A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy

 

 

BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 6, n. 46)

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – October 12, 2008

 

“The Banquet of Salvation”

 

BIBLE READINGS

Is 25:6-10a   // Phil 4:12-14, 19-20 // Mt 22:1-14

 

 

(N.B. Series 6 of BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy of Year A from the perspective of the First Reading. For another set of reflections on the Sunday liturgy of Year A, please go to the PDDM Web Archives: WWW.PDDM.US and open Series 3.)

 

 

 

I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS

 

This Sunday’s Old Testament reading (Is 25:6-10a) presents with mouth-watering vividness the definitive triumph of God’s kingdom at the end time. The fulfillment of God’s saving plan is imaged as a “feast of rich food and choice wines”. On that day of great feasting, the people redeemed would exclaim: “Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us! This is the Lord for whom we looked; let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us” (Is 55:9). This bountiful banquet on the mountain of God is a symbol of eternal salvation, companionship and joy – of the delightful sharing in the riches of God and intimate communion in his delectable life.

 

The biblical scholar Eugene Maly comments: “One of the most pleasant of human activities is the family or community meal. In its ideal form, it is a time when those who love one another not only share the food they eat, but also share with one another their hopes and fears, their experiences and future plans. The love that already binds them is made stronger. The Scripture attests to the fact that a meal is expressive of a wide range of human attitudes and emotions … All mankind seems to be aware of the fact that a shared meal creates or strengthens a community of life among the participants. That is why this most human of activities would also be used to symbolize a community of life between human and divine participants … The Isaiah reading describes in rich imagery what is commonly referred to as the eschatological or end-time meal. In his description of this meal the author is trying to bring home to the people the exquisite joy of that final day when they would be united with the Lord forever. A common life and common love are symbolized.”

 

Moreover, all peoples are invited to this grandiose banquet. The end-time feast is for all peoples, with God himself as the gracious host. He is the Lord of the banquet who satisfies our deepest longings. Harold Buetow remarks: “That day will be like a great banquet, not only organized by God but actually prepared by him. A banquet for all peoples gathered on the mountain that is the place of God’s presence. A feast incomparably more sumptuous than wedding meals, sacred meals in the temple, those which kings planned in order to display their magnificence … What is more, this great banquet is only an image describing the immense joy of the just, admitted on that day to God’s table, into God’s presence, into God’s community of life. It will be the end of bereavements, sufferings, humiliations - all that one will have endured will vanish. God will go so far as to destroy death forever. That day, in which hope will be fulfilled, will be the time of endless thanksgiving.”

 

The Gospel parable concerning the wedding feast (Mt 22:1-14) underlines the need of a positive and total response to the feast of the kingdom. The banquet of salvation is abundant and gratuitous, but it demands personal commitment and the daily weaving of the “wedding garment” of integrity and holiness by the way we live. The Church, which has a foretaste of the heavenly banquet, must go to the crossroads in order to invite everyone to the wedding feast. The community of believers has the duty to communicate to all peoples the superabundant riches of the banquet of salvation as well as the demands of the kingdom of heaven. Indeed, the Church needs to help unbelievers realize that it is a great misfortune to reject the bounteous feast of God’s kingdom and that it is a great tragedy to willfully exclude oneself from participating at the end-time “banquet of salvation”.

 

The Eucharist is the celebration and anticipation of the heavenly banquet. The Christian disciples who partake of the Lord’s sacramental meal on earth believe that on “that day” of his definitive coming, they shall take their place at the stupendous banquet of the victorious Lamb. In participating at the Lord’s Supper, they have the serious responsibility of manifesting to others the real nature of the true Church as the Bride of Christ - enrobed in a garment of salvation and covered with a mantle of justice.

 

The Gospel parable’s lesson on the necessity of wearing a “wedding garment” at the Lord’s “banquet of salvation” has inspired me to do “little good deeds” with deeper meaning and greater spiritual intention. Our convent is located in downtown Los Angeles, which is walking distance from the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. When I go for the morning mass, I would carry a neatly folded plastic bag. In hiking to and from the Cathedral, I would pick up the trash strewn carelessly around the public garbage bins and dispose of it properly. It is perplexing why there is much litter when the city government had thoughtfully provided trashcans in strategic places. When I reach the convent, I would use the plastic bag I had prepared and diligently pick up the trash that litters the sidewalk around our property. Moreover, when I use a public restroom, I clean it up and make it ready for the next user. I am deeply convinced that through these small acts of public service, I am making a difference in the life of the community and that I am helping to build a better world. Indeed, through these “little good deeds” I am slowly weaving the “wedding garment” that would enable me to participate more fully at the Eucharist and at the “banquet of salvation” at the end time.

 

 

II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART

 

  1. What is significant about the prophet Isaiah’s portrayal of the end-time banquet? Does the image of a “feast of rich food and choice wines” impact you and enable you to envision the ultimate “triumph of God’s kingdom”? Do you long for unending life, the joy and peace of the Lord, and intimate union with God?

 

  1. What is your response to the divine offer of total participation at the “banquet of salvation”? How do you prepare yourself for the heavenly feast?

 

  1. Do you commit yourself to weave the “wedding garment” of integrity and holiness that you may fully participate at the Eucharistic banquet and at the “banquet of salvation” at the end time?

 

 

III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD

Leader: O loving God,

we are overwhelmed with joy

and filled with spiritual delight

because you are the generous Lord of the banquet.

We thank you

for the “feast of rich food and choice wines”

you have prepared for us on your holy mountain.

The “banquet of salvation” at the end time

celebrates the definitive triumph of your kingdom

and the glory of your Paschal Lamb.

In our daily celebration of the Eucharist,

we have a foretaste of the eternal joy

and the bounty of that heavenly feast.

Grant us the grace to weave a “wedding garment” of integrity and holiness

that we may be ready to participate fully and joyfully

in the eternal “banquet of salvation”.

We praise you and thank you for “on that day” you will wipe away

the tears from every face

and our disgrace as a disobedient people.

We love you and long for you.

We serve you and glorify you,

now and forever.

Assembly: Amen.

 

 

IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD

 

The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.

 

“On this mountain the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich foods and choice wines.” (Is 25:6)

 

 

 

V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION

 

  1. ACTION PLAN: Pray that the Christian disciples may be heartened by the “banquet of salvation” prepared for us by the Lord at the end time and prefigured in the Eucharist. By your small acts of charity and good deeds, strive to weave a “wedding garment” of integrity and holiness that will enable you to participate fully at the heavenly feasting. Endeavor to alleviate the hunger of the world’s poor and to satisfy the longing of impoverished people for a nourishing and bountiful meal.

 

  1. ACTION PLAN: That we may perceive and appreciate the challenge of weaving a “wedding garment” for the Lord’s “banquet of salvation”, make an effort to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration. Visit the PDDM WEB site (www.pddm.us) for the EUCHARISTIC ADORATION THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR: A Weekly Pastoral Tool (Year A, # 46).

 

Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang  PDDM

 

 

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