Yet again this weekend, we hear in Scripture about the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus tells a parable about the Kingdom of Heaven being like a King who gave a wedding feast for his son. If a wedding feast speaks of anything, it speaks of love. The Kingdom of Heaven is the culmination of God’s love, who espouses us to himself through his Son, Jesus.
St. Paul in the Letter to the Ephesians tells us that the spouse of Jesus is the Church. (5:29-32) God created every person out of love, capable of participating in the very love of God. Thus, God is continually ‘inviting’ us to come to the banquet. Jesus is the Groom, the Banquet, the Wedding Garment, the Good Shepherd, Love itself!
Alessandro Franchi and Gaetano Marinelli; The Mystical Marriage of St. Catherine of Siena
We do well to meditate upon the infinite love God. St. Catherine of Siena spoke of this love in powerful terms: “God is crazy in love with his people.” We do well to accept the invitation of God to embrace his love in the person of Jesus Christ.
St. Paul gives us another pearl of wisdom in today’s second reading from the Letter to the Philippians: “I can do all things in Christ who is my strength.” (4:13)
If we have accepted lesser invitations and rejected the primary invitation of God, if we have settled for morsels less than the rich food of the King’s banquet, if we have clothed ourselves in garments other than the wedding garment, now is the time for conversion.
Hear another instruction from St. Paul today: “My God will fully supply whatever you need, in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (4:19)
Our world is confused about what we truly need. St. Paul teaches us of the necessity to discover Jesus Christ, and in this relationship realizing that all is provided – in abundance!
Psalm 23 says it all: “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.”
Come to the Lord. Come to the Banquet. Come to Christ, who leads us into the eternal love of God, into the Kingdom of Heaven, where we shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of our life.
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