Life & Death
The images from the wildfires in California are stark. I was watching some drone footage of one neighborhood where the fires ran wild; it left a path of destruction. Homes burnt to the ground. Cars melted. Vegetation destroyed. Harrowing accounts of people who fled from the fire storm & some who tried but couldn’t.
In one video, on one side of the block, there was very little left from the fire. On the other side of the street, the homes looked untouched. Beautiful green yards. Trees with leaves. Cars parked in driveways.
Life & death
For the ancient Israelites, learning to live with neighbors close by who terrorized them, enemies who wanted the land they lived on, the line between life and death always seemed very close.
But in this 25th chapter of Isaiah, our first reading today, they are reminded that the Lord will change the circumstances. God will be their shelter, a refuge from the storm. God will subdue the heat of those against them, still the songs of the ruthless.
But God doesn’t stop there. On the Holy Mountain, on Mt Zion – there will be a feast! A party! With rich food! Wine!
Not only that – but everyone will be invited. All people. God will reconcile everyone.
And death? God will swallow it up for ever.
Death can seem to have such power over our lives – not only by ending life (our mortality), but crippling it too (when we lose a love one or fear it).
But it is God who will act so that everyone will have life. God affirms life over death in Isaiah’s feast.
Likewise, Jesus tells another parable about the Kingdom of Heaven, a parable of life and death.
A King is throwing a Wedding banquet for his son. It is a great big party and he sends slaves out to gather the invited guests, who have already RSVP’d. But they do not come. Again slaves are sent, but these invited guests made light of it, ignored them, beat them, killed some. The King is enraged and destroys the city that houses the unworthy guests.
And then he sends his slaves to invite everyone they meet, the good and the bad! And the banquet hall is filled. Jesus ends by saying, for many are called, few are chosen. Another grand party, and again the Kingdom of Heaven is like, those both good and bad who accept the invitation and come to the feast.
But there is more to the parable, accepting the invitation and coming is good but the King notices someone without the proper wedding attire. How did you get in here? The man was speechless. So the King had him thrown out. Why is he cast out? Why is he speechless?
The good and the bad were invited after the invited guests failed to fulfill their invitation. But this lone wolf, got in and didn’t know why or refused to answer. There still is an expectation with the invitation!
Everyone, especially those on the margins, are invited but you do it in faith, even with doubts, you show up in faith, not speechless about why you are there. It’s grace. In the end, the importance of these celebrated feasts is God overcoming death with life, invitations to the banquet for everyone. But not everyone always feels such welcome. I recently read a story and it hit home for me…
Five years ago, going out to dinner for the Zohn family was a nightmare. Six-year-old Adin is autistic. At restaurants, the little boy would quickly grow tired of waiting for the food to arrive and would bolt from the table and grab pizza off of other diners' plates before his father could catch him, which would send Adin into a tantrum. So the family stopped going out to dinner.
But Adin's parents, Lenard and Delphine, knew they weren't the only parents of children with autism who missed dining out. So, three years ago, they started Autism Eats, a kind of supper club for families with children on the autism spectrum. Every three months or so the Zohns book a restaurant with a private room, able to accommodate a large group. They consult with the restaurant's management to make sure that the setup is autism-friendly. Food is served buffet or family style so there is no waiting. Music and lighting are adjusted to accommodate those with sensory sensitivity. Since every family who attends has a loved one on the spectrum, there is no need to apologize, explain or feel uncomfortable for a child's behavior.
More than a hundred diners attend, with some families driving two hours or more to participate. These nights out are an opportunity for families who feel isolated by a child's autism to enjoy a night out and socialize with others who have many of the same joys and challenges in common.
Since the Zohns began Autism Eats in their hometown near Boston in 2014, chapters have been established in 13 states, with more to come. One parent said that these dinners are a blessing for her family: "There's no stigma; we can relax and have fun. It sounds like a simple thing, but it's so out of reach for us," she said. "The crowds, the long waits, any surprises, are hard . . . [Our little boy] can be himself and we don't have to worry that we're bothering anyone else's dinner." [The Boston Globe, December 21, 2015.]
The "Autism Eats" club is a living sign of today's Gospel: that everyone has a place at God's feast - even though some of us may need a little more help than others to fully participate in the banquet. If we are to be truly faithful to God's vision for all people, then we must embrace a faith-centered vision that sees beyond race, physical abilities and mental acumen, ethnic stereotypes and economic distinctions to see all men, women and children as made in the same image and likeness of God in which we are all created.
"The king's wedding banquet" & the feast on the holy mountain are celebrated in many different times and places, when everyone has a place at God's table - a table that extends from this altar & our own family/banquet tables in this time and place to God's great banquet table, that holy feast in the next. For when we bring the party to everyone, like Autism Eats, we help bring life from death. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment