***
Did you ever show up to school without doing your homework?
To me it was the worst feeling ever, as if the entire day was over before it began.
Even if I knew I didn’t do it, I’d still turn my bookbag upside down and give it a good shake as if it’d magically fall out.
But my teachers were never fooled.
They knew as well as I did that, I was simply unprepared.
***
In the Gospel, Jesus uses a parable to describe the end of the world – and by extension, the final judgment.
There are two groups: those who are permitted to attend the eternal banquet and those who are not. Each person is judged by a sole criterion: whether or not they’re wearing a wedding garment.
We might say, whether or not they’ve done their homework.
The white wedding garment symbolizes purity (something we also see at baptisms and weddings). Anyone without this pure garment cannot enter, because they’ve stained their lives with sin.
It sounds harsh. It is harsh.
But the Gospel reminds us about the importance of living holy lives.
Meaning, we go to confession; we attend Mass; we read the Word; we pray; we make room for God in our daily lives.
We do our homework.
***
Whatever it takes to make sure we arrive at the banquet dressed appropriately.
