Food is not only essential in maintaining our health and life itself, food has many other associations as well. Food is a means of gathering people together, of celebrating important events in life, and at times honoring people with banquets. And most of us when we receive an invitation to a banquet or a meal eagerly accept and look forward to the occasion.

The scriptures themselves are filled with references to food and this weekend readings are good examples. In the first reading from Isaiah the Prophet, he tells us that on God?s Holy mountain He will provide for all His people ? a feast of juicy, rich foods and pure, choice wines. This is all from Isaiah?s vision of what the kingdom of heaven will be like when all comes to fruition.

Then in the Gospel reading Jesus tells the parable of the Father who is giving a wedding banquet for His son and invites all kinds of people to come. The banquet of rich foods and choice wines are all prepared but the invited guests each finds an excuse why they cannot come.

This banquet of course is the same banquet which is referred to in the first reading: God the Father is hosting a heavenly banquet in honor of God the Son and Jesus is specifically referring to those of the Jewish nation who reject Him and refuse to believe in Him. And so the invitation goes beyond them to the Gentile nations.

We too hear that invitation once again today. No one is forced to show up; no one is forces to believe. But all are invited and urged to come to salvation.

Even todays responsorial psalm echoes the same theme. The Lord who is our shepherd, leads us to green pastures and refreshes us with restful waters. All we have to do is allow the Lord to direct in our response to the invitation.

We gather today to be fed with this Eucharistic bread of Life. We come back over and over again because we continually get hungry. Only the heavenly banquet fully satisfies that hunger for all eternity.

Let us all hear that invitation today and come to the banquet and be satisfied.