Repondez, s’il vous plaît
This weekend our daughter Catherine, celebrates her 21st birthday. She will be hosting a party on Saturday night and sent out invitations to her friends in June via Facebook. She has invited more than a 120 people most of whom (family) are in South Africa and unable to make it and have replied accordingly. Then there are the ones in NZ mostly Wellington based but also a few from out of town. With the date getting closer, we were starting to get anxious about the ones who have not Repondez, s’il vous plait (RSVP’d) yet.
While there are no plans to put on “a banquet of rich food, a banquet of fine wines, of food rich and juicy, of fine strained wines” (Isaiah 25:6-10) getting a “Yes” or “No” or a “Maybe” (not sure why this is an option) by the due date would have made things a little less stressful.
In today’s Gospel, the parable of the King who hosts a feast but none of the original invitees bother showing up which makes him furious and then ends up inviting everyone his servants could find to the banquet. After all the rejection and disappointment from the original invitees, you would have thought that the king would be happy to see the banquet hall full, but instead he has a guest thrown out for not wearing the right clothes? Go figure.
Each one of us is invited by God to a “wedding feast”. He is our host, and we are invited to be his friends and to one day enjoy a place in his kingdom for all eternity. It is an invitation, not a command, because God respects our freedom to choose and how we respond to this invitation is important. However, while we may respond positively to this invitation, we also need to ensure that we are prepared to participate in the banquet.
In our first reading, we read David’s famous psalm. David trusted God as the One who would lead him to “fresh and green pastures”. God would take him along “the right path” even into the “valley of darkness” where God would look after him; he need not fear.
If we trust God and let him “guide” us when we pray “in the valley of darkness” he will give us the wisdom to make the right decisions that fit in with God’s will. When David felt depressed, God would “revive his drooping spirit”, as happens to us when, in trust, we go to him in prayer and seek solutions to our difficulties, and when we are tempted to despair. It is in these times that God will be there “with your crook and your staff with which you give me comfort”.
When it is all over, like David, we return to a “banquet”. By responding positively to God’s invitation, the oil of goodness and kindness shall be given to us.
As we go into the next week, lets reflect on what our Repondez, s’il vous plait is to God’s invitation and if we have answered “Yes” how prepared are we to join in the banquet?
Clint Ramoo – Finance Committee Chair
