up in a disrespectful way could not assume that the invitation alone was sufficient. The acceptance has to be worthy of that invitation. AMEN
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