Twenty-Eight Sunday in Ordinary Time  

Matthew 22:1-14

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

An invitation that is offered to those who have nowhere else to go

This story of a wedding feast tells of invitations being sent by a king to people who decline to attend. Some are too busy looking after their own affairs; others become annoyed and angry at the request, and go so far as to kill the servants who bore the invitation. The king reacts violently, killing those who had mistreated his servants and burning their city. He then says, "'The wedding feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come. Go out, therefore, to the crossroads and invite whoever you find".

            This expression, "crossroads", makes one think immediately of street junctions, but the original Greek word refers to the place where the street finishes. In ancient writings, certain of the Church fathers placed great emphasis on the significance of this expression. The king's invitation is being issued to those who are at the end of the road; those who are stuck in a cul-de-sac; those who are in a situation that offers no hope of escape. The invitation is thus being offered to the very ones who appear to be unworthy to be in the exalted presence of the bridegroom.

            Often, in order to be willing to accept the invitation of Christ, it is necessary to be at the end of one's wits; to have exhausted all of one's own efforts. Often, it is only when we have tried everything else without success that, finally, we become open to considering the alternative offered by God.

How willingly do WE  accept the invitation to the wedding feast of the Eucharist?

These considerations are interesting in themselves, but then we are confronted with a second "parable within a parable" - the story of the man who enters the feast without the proper attire. In both cases, we must try to understand what the wedding feast is symbolic of. Who are those who consider their own affairs to be more important than a wedding feast? A wedding is something joyful, something wonderful that anyone would love to attend. It is not by accident that the Gospel of John begins with the story of a wedding feast. Much of the folklore in various cultures is centred on things that happen at wedding feasts. Weddings - celebrations of married love - are at the centre of life. They are joyous events, and this is especially true of the feast to which God invites us. God wishes us to leave aside our own plans, our own affairs, and to attend his wedding feast. Our own affairs are stressful, full of mediocrity, and of temporary value only. The feast of the Son of God, which is celebrated especially in the Eucharist - the feast of the Lamb referred to in the Book of Revelation - is the feast of paradise, the greatest and most beautiful feast of all.

Do we wear the "Sunday frown" at our Eucharistic gatherings?

But sometimes in our Eucharistic assemblies, we are there with long faces and bored expressions, glancing at our watches every five minutes! This shows that we have not entered into the mystery of union with God; that we simply do not appreciate what we are celebrating. We are inclined to think that the quicker that Mass finishes the better, because our own affairs and projects are much more important, and we must return to them as soon as possible. This attitude is mistaken. To be invited to the Sunday Eucharist is an invitation to rejoice. It is a wedding feast, not a waste of time! God, in his wonderful plan, invites us to this feast as friends of the bridegroom, that we may rejoice with him. We have reason to grieve only if we fail to turn up. Why then do we so often wear the "Sunday frown" in our Eucharistic gatherings?

We must change if we are to celebrate the wedding feast appropriately

Let us consider now the man who is not dressed in the correct wedding attire. If the guests have really been gathered from the backstreets; if they are all desperate down-and-outs with nowhere else to go; if they are, as the text says, "the good and bad alike", then in what way is this man dressed inappropriately? In order to understand what this passage is referring to, we must understand the nuptial traditions of Hebrew culture. In the Jewish wedding feasts, it was the custom for the bridegroom to provide a garment for the guests as they entered the wedding feast. This guest, then, must be understood to be a man who has refused to change attire. The word "abitus" – habit – refers to one's clothing, but also to one's pattern of behaviour. To wear different clothing, or to have  changed one's garment, often involves washing a garment. It is God who, above all, cleanses our garment and dresses us in new attire.

            The guest in the parable is someone who wishes to enter into the feast of God without abandoning his attachment to what he wore before. Wearing his old garment represents the retention of his old attitudes and patterns of behaviour. If someone comes to a wedding celebration wearing a tracksuit, then we tend to feel indignant that they have shown up in such inappropriate dress. When someone comes to a feast, we expect them to dress suitably. And to be at the feast of Christ similarly requires the wearing of a proper garment. It is impossible to be truly with Christ and not to have changed one's old attire completely.

The "Sunday frown" on our faces is a sign that we have not changed garment

We must remember that the gift of God is not something that is imposed upon us. It is something, rather, that can only be accepted freely. Why do we treat the Eucharistic gathering like a funeral rather than a feast? Because we have not changed and taken on the new garment that is appropriate for participating in this celebration. This is something that should be done before we enter the banquet. It is the just practice of the Church to request that one be in the grace of God before approaching the holy Eucharist. The forgiveness of sins, the new garment that is offered to us, is a gift that we receive from God. Without any shadow of doubt, it is necessary to go through the stage of changing the garment before we are ready to enter into the fullness of the wedding feast. In the process of adult baptism, the adult is required to change their name at the moment of baptism. They are challenged to change their very person, and they are asked to undress and put on a white garment. It is only while wearing this white garment that they are admitted to the sacrament of the Eucharist.

A parable that challenges us to view the Eucharist as a joyous feast that is wonderful to attend, and that requires a change of habit on our part.

In the same way, this parable challenges us to be aware that we have been invited to a sumptuous feast; that there is great joy to be experienced; and that it is well worth our while attending. In order to attend, however, we are invited to allow ourselves to be changed, to put on the new garment so that we may celebrate the feast appropriately. The will of God for us, the Christian adventure to which we are called, the sacramental life in which we are invited to participate, is a joyous banquet. It is not a weight upon our shoulders, but an offer of a gift be embraced. The Eucharistic feast is not a sacrifice on our part, but a sacrifice on the part of God. It is something that makes our lives beautiful. It is a time of festival, full of nuptial joy, a unique moment of union with Him.