The Banquet

God has prepared a banquet for us. The psalmist speaks of the banquet in a pastoral beauty.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head
with oil; my cup overflows.

Isaiah speaks of the mountain of the Lord.

On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich
food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged
wines strained clear.
And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that
is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will
swallow up death forever.

It was the feast symbolized by Eucharist that on that mountain destroyed death forever. A feast of his flesh and blood set for us.

Jesus tells of the king who prepares a feast. The first to be invited refuse. Then all are called to the hall, and yet the one with out the proper robes is not chosen. This parable seems strange and harsh. Oh, Jesus help us to understand your words. Did this man refuse to be robed in the saving garment of the Christ? Was it unfashionable to him?

Lord may we be counted among those whose tears are wiped away, may we not dishonor you with the vile things we choose to wear, but rather remove the disgrace of your people from all the earth!