28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 11, 2020

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Gospel: Matthew 22:1–14

Theme: How have I responded to God’s invitation to the Kingdom?

Matthew 22:1–14

[The Parable of the Wedding Feast]

Jesus again in reply spoke to them 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. 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.”

Music Meditations

Companions for the Journey

By Daniel Harrington, S.J, from “America”, the national Jesuit magazine:

In biblical times when ancient Israelites tried to imagine what the fullness of God’s kingdom would be like, one of their favorite images was a banquet. Today’s passage from Isaiah 25 provides a good example. The prophet pictures God’s kingdom as a grand banquet with “a feast of rich food and choice wines.” In a society in which such food and drink were in short supply, the image was powerful. The one who supplies this extraordinary meal is “the Lord of hosts,” and it is open to “all peoples.” It takes place on “this mountain,” most likely the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, which itself was an image of God’s dwelling place. At this banquet God will destroy death, end all suffering and bring about salvation. At this banquet the hopes of God’s people will be fulfilled.

Psalm 23 (“The Lord is my shepherd”) is most famous for its pastoral imagery of God’s care for us, leading us through the dark and dangerous places in our lives. The second half of the psalm, however, shifts the imagery and portrays God as the host at a lavish banquet. In the ancient Near East the two images—shepherd and host—were often applied to kings. Psalm 23 uses them to describe God as the king of kings and lord of lords.

The third banquet image in this Sunday’s readings, the parable of the royal banquet in Matthew 22, develops the imagery further to make two important points about God’s kingdom. We have to accept the invitation to the banquet, and we have to behave in an appropriate manner when we are allowed in.

In Matthew’s version of the parable, the invitation is to a royal wedding feast for a king’s son. Most people invited to such a banquet would feel honored and make every effort to attend. What is peculiar in this case is that those initially invited (the “A list” guests) refuse to come. They do not even bother to give good excuses, and they proceed to abuse and mistreat those who were sent to deliver the invitation. We know from the start that this parable concerns the kingdom of heaven. In what is a kind of allegory, the king is God, the servants are the prophets, and the ones refusing their invitation are those who reject Jesus’ invitation to enter God’s kingdom. The point of the first part of the banquet parable is that if you hope to participate in God’s kingdom, you must first accept the invitation. In Matthew’s context, the king’s harsh treatment of the city (“the king was enraged and sent his troops”) alludes to the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple by the Romans in A.D. 70. And the rejection of the invitation by the “A list” people (like the scribes and Pharisees) opens up the banquet guests to include marginal persons (like tax collectors and sinners) and eventually even Gentiles.

The second part of the parable (which may well have once been a separate parable) insists that it is not enough merely to gain entrance to the banquet hall. Once there, you must behave in an appropriate manner. What if you had been invited to the White House for dinner and arrived in clothes that you normally use for yard work or painting? You would probably be asked to leave. The point is that having been admitted to God’s kingdom by faith and baptism, we will be expected to act in ways that befit who we have become “in Christ.”

The Eucharist we celebrate as the sacrament of ongoing Christian life stands in the biblical banquet tradition. It is the banquet of God’s Son and points toward fullness of life in God’s kingdom. But it is not enough simply to show up. Rather, we need to participate actively, let the mystery of the Eucharist shape our identity, and we must act appropriately in our everyday lives.

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

Come to the feast.

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

  • What is the difference between a parable and an allegory? In what way is this an allegory?
    Were there any details in this parable that disturbed you?
    Why do you think Jesus told this parable on his final trip to Jerusalem, just before he was arrested?
  • By Daniel Harrington, S.J:
    Why was the banquet an effective way for biblical authors to describe the kingdom of God?
    How might Jesus’ banquet parable enrich your appreciation of and participation in the Eucharist?
  • In your everyday life, how do you combine self-reliance, God-reliance and reliance on others?
  • By Jude Sciliano, O.P.:
    How are we changing our lives in response to the invitation to the wedding God has given us?
  • What is our attitude and disposition towards other “guests” in the community?
    If all are guests, none meriting the invitation, but brought in by grace, then how could we Christians continue to separate and divide ourselves according to race, gender, country of origin, language, newcomers and old timers, well dressed and the poor?
  • How can I welcome others here to celebrate as an invited “guest” to the wedding feast?
  • Did you ever attend something and feel horribly out of place? How did you react?
  • Like those from the main roads invited to the feast, our church is also a mixture of the “bad and good alike” Do you see any examples of this?
  • Are there people with whom you would rather not associate, or in Matthew’s words rather not have certain people “be at the table”? Who are they?
  • Have I ever been too busy to stop what I was doing to answer the invitation from Jesus?
    Have I ever not wanted to have my life or my plans disrupted by an invitation from Jesus?
    Has my response to Jesus been on my time or on God’s time?
  • Have there been instances since the time of Jesus which messengers of the Lord were mistreated when they went in person to extend an invitation to the kingdom of God?
  • When you hear in this story that the king sends his messengers to the crossroads to accept people of all types, what does that tell you about God?
  • Have I ever made judgements about the worthiness of certain people to be part of my religious experience (They don’t dress properly, they do not act piously enough, they seem to be having too much fun, they aren’t serious enough about the whole business of being a religious person)?
  • How do I prepare for God’s banquet?
  • What does it mean to you that someone was thrown out of the celebration for not being properly clothed?
  • What do you think the “wedding garment” stands for in this story?
  • In spiritual or moral terms, what does it mean to be “properly clothed”? Does it refer to holding back on our commitment? Does it mean paying lip service but not committing (“their hearts are far from me”)?
  • Saying yes to the invitation of God involves a commitment on our part to respond in an appropriate way. How often have people bragged about their inclusion in God’s invitation without reflecting on what might be required of them?
  • “Many are called, but few are chosen”. What does that mean for you? Do you believe this? Do you think you are “chosen” and others are not?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination:

Read the gospel story again, then imagine that the wedding is taking place in modern times, with all the extravagance, pomp, money and planning that goes into today’s weddings. Who would be inviting the guests to the wedding? Imagine that you are a guest who does not wish to attend the wedding. What would possibly be your reason for feeling this way (too busy, don’t really know or like the bride and groom, fancy parties are not your thing, etc)? What excuse would you give for not attending? Think of a time when you were invited to something and made up excuses so that you wouldn’t have to go. Do you think the person issuing the invitation saw through your excuses? How did you feel?

Now imagine that it is a wedding of a very famous person, and for some reason, you are invited at the last minute to attend. What would be your reaction? What if you don’t have the proper attire for a Black Tie Wedding in Beverley Hills? Would you go anyway or would you stay at home? Who are the others at this fancy wedding? Are they “worthy” to be included in this group of the rich and famous? Have you ever been in a situation in which you felt that certain people should have been left off the guest list? Or have you ever felt out of place because of your lack of money, social skills or importance? How did you handle it?

Now imagine that the wedding feast has been put together by Jesus. Would any of your actions or reactions change? Why? Who is welcome at the Lord’s table, and what do we have to do in order to be welcomed?