Preparing the Table. In today’s readings, the Father calls us to a great feast, a banquet fit for kings. “A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many.”
Walk with me in this meditation as we help the Father prepare this feast. Close your eyes and visualize each step as we set the table for His guests together.
It is no small task to prepare a great dinner. There are many jobs, each requiring the right gifts to be carried out gracefully. As Paul reminds us in Romans, we are many parts of one body, each with unique functions and talents.
First, we find the finest white linen and spread it carefully over a richly grained wooden table. We smooth the cloth, pulling and adjusting so it lies perfectly, for this is no ordinary meal. It is the feast of the Kingdom, the heavenly banquet God has prepared for His beloved. No detail is left to chance.
Next, we assign the tasks. There will be a lead to coordinate, and many hands to assist. Each one has a part to play. The goal is not perfection, but perfect love, for the guests are precious to the Host, who longs to serve them with the finest gifts as a sign of His great affection.
Take a moment to answer these questions: Which job would you be given? Wherein lie your gifts and talents for the Kingdom?
The Preparation
As we continue, we call upon the best chef to design a meal worthy of the occasion, perhaps roasted lamb with rosemary, a salad of ancient grains with lemon and herbs for color, and chickpeas for substance. Olive oil from the local groves will be drizzled lightly, with just a hint of citrus for freshness.
One of us must find a prestigious winemaker known for his wines to bring forth the finest wine, making sure there will be plenty, so that the guests will be well treated. He too will ask for the right glasses with which to display the rich color and open enough for the scents of the delicate bouquet. The chef, meanwhile, accompanies one of us as he goes to the market and seeks a farmer who has cared tenderly for his flock, choosing only the best lamb for this meal, this celebration of love, to assure that the beauty of the meal is made manifest.
Then one with an eye for precision and detail travels to a renowned silversmith to select the utensils, forks and knives of good weight, crafted by skillful hands. We return to set them on the table and ask the Host what colors should accompany the white linen. He chooses deep blue napkins, to honor the Mother whom He and His Son love so dearly. We visit the gardener next, asking for three or four bouquets, perhaps roses for their fragrance, or lilies of the valley for their elegance and low profile, arranged so that guests may see one another’s faces as they share conversation and delight in their Host together.
The Invitation
The menu is planned. The supplies are gathered. The table is set.
At last, the invitations go out, “Come, everything is now ready.”, the Gospel tells us.
But one by one, the invited guests begin to make excuses. “I cannot come,” were the many replies, empty of love and careless in excuse.
The Master turns to His servant and commands, “Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the town, and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.”
Imagine now that the Master turns to you and to me, we who have spent our days preparing this feast with care, using the gifts He has given us. He looks upon us with love and says, “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened.” (Alleluia Matt.11:28)
Weary but Joyful
And so, weary but joyful, we pull out a chair and take our place beside our Lord, the Host of hosts, and beside the poorest in the streets and those that society so often overlooks. The work of our hands, offered in love, has become our invitation to share in His joy.
As we look upon Him, and upon one another, we proclaim together, “Alleluia.”
The Host rejoices, and the unexpected guests lift their eyes and say, “In You, O Lord, I have found my peace.” (Psalm 131).
