[Click HERE for the Scripture Readings for today's Mass]
In the Gospel for today's Mass Jesus uses three principal images to help us understand the Kingdom of Heaven: a wedding, a feast and clothing. Because the first two usually receive most of the attention, I'd like to focus briefly on the third.
The New Testament repeatedly uses the image of clothing to describe the actions and virtues or qualities of a person. The Book of Revelation (19:8) describes the wedding dress of the Bride of the Lamb as "the righteous deeds of the saints;" and St. Paul invites the Colossians to clothe themselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, with love as a kind of belt which holds them all together (3:12, 14).
Here's the question: if my actions and the moral qualities of my life were depicted as clothing, how would they appear? Would I be well clad or partially naked? Would the clothes be attractive or ugly? Would they be clean or stained? Would they be in good condition or tattered?
And the clincher: dressed as I am, would I be able to appear in public?
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