God's Generosity Is Unlimited
My dear brothers and sisters, St Paul ends his Letter to the Philippians with a phrase that seems to be a gigantic exaggeration. Paul is writing this Letter from prison, probably in Rome, but maybe in Ephesus. He is encouraging the Christians in Philippi to hold onto the true faith, and above all to keep their fellowship united through humility and Christian charity. Throughout this Letter Paul pens some of his most famous phrases. At the beginning of the last Chapter, he told the Philippians to "Rejoice in the Lord - rejoice in the Lord at all times!" (Philippians 4:4). And in the passage, we just listened to, we heard a sentence that throughout twenty centuries has given supernatural strength to Christians suffering sickness, persecution, and horrible martyrdoms: "I can do all things through him who strengthens me."
In this Letter Paul also thanks the Philippians for the monetary help they gave him. Usually, Paul tried to be economically self-sufficient, so that his critics would not be able to spread lies saying that his preaching was motivated by greed. But in this case, he accepted the gift. And at the very end of the Letter, he reminds them that God will never be outdone in generosity. He writes, "My God will fully supply whatever you need, in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus."
This short phrase reveals the limitlessness of Paul's confidence in God. It is a confidence based on the limitlessness of God's resources, generosity, and goodness. It is his way of reiterating what today's Psalm told us so beautifully: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want... Even though I walk in the dark valley, I fear no evil..." This is our God! This is our Lord! Abundant in his generosity, limitless in his mercy. How good it is for us to be reminded of this again and again!
God Wants to Throw Us a Banquet
The same message comes across powerfully in today's Gospel. The king in the parable is inviting a huge number of people to a colossal wedding banquet. He is so intent on sharing his joy and bounty that when the first group of invited guests refuses to come, he gathers a troop of strangers to share his table! His generosity depends not primarily upon what the people deserve, but upon his own abundant goodness. No one had earned an invitation to the feast; it wasn't a prize for the most talented and gifted members of his kingdom; it was purely the king's initiative - a beaming example of true nobility and magnanimity.
This is an image of Christ, our Lord and King. His is a feast of grace, an overflowing banquet of everlasting life that begins now with baptism and reaches its fulfilment in heaven. No one can deserve that; it springs from his bountiful generosity, from his longing to share with us the indescribable joy of his own divine existence. By the mere act of accepting such an invitation we honour and please him; we let him love us.
The evil of sin, of self-centeredness, stems ultimately from its ingratitude. Those who declined the invitation blocked the flow of the kings of generosity – they separated themselves from his goodness. Our first duty in relation to God consists in humbly accepting his generous gifts, in letting him be for us the kind of King he really is.
Jesus tells this parable in the hearing of those Jewish leaders who had been consistently rejecting his signs and teachings for the last three years.When they still don't repent, Jesus doesn't give up on them. Rather, he turns the parable into reality, and makes his limitless generosity physically visible - by dying on the cross.
Conquering Discouragement and Being Like Christ
God has reminded us today that his mercy and generosity are unlimited. There are two very practical consequences of this truth. First, it is the only thing that can save us from discouragement. When we look honestly into our souls, we find a lot of deep wounds, pains, unresolved conflicts, and ingrained selfish tendencies. This is because we have all been affected by original sin and this fallen world. Whenever we see this part of ourselves, it can stir up strong emotions of anger, resentment, self-hatred, depression, discouragement, or even despair. These emotions are damaging to us and those around us; they can paralyze our lives. That's when we most need to remember that God is bigger than our deepest misery. God's generosity and mercy are limitless. Compared to them, our failings, needs, and sinfulness are like a Dixie-cup full of dishwater compared to the ocean. Whenever we come face-to-face with our own misery, through prayer and confession we must run back to the side of our Good Shepherd, who knows exactly what we need.
The second practical consequence of this truth is that it shows us how we should treat other people. Jesus told his Apostles during the Last Supper, "Love one another as I have loved you" (John 13:34). If his mercy and goodness towards us are without limit, as the crucifix proves, then ours should be without limit too. Of course, we can't live that way if we depend only on our own strength. But Jesus knows that which is why, in just a few minutes, he is going to come and give us another share of his strength through Holy Communion. When he does, let's promise that this week, we will use it well.