October 15th 2023. The Twenty-eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time
GOSPEL: Matthew 22, 1-14
Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini broadcast on Vatican Radio
Don Fabio’s homily follows the Gospel
GOSPEL: Matthew 22, 1-14
Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a feast for his son’s wedding. He sent his servants to call those who had been invited, but they would not come. Next he sent some more servants. “Tell those who have been invited” he said “that I have my banquet all prepared, my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, everything is ready. Come to the wedding.” But they were not interested: one went off to his farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his servants, maltreated them and killed them. The king was furious. He despatched his troops, destroyed those murderers and burnt their town. Then he said to his servants, “The wedding is ready; but as those who were invited proved to be unworthy, go to the crossroads in the town and invite everyone you can find to the wedding”.
So these servants went out on to the roads and collected together everyone they could find, bad and good alike; and the wedding hall was filled with guests. When the king came in to look at the guests he noticed one man who was not wearing a wedding garment, and said to him, “How did you get in here, my friend, without a wedding garment?” And the man was silent. Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot and throw him out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth”. For many are called, but few are chosen.
The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ
1. There are many surprising elements in this parable: the fact that people refuse to come to the banquet and kill those who invite them; the harsh response of the king; the public humiliation of the one who does not have the correct garment. What is it all about?
The first reading for this Sunday is from the 25th chapter of Isaiah, which speaks of an invitation to a banquet, a feast of rich foods. This banquet is contrasted with a veil that covers the faces of all people, and it talks about wiping away tears and removing the disgrace from the people. This contrast may seem a bit unusual, but gives us the key to understanding the Gospel. In the Gospel, we have an invitation to a feast that is poorly received: the king throws a wedding feast for his son, but the invited guests do not want to attend. This is surprising because why would someone refuse a wedding invitation? They are refusing an invitation to a great banquet. In the text, it is recounted that these invited guests have their own interests, their businesses, and they insult and even kill those who invite them. Then the master sends out his servants to gather anyone they find, both good and bad, which is a way of saying that there is no selection of guests, all are welcome. And then, someone enters without the wedding garment and is cast out and publicly humiliated because they did not wear the wedding garment. Well, on a basic level, it seems very strange that someone would refuse a wedding invitation, let alone kill the messenger who invites them. What is happening here?
2. The refusal to wear the wedding garment is a metaphor for our rejection of grace.
There is also a reference to the book of Judges, which tells the story of Samson's marriage. We learn that, at that time, the wedding garment wasn't exactly a piece of clothing but an additional covering. In today's terms, it's like receiving a badge to signify participation in the celebration. So, it's not about a poor person being picked up from the roadside and rejected because they're dressed poorly. Rather, they didn't put on the tunic or the cloak that was characteristic of that wedding celebration. We can understand through this detail that there is an offering here, where the king gives and bestows gifts. And this offering is rejected. This might be a state of our relationship with God. One of the essential tragedies of human life is the rejection of grace. In the end, even in theology, we know that the condition of damnation is the conscious rejection of a gift. Grace, always remember this word, is related to the word "gratis." Grace, precisely, means a gift. Grace is never imposed but always offered by God because you can't impose a gift. It wouldn't be a gift at that point; it would be something else. Our relationship with God, this parable suggests, often involves rejecting this gift. Why would we ever do such a thing? We are facing an attitude that seems paradoxical, absurd, and unacceptable to us. How can people reject something so beautiful that is given to them? An invitation to a wedding, a state of celebration. There is a veil to be pulled back, as the first reading says, there is shame to remove, to be loved unconditionally by God. It's something that, due to a deep condition of non-acceptance, doubt, and lack of trust, we don't accept. Being the object of a gift isn't easy. Being the object of a gift requires accepting that we have nothing to give in return, simply being invited to come.
3. Pride impels us to reciprocate the gifts of another, so that we are on their level.
We prefer to be on the same level as those who give us things. After all, we don't believe we can be loved unconditionally. Humans carry in their hearts a trauma, an unhappiness, the disappointment of love experienced a thousand times. It's embarrassing to be loved. Peter will say, at the moment when Jesus wants to wash his feet: "You will never wash my feet," because he knows Jesus, they love each other, they have intimacy between them. It’s as simple as the fact that it’s tough to receive. Pride forces us to reciprocate, to be on a level where we are better than our deeds. We have our deeds and receiving a garment, entering the wedding and completely abandoning the dress of our resistance, the dress of our suspicion, is very difficult. In people, the spirit of sadness is so strong, the spirit of suspicion is so strong, the spirit of not opening up to the celebration, it can even become violence. In the end, everyone needs to be loved in an almost scandalous, embarrassing way, to let themselves be loved. It's very difficult to stand before God and feel the object of His tenderness. It's something we don't know how to do. This Sunday is an invitation to enter the celebration and discard the garment of sadness, the veil. We need to give up that world of doubt, suspicion, and antipathy we feel toward everything that is given to us with simplicity. God is love; he doesn’t demand anything. This is something we must open ourselves to deeply, and it's something we struggle to accept. This is why Jesus Christ said that sinners have an easier time entering the kingdom of heaven than the righteous. Because the righteous are too occupied with their own righteousness, while sinners surrender to the love and mercy of God.
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