2020년 10월 11일 연중 제28주일
오늘의 복음 : http://info.catholic.or.kr/missa/default.asp
제1독서
이사야서. 25,6-10ㄱ
6 만군의 주님께서는 이 산 위에서 모든 민족들을 위하여
살진 음식과 잘 익은 술로 잔치를,
살지고 기름진 음식과 잘 익고 잘 거른 술로 잔치를 베푸시리라.
7 그분께서는 이 산 위에서 모든 겨레들에게 씌워진 너울과
모든 민족들에게 덮인 덮개를 없애시리라.
8 그분께서는 죽음을 영원히 없애 버리시리라.
주 하느님께서는 모든 사람의 얼굴에서 눈물을 닦아 내시고
당신 백성의 수치를 온 세상에서 치워 주시리라.
정녕 주님께서 말씀하셨다.
9 그날에 이렇게들 말하리라.
“보라, 이분은 우리의 하느님이시다.
우리는 이분께 희망을 걸었고 이분께서는 우리를 구원해 주셨다.
이분이야말로 우리가 희망을 걸었던 주님이시다.
이분의 구원으로 우리 기뻐하고 즐거워하자.
10 주님의 손이 이 산 위에 머무르신다.”
제2독서
필리피서. 4,12-14.19-20
형제 여러분, 12 나는 비천하게 살 줄도 알고 풍족하게 살 줄도 압니다.
배부르거나 배고프거나 넉넉하거나 모자라거나
그 어떠한 경우에도 잘 지내는 비결을 알고 있습니다.
13 나에게 힘을 주시는 분 안에서 나는 모든 것을 할 수 있습니다.
14 그러나 내가 겪는 환난에 여러분이 동참한 것은 잘한 일입니다.
19 나의 하느님께서는 그리스도 예수님 안에서
영광스럽게 베푸시는 당신의 그 풍요로움으로,
여러분에게 필요한 모든 것을 채워 주실 것입니다.
20 우리의 하느님 아버지께 영원무궁토록 영광이 있기를 빕니다. 아멘.
복음
마태오 22,1-14<또는 22,1-10>
때에 예수님께서는 여러 가지 비유로
수석 사제들과 백성의 원로들에게 1 말씀하셨다.
2 “하늘 나라는 자기 아들의 혼인 잔치를 베푼 어떤 임금에게 비길 수 있다.
3 그는 종들을 보내어 혼인 잔치에 초대받은 이들을 불러오게 하였다.
그러나 그들은 오려고 하지 않았다.
4 그래서 다시 다른 종들을 보내며 이렇게 일렀다.
‘초대받은 이들에게, ′내가 잔칫상을 이미 차렸소.
황소와 살진 짐승을 잡고 모든 준비를 마쳤으니,
어서 혼인 잔치에 오시오.′하고 말하여라.’
5 그러나 그들은 아랑곳하지 않고,
어떤 자는 밭으로 가고 어떤 자는 장사하러 갔다.
6 그리고 나머지 사람들은 종들을 붙잡아 때리고 죽였다.
7 임금은 진노하였다.
그래서 군대를 보내어 그 살인자들을 없애고
그들의 고을을 불살라 버렸다.
8 그러고 나서 종들에게 말하였다.
‘혼인 잔치는 준비되었는데 초대받은 자들은 마땅하지 않구나.
9 그러니 고을 어귀로 가서
아무나 만나는 대로 잔치에 불러오너라.’
10 그래서 그 종들은 거리에 나가
악한 사람 선한 사람 할 것 없이 만나는 대로 데려왔다.
잔칫방은 손님들로 가득 찼다.
11 임금이 손님들을 둘러보려고 들어왔다가,
혼인 예복을 입지 않은 사람 하나를 보고,
12 ‘친구여, 그대는 혼인 예복도 갖추지 않고 어떻게 여기 들어왔나?’ 하고 물으니,
그는 아무 말도 하지 못하였다.
13 그러자 임금이 하인들에게 말하였다.
‘이자의 손과 발을 묶어서 바깥 어둠 속으로 내던져 버려라.
거기에서 울며 이를 갈 것이다.’
14 사실 부르심을 받은 이들은 많지만 선택된 이들은 적다.”
October 11, 2020
Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Daily Mass : http://www.catholictv.com/shows/daily-mass
Reading 1
Is 25:6-10a
will provide for all peoples
a feast of rich food and choice wines,
juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.
On this mountain he will destroy
the veil that veils all peoples,
the web that is woven over all nations;
he will destroy death forever.
The Lord GOD will wipe away
the tears from every face;
the reproach of his people he will remove
from the whole earth; for the LORD has spoken.
On that day it will be said:
"Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us!
This is the LORD for whom we looked;
let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!"
For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
He guides me in right paths
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
with your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
Reading 2
Phil 4:12-14, 19-20
I know how to live in humble circumstances;
I know also how to live with abundance.
In every circumstance and in all things
I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry,
of living in abundance and of being in need.
I can do all things in him who strengthens me.
Still, it was kind of you to share in my distress.
My God will fully supply whatever you need,
in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
To our God and Father, glory forever and ever. Amen.
Gospel
Mt 22:1-14
Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and elders of the people
in parables, saying,
"The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who gave a wedding feast for his son.
He dispatched his servants
to summon the invited guests to the feast,
but they refused to come.
A second time he sent other servants, saying,
"Tell those invited: "Behold, I have prepared my banquet,
my calves and fattened cattle are killed,
and everything is ready; come to the feast."'
Some ignored the invitation and went away,
one to his farm, another to his business.
The rest laid hold of his servants,
mistreated them, and killed them.
The king was enraged and sent his troops,
destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.
Then he said to his servants, 'The feast is ready,
but those who were invited were not worthy to come.
Go out, therefore, into the main roads
and invite to the feast whomever you find.'
The servants went out into the streets
and gathered all they found, bad and good alike,
and the hall was filled with guests.
But when the king came in to meet the guests,
he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment.
The king 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."
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
The reading from Isaiah depicts a great banquet. The psalm is the familiar Good Shephard passage. In the excerpt from Paul’s letter he thanks the Philippians for their support and reflects on God meeting one’s needs. The Gospel is the parable of a great feast to which those who are originally invited respond with a variety of excuses. Subsequently anyone that can be found is invited.
I see the first reading as preparing the stage for the Gospel. A banquet becomes the setting for God’s ultimate reward. The psalm depicts the security brought about by the Good Shepherd. I see the same kind of security promised to the faithful in Paul’s letter. I find it interesting that Lectionary brings these passages together with Matthew’s version of the parable of the great feast rather than Luke’s. In Luke’s Gospel it is simply a feast with servants extending invitations. In Matthew’s Gospel it becomes a king’s wedding feast for his son, the servants end up being slaughtered and a city destroyed.
My sense (enlightened by the comments of some scripture scholars) is that the Gospel of Matthew moves the parable into the context of the Gospel’s author, likely a Jewish Christian in late first century. This story of a king and his son become a story of God the Father and God the Son with the Jewish people as the original invitees. The prophets can be seen as the first set of servants. The early Christian martyrs can be identified with the servants who are met with violence and the original readers of this Gospel would have been well aware of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem a couple of decades earlier.
I see in my own nature that rather than being someone who would not have come, I am a person who would have arrived late and come with a mind that was not focusing on the main event. While my wife is always early, I have a history of being chronically late. She calculates that over the years she has spent thousands of hours waiting for me to finish up at work. Although I would always be on time for my classroom and meeting assignments during my teaching years, I was almost always late for Mass. When my children were small, I would go so far as to plan to be late so that efforts to keep them quiet and in order would be a briefer ordeal. Even without my children, tardiness occurred, and my mind continues to drift even to this day because I, like those in the parable, too often yield to a false set of priorities.
I can remember in Catholic grade school being taught a song about this parable. In its verses we would sing our excuses about how we could not come to the banquet. Were the nuns trying to tell us something about their lack of confidence in us with respect to our future deportment?
My prayer today focusses on recognizing what is important.
Dear Lord,
So often I fail to place my attention where it should be placed.
The world in which I live is a source of competing demands.
I have numerous responsibilities and I want to live up to them.
Guide me in setting my priorities.
Help me to direct my investments of time to best be of service.
Allow me to recognize the guidance provided by the Good Shephard.
http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp
FISHIN’ HOLE
“Invite to the wedding anyone you come upon.” —Matthew 22:9
God wants His house to be full for His heavenly banquet (Lk 14:23). His strategy for filling His house is to send His servants all over His kingdom, especially to the byroads (Mt 22:9), alleys (Lk 14:21), and other unlikely places. Thus, God’s banquet will only be filled if His servants “come upon” (Mt 22:9) people that are hard to locate.
Jesus understands this dilemma. That’s why He specifically calls His servants “fishers of men” (Mt 4:19). Any fisherman who wants to bring home a catch knows that he will probably not easily “come upon” large numbers of fish; rather, he must learn “how to cope with every circumstance” (Phil 4:12). He knows that he must study the habits of the fish and spend much time, effort, and frustration learning their favorite feeding places and times. A leisurely midday fishing trip might be convenient for the fisherman, but he will likely bring home an empty boat. His best catch might come before dawn, in freezing weather, in dangerous waters, or after many unsuccessful attempts. The main question is: Will the fisherman take the trouble to “come upon” the fish?
Politicians, salespeople, telemarketers, and researchers understand this concept clearly. Their daring boldness in reaching the unreachable leads to success in their ventures. Followers of Jesus, “open your eyes and see! The fields are shining for harvest!” (Jn 4:35) There’s a house to be filled. Bring them in (Lk 14:21).
Prayer: Father, I will take the appropriate initiative to reach the people You want me to come upon (Lk 16:8).
Promise: “My God in turn will supply your needs fully, in a way worthy of His magnificent riches in Christ Jesus.” —Phil 4:19
Praise: “Because of His affliction He shall see the light in fullness of days” (Is 53:11). Risen Jesus, You are the Light of the World leading us to salvation!
http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/
What can a royal wedding party tell us about God's kingdom? One of the most beautiful images used in the Scriptures to depict what heaven is like is the wedding celebration and royal feast given by the King for his newly-wed son and bride. Whatever grand feast we can imagine on earth, heaven is the feast of all feasts because the Lord of heaven and earth invites us to the most important banquet of all - not simply as bystanders or guests - but as members of Christ's own body, his bride the church! The last book in the Bible ends with an invitation to the wedding feast of the Lamb - the Lord Jesus who offered his life as an atoning sacrifice for our sins and who now reigns as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The Spirit and the Bride say, Come! (Revelations 22:17). The Lord Jesus invites us to be united with himself in his heavenly kingdom of peace and righteousness.
Whose interests come first - God or mine?
Why does Jesus' parable of the marriage feast seem to focus on an angry king who ends up punishing those who refused his invitation and who mistreated his servants? Jesus' parable contains two stories. The first has to do with the original guests invited to the marriage feast. The king had sent out invitations well in advance to his subjects, so they would have plenty of time to prepare for coming to the feast. How insulting for the invited guests to then refuse when the time for celebrating came! They made light of the King's request because they put their own interests above his. They not only insulted the King but the heir to the throne as well. The king's anger is justified because they openly refused to give the king the honor he was due. Jesus directed this warning to the Jews of his day, both to convey how much God wanted them to share in the joy of his kingdom, but also to give a warning about the consequences of refusing his Son, their Messiah and Savior.
An invitation we cannot refuse!
The second part of the story focuses on those who had no claim on the king and who would never have considered getting such an invitation. The "good and the bad" along the highways certainly referred to the Gentiles (non-Jews) and to sinners. This is certainly an invitation of grace - undeserved, unmerited favor and kindness! But this invitation also contains a warning for those who refuse it or who approach the wedding feast unworthily. God's grace is a free gift, but it is also an awesome responsibility.
Cheap grace or costly grace?
Dieterich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran pastor and theologian in Germany who died for his faith under Hitler's Nazi rule, contrasted "cheap grace" and "costly grace".
"Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves... the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance... grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate... Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life."
God invites each of us as his friends to his heavenly banquet that we may celebrate with him and share in his joy. Are you ready to feast at the Lord's banquet table?
Lord Jesus, may I always know the joy of living in your presence and grow in the hope of seeing you face to face in your everlasting kingdom.
Psalm 23:1-6
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want;
2 he makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters;
3 he restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: A guest with no wedding garment, by John Chrysostom (347-407 AD)
"But since you have already come into the house of the marriage feast, our holy church, as a result of God's generosity, be careful, my friends, lest when the King enters he find fault with some aspect of your heart's clothing. We must consider what comes next with great fear in our hearts. But the king came in to look at the guests and saw there a person not clothed in a wedding garment. What do we think is meant by the wedding garment, dearly beloved? For if we say it is baptism or faith, is there anyone who has entered this marriage feast without them? A person is outside because he has not yet come to believe. What then must we understand by the wedding garment but love? That person enters the marriage feast, but without wearing a wedding garment, who is present in the holy church. He may have faith, but he does not have love. We are correct when we say that love is the wedding garment because this is what our Creator himself possessed when he came to the marriage feast to join the church to himself. Only God's love brought it about that his only begotten Son united the hearts of his chosen to himself. John says that 'God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son for us' (John 3:16)." (excerpt from FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 38.9)
http://www.homilies.net/
Homily from Father James Gilhooley
28 Ordinary Time
Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle A - Matthew 22:1-14
Cannibals in New Guinea invited a priest to visit under a truce. They had heard about Jesus. They wanted to see what influence He had on his life. The priest was gloomy. He never smiled. They decided to forget about Christ. They concluded that once the truce was over, they would not eat the priest. His tough hide would cause them heartburn.
Hilaire Belloc wrote: "Wherever the Catholic sun does shine, there is always laughter and good red wine." Would Belloc say that about us?
We are told it takes seventeen face muscles to smile but forty-three to frown. Laughter is the only tranquilizer yet developed that has no side effects. Our expression is the most important garment we wear. Yet, how many of us know fellow-Christians who never smile? They walk about with an eternal mad on their face. They are people one avoids. Undertakers on the job are happier looking than they.
In today's parable, Jesus reminds His Jewish audience that when the Messiah comes, they will enjoy a first class sit down supper with Lenox China and Baccarat crystal. The menu is alluded to in today's Isaiah 25: "juicy red food and pure choice wines." Notice not wine but wines. White with the lobster and red with the filet mignon. It will be the mother of all parties. This is one six star banquet weight watchers should avoid.
Jesus compares living in His company to the equivalent of a party. His Church should be a happy place. To sign on with Him should be as great an occasion as going to a banquet filled with warm laughter, prime ribs, aged wines, chocolate-dipped strawberries, and brandy from Napoleon's cellar.
We should remind ourselves of this wedding parable. Often the charge against the Church is it removes joie de vivre from life. Many argue the Gospels have them do the deeds which they dislike and avoid the activities which they want to perform.
I dislike those banal prints picturing Jesus laughing His head off, but they touch upon a truth. He could not have been gloomy. Firstly, children were constantly pestering Him. Kids avoid sad sacks. Secondly, had He disliked parties, would He have walked many miles to the Cana wedding reception? The record suggests He was so anxious to get to that party He crashed it. Thirdly, because He went to so many parties, His enemies called Him "a glutton and wine drinker." (Mt 11:19) Fourthly, had He been a spoilsport, why would He have hosted a gourmet supper party the night before His death? Would you have the heart to play grip and grin host at your last supper?
The conclusion is Jesus loved pleasant times, loud laughter, and good red wine. He loved to party hearty. His puckish sense of humor caused this young Asiatic Jew to use amusing illustrations, puns, and jokes. He spoke them with a full smile. It is a pity we don't have Him on video tape in living color. His stories raised a chuckle, even a giggle, on the part of His spellbound audience. His patter was homey and earthy.
The Gospels tell us that Jesus often went into the mountains alone. Why? GK Chesterton speculates the apostles made funny, even ridiculous remarks. He did not want to offend them by laughing in their faces. So, He ran into the mountains holding His sides and letting the laughter come out in steady bursts. If Jesus had given us an eighth sacrament, it might have been the Sacrament of Laughter. He would have enjoyed Locke's definition of laughter as "sudden glory."
Early Christians got the point. They were called hilares. That is the Latin adjective from which the word hilarious comes. They possessed a "certain holy hilarity." They went about their lives with a bounce in their steps and a smile on their faces. They were fun people to hang around with. They behaved as though they were forever at a party. They attracted millions of converts. The latter wanted a piece of that party. Wouldn't you? (William Barclay)
When Beethoven wrote his Ode to Joy, he might have been thinking of the joyful news of Jesus. So, smile often. Let people sense Jesus does make a serious difference in your life. Worship God on Sunday and smile with Him through the week.
The authentic way of finding joy is by focusing on the three letters of the word. J: place Jesus first. O: place others second. Y: place yourself last. (Unknown)
Homily from Father Joseph Pellegrino
Frjoeshomilies.net
28 Ordinary Time
Twenty-eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time: Wearing the Clothes of Christ
This week the church will celebrate the feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch, the patron of our parish. So, who was St. Ignatius of Antioch? Usually, when people hear the name St. Ignatius, they think of Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits in the sixteenth century. Our patron, Ignatius of Antioch, lived about 1,500 years before this. He was, therefore, one of the early Fathers of the Christian Church. He was bishop of Antioch in Syria, the largest Roman city outside of Rome. Antioch became one of the early centers of Christianity after the Christians were driven from Jerusalem. In fact, you might remember that it was at Antioch that the followers of Jesus were called Christians for the first time. This was not just a new faith. It was a new way. The followers of Jesus would embrace a new way of life, a life of sacrificial love, the life of Jesus Christ.
Ignatius would have been among the second generation of these followers, being born around 50 AD and dying about 117 AD. This was a time when the Church was rapidly spreading throughout the Roman Empire. It was a time when the basic beliefs of the Church were beginning to be codified. It was also a time when persecution against the Church began in earnest. It was both an exciting time and a difficult time for Ignatius to be the leader of the largest Christian Community of the East.
In his teachings, Ignatius spoke about the sacred and human dimensions of the Church. He wrote about bishops and priests, and about the holiness of matrimony. Even though the Christian Church at Antioch was probably larger than the Church in Rome, he spoke about the pre-eminence of Rome, because Peter went to Rome and died there, giving to his successors the charisma of the leader of the Apostles.
It is in the writings of St. Ignatius that we first come upon two terms that are fundamental parts of our religious language. Here we first read the term Catholic in referring to the church. The word Catholic means universal. All people, from all lands, are called to the Church. It is also in Ignatius’ writings that we first come upon the word Eucharist. The Eucharist is the action of the community at prayer united to its head Jesus. The community gives thanks to God, Eucharist, by offering the Body and Blood of the Lord to the Father.
Ignatius gave witness to Christ not just by what he wrote, but by dying for the Lord in the witness of martyrdom. When the emperor Domitian began openly persecuting the Christians, Ignatius wrote that they should remain strong in their witness to Jesus. They should become martyrs. His time came when he was brought before the Romans at Antioch, then condemned to death in the Flavian Amphitheater in Rome, the Colosseum. During the long trip to Rome, Ignatius wrote his seven most famous works. He did his best to convince the wealthier Christians to refrain from bribing the Romans to let him go free. He pleaded with them in the words you find a bit abbreviated on the cover of our bulletin and parish stationary, "I am the wheat of God. I must be ground by the teeth of the lions into flour. I must become the pure bread of Christ." He died at Rome as a true bishop and martyr.
St. Ignatius of Antioch lived his Christianity. In the words of the Early Church, he was clothed in the Lord. This takes us to the Gospel reading for this Sunday, the parable of the King’s banquet.
The gospel talks about the wedding banquet that a king prepares for his son, only to have the invited guests refuse to come and even mistreat his servants. The King then invites strangers to the meal, who have a great time. Then, in what really is a second parable, the king spots a man without the proper wedding garment. He throws the man out into the streets, away from the Banquet of Love, where there will be a weeping a gnashing of teeth.
Perhaps you might wonder, as I know I have, "Why is the Host so upset over this man's clothes?" After all, this is a traveler or a vagrant. How can he be expected to have a fine wedding garment? That would be missing the point for the sake of the detail, something we always have to be careful of regarding scripture. This parable is not about wearing clothes. It is about wearing Jesus Christ. "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ," St. Paul tells the Romans, and the Galatians, and the Colossians, and the Ephesians. The man who came without the proper clothes is the Christian in name only, who refuses to put on Jesus Christ throughout his life. This is the person who accepts the invitation of the Lord, but refuses to exercise his or her responsibility in the Christian community.
We are invited to share the intimacy of the Banquet of Heaven. We are invited into God's presence. God expects us to wear our Christianity. The way we respond to His Love must be evident to the world. People should know that we are Christians by the way we live our lives.
One of the most edifying aspects of being a priest is the continual exposure we have to the active Christianity so many of you embrace. People will call me to tell me about sick or hurting parishioners. I will go to the homes of sick or elderly and find others there cheerfully caring for them. Parishioners are always mentioning that someone needs our help. People are always asking me if there are any particular families they can sponsor not only at Thanksgiving and Christmas, but also throughout the year. We have many families in this parish that have adopted a child about to be institutionalized. And anytime there has been any sort of crisis in one of our families, people have always come forward to offer to take care of the children, cook for the family, etc. I have received many calls during the pandemic from people asking if there are parishioners who need help. I also know that there is a wide range of people in this parish that I merely have to say "we need a special favor" for a struggling family or a brilliant Teen that wants to go away to college, and so forth, and they will gladly help out. These people wear their Christianity.
As Christians we know that none of this is exceptional. We know that cannot just say we are Christians. We have to live our Christianity. Now this living of our Christianity may not always be public, but, and this sounds like a contradiction but isn't, living our Christianity is always evident, even when not public. For example, a senior citizen may be very generous to someone and no one, not even the recipient of the generosity, knows who is providing for the person. However, that senior citizen's life, his or her concern, his or her conversation, is not self-centered but shows a concern for others. He wears his Christianity without bragging about his generosity.
St. Ignatius put on the garment of the Lord. In his case, that garment was the white alb that martyrs wore when they entered the Colosseum to meet the wild beasts. In our case, the garment of the Lord is not as dramatic, but it is still a garment of witnessing to the presence of Christ. The garment might be a dress or shirt that was soiled when we cared for others. The garment is always one with a bulls-eye on it. People at war with God will always try shooting down those who belong to Him. Some of our college freshmen have already experienced this when they refuse to join in the drinking and the drugs.
Wearing our Christianity is a solution to the problem of polarization in our society. When we identify ourselves first as Christians rather than as members of this or that political party or as liberal or conservative, then our primary mode of action will be to treat others with the kindness of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone is the solution to all our society’s needs. If we really want to heal our country’s ills, we need to wear the garment of the Lord.
Today we pray for an active Christianity. May we truly put on Christ, first in our homes, among God's people, and in our world. Like our patron, Ignatius of Antioch, may we live and die wearing the wedding garment of Christ.
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* Available in Spanish - see Spanish Homilies
28 Ordinary Time
Homily from Father Alex McAllister SDS
Alexmcallister.co.uk
28 Ordinary Time
Today the Church presents for our consideration the wonderful parable of the royal wedding banquet. This is also the time of year when we are thinking about the harvest. These two things fit quite well together because a great wedding banquet given by a king is certainly comparable to the bounty of nature at harvest time.
We all know what a parable is. It is a story which catches the attention, but it is also one which works on at least two levels and so has a hidden message. Usually the characters in the parable can be compared with us today or to the people to whom the parable is addressed.
The message of this parable of the royal wedding banquet is clear. God invites the people of Israel to his wedding banquet in heaven but despite the fact that they have enjoyed his favour over so many generations they do not come. He repeatedly invites them but they completely fail to take up his invitation.
The prophets who have brought the invitation on many occasions have been ignored so God punishes the people and invites others to his banquet instead. The Chosen People have ignored his invitation so God invites all the other people of the world instead.
This story told by Jesus is certainly good news for us. We are Gentiles and we have taken up God’s invitation and we are here at the great banquet he has prepared for us. Here in this mass, in this Eucharist, we celebrate the great love that God has shown us. We are gathered round his table and we feast on the most precious gifts he could give us.
We recognise that this parable is good news for us and so we rejoice, but there is also a warning contained in the story and we should be sure we understand it. You will remember the man who is found not to be wearing a wedding garment and who is slung out by the bouncers. What is all that about?
Well, the wedding garment is also a symbol. It represents our new life in Christ. When we accepted God’s invitation, we left the old life of sin and began to live a new life of love and goodness. It is as if we left off our old clothes and put on new ones. We always feel much better wearing new clothes. We know we look good and often that helps us to act better. So, what about this man who is found wearing his old clothes at the royal wedding? The king is angry and has him thrown out. He represents us when we sin.
In those days the tradition was that when a poor man was invited to a royal feast and he could not afford a festive garment then the king would provide him one. So, there was no excuse for this man to be without a wedding garment; that is surely why in the parable it says: ‘the man was silent’. He could give no reason because there was none.
When we answer God’s call and come to the waters of Baptism God forgives all our sins and opens up a new way of life for us. We begin to live a new life in Christ. In the Baptismal ceremony this is celebrated by washing us with water and clothing us with a white garment. Traditionally no baby is baptised wearing pink or blue, but only in a white garment. However, these new clothes of goodness and truth and love and all the other Christian virtues are put aside when we sin. It is as if we have taken off the new clothes put back on the old clothes of badness and deceit and hate and all the unchristian vices.
The man in the parable represents us when we sin. It is as if we have taken off our baptismal robe and left it aside and are now wearing the old clothes of our former life. Of course, all of us sin. All of us from time to time lapse back in to old ways. But as soon as we realise this we must come to our senses and reclothe ourselves in Christ. We must, for our own sake, return to God immediately to seek forgiveness which he will freely grant us.
This is one of the great joys of being a Christian that we know we can always return to our forgiving and loving Lord. So, we are happy to be invited to this Table of the Lord and to share his banquet not just because it consists of the fruits of the earth in bread and wine but because these represent the unselfish love of God’s Son Jesus.
At this time of the year we are thinking of the harvest because, as this Gospel reading for today reminds us, we celebrate a harvest not only of fruit and vegetables and animals but a harvest of souls won for God. We ourselves are the real harvest. We ourselves have been gathered up and welcomed by God into his Kingdom to enjoy his lavish banquet in heaven. And this mass is, if you like, a real foretaste of that heavenly banquet.
Our food is very simple, just bread and wine, but because we are gathered together as his Church and because we do what Jesus did at the Last Supper; he makes these simple gifts into his body and blood and invites us to feed on him in this Eucharist. But we have to listen to the warning in the parable and keep ourselves pure and holy just as God wants. We must resist sin and evil and keep faith with God.
The last words of that parable are: ‘Many are called, but few are chosen’. Yes, many people are called to share God’s life but at the end of time when we have to give an account of our lives, he will choose only those found to be still wearing their wedding garment; only those still wearing the clothes of new life in Christ.
Anyone who has cast off the Christian way of life will have shown that they do not want to live with God in love. This warning is for us all. But we rejoice because we have taken notice of this warning, we have listened to the words of Jesus and we believe in his message and we want to share his life.
We want to keep on these new clothes of love and peace and truth and goodness. In the words of the Prophet Isaiah in the First Reading: ‘We exult and we rejoice that he has saved us; for the hand of the Lord rests on this mountain’ and on us his people!
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