October 11, 2020

28th Sunday of Ordinary Time [A]

“The Wedding’s Dress Code”

Msgr. Thomas Gervasio

Weddings are wonderful events and so are wedding receptions (unless your table is near the DJ and you have to scream to speak the person seated next to you.) In his parable the Lord uses a wedding feast as an image of heaven, since weddings evoke in us images of joy, celebration, splendor, beauty, love, and unity. This is what awaits us if we but respond to the Lord’s invitation.

And yet what Jesus describes seems unbelievable—many reject the invitation because they are too caught up in the things of this world. They are too preoccupied to make faith a priority or a passion. We might say the spiritual life is low on the priority list. The invitation is set aside or at best, placed under a pile of other things. Some reject the invitation because a life of faith is inconvenient and disruptive. Its truths can be disturbing.  

While God’s invitation is extended to all, while God desires the salvation of everyone, he will respect our choice—God does not force himself on us! St. Augustine reminds us, “He who created us without our help, will not save us without our consent.”  

I should like to think that every person here has accepted the Lord’s invitation to the feast. Our Eucharist is a foretaste of the feast to come. But we must be careful. Jesus adds an important detail for those who accept his invitation, for those who commit themselves to be his disciples—they must wear the proper wedding garment. There is a dress code for heaven, which is to say entrance into heaven has its requirements, its demands. Pope Benedict XVI said: “The fact is that all of us today think we are so good that we deserve nothing less than heaven! We have lost the sense that Christians cannot live just like ‘everybody else.’

In his book entitled, “Seventeen Steps to Heaven” Fr. Leo Trese provides what I would call seventeen steps of forming our wedding garment…Let me quickly name them:
 

• Deepen your understanding of the Faith
• Strive to do God’s will in all things
• See sin for what it is
• Avoid serious sin
• Avoid venial sin
• Be prepared for God’s judgment
• Let the thought of heaven inspire you to be holy
• Fear Hell
• Gain the benefits of Confession
• Learn to improve your confessions
• Receive Communion
• Fulfill your role at Mass
• Learn to pray well
• Be courageous and compassionate
• Attend to others’ needs
• Strive to win souls for Christ
• Let love diminish your fear of death

Great reminders to be sure! Let us be determined to put on our wedding garment to enter the eternal wedding feast! And don’t’ worry, I am sure that at heaven’s wedding feast the “DJ” is a considerate angel, and we won’t have to scream to speak to the person next to us!