October 12, 2014

28^th Sunday in Ordinary Time A

Isaiah 25: 6-10; Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20; Matthew 22: 1-14
Today’s Gospel is the third parable that Jesus has told to the religious leadership who question His authority. So one would think that it is easy to understand and maybe even that it doesn’t refer to each person reading this blog/ but it has enormous ramifications and leads to much reflection.
When God invites do I respond? When God asks of me, do I put it off? Is God an important part of my life? Is God only important when I need something? Does responding to God only happen when I am available and it is convenient? Does God care how busy my life is and how it is difficult to respond always as a Christian?
Then there are the reflections that come directly from the Gospel: why would God expect only a ‘passerby’, maybe even a ‘street person’ to have the necessary clothes on the spur of the moment to go to a wedding ceremony? And the response is ‘NOW!’ Wasn’t this ‘passerby’ perhaps in his/her charity just responding in ‘love’ to the kings need to have the wedding feast filled with guests? Why the harshness of the king? The parable is obvious in that the ‘king’ is God; if this is so, doesn’t this portray a cruel and harsh God nowhere near the God of love that is heard repeatedly in the accounts of the New Testament? This certainly is another one of those parables where it is difficult to hear what Jesus is saying.
One would imagine that when the servants went out after the first time and found out that those invited had refused to come, then the King would be upset. This was the height of impoliteness. What does this say about me when I refuse to respond to people who ask for my help? Is this part of what the parable is saying? A little bit…and the reflection is a good one…why do I refuse?
Then the second set of invitations went out to “those invited” and tell them that everything is ready, ‘Come’. Again some ignored, others were ‘too busy’ and some took the servants “Mistreated and killed them.” Now this is going too far.” The King has to be upset, God has to be ‘furious’…and I could or would never do a thing like that. The King retaliates, of course. Obviously the parable is meant for the religious leaders who refused to listen to Jesus and all those who were plotting to have Him killed. I think, ‘I would never do that’ so the parable doesn’t apply to me. Then comes the final invitation and the part of the parable so many think is ‘unfair’. Maybe I’m developing my idea of God from a misunderstanding of Jesus words. I find frequently that I REACT to the initial words of Jesus and not see the wealth and beauty in all the words.
Some commentaries have suggested that ‘wedding garments’ could be provided from the closet if needed…like a suit jacket in a fancy restaurant that demands a jacket for a man. Now the ‘guest’ would really be in the wrong if this was the case and they refused to wear it. Other commentaries suggested that the servants carried ‘wedding garment with them to the newly asked ‘guests’. These are reaching quite a bit, I feel.
The bottom line is that the man who refused to wear the garment…the only part of the parable with a ‘problem’, was wrong. The king was not wrong. WHY? There is an important sentence that I have overlooked far too frequently in my cursory reading and it is a sentence that ‘solves the riddle.’ “My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?’ But he was reduced to silence.” Jesus points out the main point of the Parable which puts the blame entirely on the shoulders of the guest. HE WAS SILENT. He didn’t say a word. If he was unjust accused, especially knowing the consequences of this action, he would have spoken up loud and clear. He had nothing to say…no excuse, no explanation and NO PROTEST. His silence branded him as guilty…period.
With this it is good to review the gospel and its meaning for me. Jesus is telling the leaders and all that God loves everyone forever and that Jesus showed this love and will prove it by dying for every single person John 15:13-14: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.” Now the people who refused, just don’t care about God and evidently don’t feel the need for His love. The one who preferred his farm represents anyone too attached to material things and God is not a priority in any way shape or manner. The others were concerned with fame and money. Those who killed the servants certainly didn’t care. Was it because of excessive greed, selfishness, lust for power and just themselves? Then were the people: the good, the bad, the ugly, the indifferent etc. AND what would be my excuse…my excuse to refusing to change, for refusing to change my ways of doing things, for refusing to want to enter the conversion process?

Matthew A Devotional Commentary says so much to me: “Isaiah and Jesus both emphasized that the Lord’s invitation was not an exclusive, high-society event. All are invited regardless of state in life, position in the community material wealth, race, age or handicap. The mixing of social groups was just as radical a concept in Isaiah’s and Jesus time as it is in ours. The Pharisees of Jesus’ day, for instance, shunned tax collectors and sinners—but these ‘sinners’ often accepted Jesus before the self-righteous Pharisees did. Today, the educated and financially secure often shun the gospel, while the poor and humble embrace it eagerly.

In the sacrament of the Eucharist, God invites all people to taste His great love. As we participate in the liturgy of the Eucharist, God increases our desire and readiness for the heavenly banquet that is to come. How will we respond to the Lord’s invitation to the wedding banquet of His Son? Will we be too preoccupied with worldly affairs to accept it humbly? Or will we respond with hearts overflowing with love and gratitude for the Lord’s gift of refreshment and the opportunity to dwell in His house for ever (Psalm 23)?”
I reflect on:

• How is the invitation to join Jesus in heaven like the wedding invitation in today’s Gospel?
  
• Can I respond to Jesus without giving Him time each day?
  

Sacred Space 2014 says:

“The kingdom of heaven is often presented under the image of a great banquet. With Jesus, the kingdom is already here. Could it be that I am slow to accept the gifts that God offers me now?

Everything that veils and deadens love will be removed in God’s time. I pray that I may play my part in removing anything that prevents people becoming fully alive.”
I continue: Who is welcomed in my home? What evidence is there that I believe God provides for my needs? In the second verse of ‘Cat’s in the Cradle’ sung by Harry Chapin, a 10 year boy asks his dad to play ball, but the father is too busy. This connects so much to the gospel parable…do I see it?