Think for a moment only in terms of food groups. I I’m about to say a holiday and you tell me the food group that comes to your mind. Halloween candy? Absolutely. For some of us, chocolate is a primary food group. Thanksgiving, Christmas thing. Now, I would have said lasagna, but that might be a cultural thing. Easter, 4th of July, Art.

Notice how whenever we think of a holiday, we think of food. Now, food is very important. How many of us judge the quality of a vacation by what we eat? Yes, food occupies a great deal of our time. Now, along with that, if I say Christmas or Thanksgiving, I’m going to spend it alone. What do you all think?

Oh, holidays are supposed to be celebrated with other people, right? Do we think of eating by ourselves as something that we would want to do? No. Now, the exception to that is Halloween, because none of you are going to share your Halloween candy, are you? No. Halloween is the one holiday where we don’t want to share. Is it interesting that we put holidays, food, being together all together?

Now, if I say, son, they. What do we think about? Well, for some of us now, Sunday might be the day we catch up on chores, do the laundry, clean the house. Some of us may say Sunday is football day. Some of us may say Sunday night is when I do my homework. When we say Sunday, do we think holiday being together?

Food? And yet for us, is it Sunday, the day we gather to celebrate the banquet with the king on Sunday? Don’t we gather at the table of the Lord to receive food? Come down from heaven. Sunday is our primary Holy day because it is the day we gather to receive the Eucharist. And the Eucharist is the perfect symbol of putting it all together.

Christ, Jesus, the Lord comes to us here at Mass when we gather together to be nourished on the Word of God and at the table of the Lord. There is no meal that we should ever eat alone that can compare to the Eucharist. You know, we might go to McDonald’s or Burger King or Pizza Hut or wherever for fast food, but the Eucharist is the food.

It is a very delivered meal. It is planned. It we prepare. It’s a holiday feast. We want to spend time at the table of the Lord. Surround by our family, our brothers and sisters and faith. We want to savor this meal. All that. It sinks. Down. And become a very part of ourselves. We want to be at this table with feeling not only in our body, but also in our spirit. That’s what it means to really be nourished, to really take food and celebrate in a loving company. Isn’t it amazing We have an opportunity to gather every week to be together in wonder, in awe, feasting together.

Isaiah The first reading that we heard, doesn’t have to take this very far afield to offer us words of hope and consolation. It is a prophetic message that we received this morning. In the words of the Prophet, behold our God to whom we look to save us. The day is marked by salvation in Christ, who comes to us in bread and wine.

That becomes for us the body and blood of our risen Lord. Now think about if we were invited to a Halloween feast, would we wear a costume? Well, some of us would wear a costume if we are invited to a Christmas celebration. Tell me the truth. How many of us own ugly sweaters for Christmas? If we go to an Easter gathering, how many of you wear bunny ears or carry an Easter basket?

We come dressed for the occasion. In today’s gospel reading, sometimes we might feel that the King is being a little harsh. The one guest who comes without the wedding garment, weeping and gnashing of teeth, we might say, you know, it’s just. Come on. Does he deserve to be punished? But if we’re invited to a party and we know how to dress, if God is the king doing the invitation, shouldn’t we know how to dress in the presence of our God?

Shouldn’t we be prepared? So this morning, do we come to this feast? Prepare our souls dressed for the occasion through healing and reconciliation, to come to this banquet to which everyone is invited? Surely we understand what this means. The King, our God knows our hearts and expects our hearts to be open to the celebration, to the preparation. So all of us who are invited are also sent into the world with that prophetic message of I say, our God say, are we ready to invite in life those servants of the King.

Everyone we meet to share in the banquet of the Word of God and the Eucharist. So let’s be serious now. The invitation was given to us on the day we were baptized. The invitation is strengthened. Every Sunday here we are ready to greet the king because we understand and we accept the invitation and the responsibility that goes with it.

This sacred meal prepared for us each and every week is a privilege. We are privileged to sit here at this unique table, and we who were on the original guest lists saved for all eternity in Christ Jesus, know what to expect. The gift of everlasting life. Here we are invited, welcomed, and ready to do what we do best.

Celebrate the Feast of Christ. The King. So what’s going to happen in roughly 16 days? Halloween. Do we expect to get candy? Yes, we do. What’s going to happen if they only six weeks? Thanksgiving. Do we expect turkey? Yes, we do. What’s vaguely going to happen in two and a half months? Christmas. Do we expect lasagna? Yes, we do.

What’s going to happen in about five months? Easter. Do we expect dates? Yes, we do. What’s going to happen this summer? 4th of July. Do we expect a hot dog? Yes, we do. What’s going to happen in 10 minutes? A miracle. Bread and wine will become the body and blood of Christ. Do we expect the Eucharist? Yes, we do.

Christ. Present Christ the King. Yes, we do. Are we invited? Yes. Yes, we are. Are we ready? The answer is up to each and every one of us. Are we ready to welcome Christ the King who hasn’t invited us to this Eucharistic banquet? Christ, the King, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever