Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A

Anyone you find, invite them to the wedding

From the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew

At that time, Jesus again began to speak to the chief priests and Pharisees and said to them in parables : « The kingdom of heaven is like a king who celebrated the wedding of his son. He sent his servants to call the guests to the wedding, but they did not want to come.
And he sent other servants to say to the guests, ‘Behold, I have prepared my banquet; my oxen and my fatlings have been slaughtered; everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.

But they took no notice and went away, one to his field, the other to his business; the others seized the servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was angry, and sent his troops, and killed the murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants: ‘The wedding feast is ready, but the guests were not worthy.

Go therefore to the crossroads: as many as you find, invite them to the wedding feast’. So the servants went out into the paths and gathered together all they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. And the king went in to examine the guests, and there he saw a man not wearing the wedding garment.

He said to him, ‘My friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment ?’ The other kept silent. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Throw him down, bound hand and foot, into the darkness outside; there there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen. «  (Mt 22, 1-10)

We are all invited

« The Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king celebrating the wedding of his son » God dreams of a universal banquet for all mankind…a truly « royal » feast… The celebration of this Sunday invites us to remember that we are the guests of the Lord. God always invites  « Blessed are the guests at the Lord’s supper !

When a wedding was imminent, in the tradition of invitations from the ancient Middle East, there were two invitations : the first announcing that there was to be a wedding, the second to pick up the guests.  The first servants sent were those who announced the feast, and many of those who were sent, the Gospel tells us, did not care : « They did not want to come. »

The second invitation was made by picking up the guests : they were given time to prepare themselves and, in addition, they were taken away. There, the second set of servants even got killed… : « They took no notice and went away, one to his field, the other to his business; the others grabbed the servants, mistreated them and killed them ».

It is enough to put a few specific examples, chosen from our daily lives, under the words of yesteryear to discover that Jesus describes very accurately the state of our world.niversal. The chosen ones are all those who hear this call, and no one is excluded, no matter where he comes from, no matter what his ideas, his race, his convictions : « Go therefore to the crossroads: all those whom you meet, invite them to the wedding feast. »

 For example :  « How do you expect me to attend parish mass on Sundays, I only have that day to do sport » or « That’s the day when we often go away.  « Or again : « I still have to do my homework and study my lessons for tomorrow Monday » …

Let us not give God the last place! The prophet Isaiah, more than 2700 years ago, in the 8th century B.C., already invited us to a great messianic feast : « On that day the Lord God of the universe will prepare for all the peoples of the earth, on his holy mountain, a feast of succulent meat and delicious wines. « 

In the first reading, Isaiah describes the great feast of millions of believers : « On that day, the Lord God of the universe will take off the veil of mourning that covered all peoples, and the shroud that covered all nations. He will destroy death forever. The Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces….That day will be a day of joy for those who have put their lives on God and who have lived in hope. « 

Since those who were called did not respond to the invitation made to them, there was an invitation for everyone, the call is Since those who were called did not respond to the invitation made to them, there was an invitation for everyone, the call is universal.  The servants went out into the streets and gathered together all those they met, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.  Let us respond, brothers and sisters, to the many calls of Christ which are transmitted to us by the Gospel, by the Church, by the encounters of our lives.u The servants went out into the streets and gathered together all those they met, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.  Let us respond, brothers and sisters, to the many calls of Christ which are transmitted to us by the Gospel, by the Church, by the encounters of our lives.

God invites everyone, without any discrimination, and he even gives preference to the poor, the marginalized, the left out …  We are all invited to the wedding! However, like any

Deacon Michel Houyoux

Links to other Christian websites

◊ Monastery of Christ on the desert : click here to read the paper → Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A 

◊ Cathedral of S.Helena   Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time – year A

♥ Sunday Gospel Reflection for the Twenty-Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time