Jesus [continued the parable]: "But when the king came to meet the guests he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment. He said to him, 'My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?' But he was reduced to silence. Then the king said to his attendants, 'Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.' Many are invited, but few are chosen."

"I may not make it through the night, I won't go home without you, I asked her to stay but she wouldn't listen. She left before I had the chance to say the words that would mend the things that were broken. But now it's far too late, she's gone away. Every night you cry yourself to sleep, thinking: 'Why does this happen to me? Why does every moment have to be so hard?' It's not over tonight. Just give me one more chance to make it right."

In the video to the song "Won't Go Home Without You," the man in the relationship does go home without her, and the video points out how difficult it is to work out the love relationship after something has happened—in this case, after something was broken, as they sing.

What can be done about things that are broken in a relationship? How does one go about "mending" those things? The close of Jesus' story about inviting many to a king's wedding gives an answer. After the servants had gone into the streets and invited everyone they found to the wedding, the custom was to give those attending some type of "wedding garment" before they entered the banquet. Therefore, there was no reason for the man not to be wearing a wedding garment. The man simply chose not to put it on. The prerequisite for him to enjoy himself at the banquet was that he had to do something first, and he chose not to do it.

Bringing ourselves to do something is the way to mend that which is broken. It calls for analysis of the situation, determining how and why things have not gone correctly, and then "putting on the wedding garment," that is, following through with an action that can correct the situation. In the romantic world, it means doing much more than begging the other to come back: it means studying the situation and adjusting one's own behavior. In the world of day-to-day living, it means examination of our actions to see if we may be part of the problem of why the things are broken, and if we are, doing something about it.

If we want to accomplish something in life, we have to put forth the effort, and much of the time it is effort that means mending the breaks that we have caused.     

THOUGHT
What is the first important thing we should do as we try to mend a problem that has happened?
 
PRAYER

Good and gracious God, you call us to make an effort in our lives. It is often effort that means personal change. Help us determine what we must do to make things better, and then give us the grace and courage to carry through with it. Be with us, we pray.

Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America