Great & Holy Monday
Among this day’s readings is the parable of the wedding banquet. Guests thoughtlessly ignore a king’s invitation to a banquet and so the king throws open the invitation to others. Our baptism constitutes an invitation from Christ to belong to his Church and share his banquet every Sunday at Holy Badarak. But baptism should not be thought of as just a ticket to the banquet. At Baptism we are called and the promises made at our baptism are to be lived out on a daily basis, as individuals, as part of a community, the Church. It is what unites us as the corporate Body of Christ and grants us the privilege to sit at the table of the Lord to commune, to share life, and experience God’s forgiveness and healing as a family. Therefore, we should live a life worthy of our calling!
As a Church family, how are we keeping each other accountable to fulfill our baptismal vows? Are we regularly confessing our sins to each other or privately to a priest? Do we refrain from enjoying the banquet of Christ’s Body and Blood either by not regularly attending and participating in Badarak, or by convincing ourselves, many times with false pride, that we are unworthy to share Holy Communion? Jesus, who makes us worthy through him, invites all baptized believers to approach his banquet in which he offers himself as “gyank, hooys, harootyoon, kavootyoon, yev toghootyoon meghats” (“life, hope, resurrection, purification, and remission of sins”).
Dn. Eric Vozzy