+In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.
Amen.
"To turn life into a feast" Saint Matthew 22,1-14
When we think about a festive dinner , we think of a beautifully decorated hall or room and plenty of food and drink. To enter such a hall or room is offcourse a feast for the eye. All you have to do is to sit down, open your mouth and enjoy the beautiful food. It is such a joy to be invited to such a feast and to decline such an invitation
sounds really silly.
My friends, but the feast of the Kingdom of God is really different. The Kingdom of God is only a very large space, where people can come together. There are no decoration to be found, the tables have not been laid and there is no immediate food and drink available. This is then a matter for those invited to organize.
So it is not a ready made feast , but an invitation to turn it into a feast , but then alltogether. I think everyone prefers that this life is nothing but a feast, but what is the sacrifice all of us are prepared to make to make that happen?The fact is that many invited to the feast have excuses not to come. Offcourse I would like a feast , but first I have to
prepare a war against the terrorists ,who are going to interrupt this feast. I say " yes" to this first , but first I have to get rid of some Palestinians, who want to ruin this feast. Or ..I like a feast too, but I have to study the rules and regulations first to find out who can be invited and who cannot be invited.
Yes, really, really , I like this life to be a feast, but I have to focus on very important matters, otherwise I have no money later to celebrate and feast. It is obvious that there are many, who have no time for the feast, because they are busy with other matters. And then there are others seek the feast in all sorts of different pleasures, but this way they miss the bond, which ties us as human beings together. This bond between people, it is really all about that. This bond becomes visible if we care for one another in a warm and spontaneous way and care about others.
The preparedness to share life in all its aspects in an atmosphere of co-operation and tolerance. If those ingredients are not there, then you cannot celebrate a feast, even in sad and difficult days.
And let us not forget, the invitation is for everyone, also the people on the crossroads, also the people in the far corners of the earth, also the underprivileged and those, who do not count. There is evidence in the story from the Holy Gospel that Jesus especially loves the latter groups. And if the Kingdom of God on earth is a bit like a feast, then those groups of people must feel that they belong and that our
love and care go out to them. Jesus critised the Jewish community in which the feast that Jesus had in mind did not become a reality. What would He say to the present Church of God on earth. That is us then.
The Church of God should make the feast more visible, but many people leave the Church, there is no inspiring message forthcoming anymore, the Church of God does not inspire, she is not inviting enough. And that is a bad sign. This must make the leaders of our Churches think. Are we doing enough to take the message of Jesus into our community and make it really work? That is in our daily lives, in us being the
Church, the Body of Christ and in the community in which we live day by day?
Amen
Father Ed Bakker
Anglican Catholic Church/ Original Province
Mission of Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne
Bendigo in the Central Goldfields
Australia
