The beginning of this chapter reprises the idea of healing
on the Sabbath that was brought up in the previous chapter. The healing of the
man with dropsy (vv. 1-6) is similar to that of the crippled woman; and the
point that Jesus makes in the process of his healing is the same: the Sabbath
doesn’t exclude these ‘works’ of kindness- the New Law of Love that Jesus is
ushering in fulfills and transcends the Old Law of Moses.
One image that we use to describe Heaven is the image that
is given in the Book of Revelation: Heaven is like a wedding banquet. A meal,
prepared by God for His Son, Jesus, and His people. In these next verses, Jesus
talks about that wedding banquet, that meal, as he described who the guests are
(vv. 7-14), and then a parable about the requirements for getting into the
wedding banquet (vv. 15-24). The banquet
is a time and place where Jesus will present to the Father those who had
believed in His Gospel and accepted his call to repentance and discipleship.
Ironically, the passage seems to present the idea that there are some who are
‘automatically’ included in the feast because of their state during their
earthly life: the poor, the blind, the lame, the cripple. Are these invited because they have already
had their share of suffering and were united to Christ because of it? Is there a
sort of hierarchy of those invited, starting with the lowliest and ending with
those of privilege, those who put off responding to the Gospel?
Luckily for us, Jesus takes the time to sort of distill the
first part of this chapter in 8 verses (vv. 25-33). It is here that Jesus makes clear the call to
discipleship and the requirements for entry into the Kingdom of Heaven, a.k.a.
The Heavenly Banquet. The one thing that has to be reconciled in all of this is
the balance between the rather complex way Jesus presents the Gospel message of
Repentance and Discipleship, and the rather easy, black-and-white,
straightforward nature of the message itself.
Verses like 25-33 stand out for us because they are straightforward,
without equivocation.
This then is the crux, I think, of discipleship. The invitation
to Discipleship is easy and straightforward. The human person is capable of
responding to the invitation and embracing it. Unfortunately, the human
condition, mired in the tendency to sin and reject the Promise, is prone to
rejecting and ignoring the Call. Luckily, we have the sacrament of
Reconciliation and the vast treasury of Mercy that Christ left the Church. And
it is this Reconciliation and Mercy that we will take up in Chapter 15.
Point for Prayer
“Jesus, host of the man meals of the Gospel, especially of
the Last Supper, you teach us that at these dining experiences, we can learn
many of the Gospel values you want us to have. Above all, in the Eucharist, we
celebrate your sacrificial presence and table fellowship. May our beliefs,
attitudes, and practices reflect our communion with you, both in the Sacrament
and in our daily behavior” (136).
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