Gospel Reflection for the 28th. Sunday in Ordinary Time

October 15th. – All are invited, all are welcome

We all love a good meal with our friends and family. Whenever we share a meal with those we love, there is a sense of joy, community and belonging which is experienced by those around the table. Stories are told and new memories are created.

The same was true at the time of Jesus. We know from the gospels, that Jesus sat and ate with many people. To share a meal with another person then was sign of equality. All those around the table were seen as equals as they often ate from the same plate or bowl. However, if you were sick in any way you were not allowed to sit at the table with others, even members of your own family. To be sick was to be seen as sinner who was being punished by God. The Pharisees, Scribes and the Jewish elders decided who could come into Temple, the synagogue and sit at the table to share a meal. If a person didn’t reach the standard that they laid down, then they were ignored, dismissed and unable to eat with others.

Jesus is very well aware of this. He himself often ate with those who were ignored, hated and dismissed. We read in the gospel of Mark that the religious leaders pointed to Jesus and complained that he even eats with sinners. Nobody was excluded or dismissed by Jesus; all were invited, welcomed and included.

In the first reading and gospel this Sunday the image and symbol of the meal and banquet are used to let us know how generous God is. The first reading tells us that the Lord will prepare a meal of rich wine and food. The Lord will remove the veil of sadness and all people will be invited to this celebration. In the gospel, Jesus continues this message. The table is set and the food is ready. However, those invited gave various excuses why they could not go to the feast. In response, the king invited and welcomed strangers, good and bad alike. They were the ones who enjoyed the food and wine.

Jesus calls us by our name and invites us to come to the feast. It is up to us whether or not we accept this invitation. We are all invited personally to the table of the Lord. When we gather to celebrate the Eucharist Jesus is the host and we are his guests. We come as we are, not how we would like to be. The Eucharist is offered to us freely and we are invited to respond freely. It is God’s gift to us and no one is to be excluded.

As Pope Francis reminds us, ‘the Eucharist is not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak… the church is a place for everyone, with all their problems.’

• Michael Moore OMI