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October 14, 2023Growing up as part of a large extended family, my memories are filled with gatherings involving food, laughter, and the opportunity to celebrate our bond as family. Whether we gathered to mourn the loss of a loved one, to celebrate a birthday or holiday, or just to be together as family, our gatherings always centered on the sharing of a meal together.
The sharing of a meal is considered a sign of intimacy, reconciliation, and unity. Isaiah, in our first reading, paints a picture of a fabulous meal awaiting us, a meal with rich food and choice wine where God will wipe away our tears and hold us in God’s loving embrace. Our gospel continues this theme with a parable about the wedding feast, where all people are invited to take a seat at God’s table, to be reconciled and joined together as family.
As we near the end of our liturgical year, you may notice that our scripture readings begin to take up the theme of being prepared for the end of time, perhaps for our own mortality. In many ways, being prepared for the end of time speaks less to the literal end of time and more to the importance of our relationship with God in the here and now, as we gather as God’s people.
May God bless you and your loved ones today, tomorrow, and forevermore.
Fr. Harry
