Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Deacon George Gussy
Have you ever received an invitation that made you feel truly special? Perhaps it was an invitation to a wedding, an anniversary celebration, a family reunion, or a gathering of old friends. There is something wonderful about being invited. It tells us that someone is thinking about us, that someone wants us to be present, and that our presence matters.
But have you ever invited someone to a special occasion, only to discover that the person had little interest in coming? Perhaps you spent weeks preparing a celebration, arranging the food, decorating the house, and looking forward to being together. Then, when the day arrived, some of the people you had invited never showed up. They were too busy, had other plans, or simply did not consider the occasion important enough.
That can be disappointing, because behind every invitation is a desire for friendship, love, and communion.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us a parable about a king who prepares a wedding banquet for his son. Everything is ready. The food has been prepared, the tables have been set, and the celebration is waiting to begin. All that remains is for the invited guests to arrive.
But something unexpected happens. The invited guests refuse to come. Some simply ignore the invitation. One goes to his farm, another to his business. Others respond with hostility and violence toward the king’s servants. What should have been a joyful celebration becomes a story of rejection. And yet, this parable is about something much greater than a wedding banquet. It is about God’s invitation to each one of us.
The first thing we should notice in today’s Gospel is that the king takes the initiative. He prepares the banquet. He sends out the invitations. He wants people to share in the joy of his son’s wedding.
This is a beautiful image of our relationship with God.
Our Christian faith begins not with what we do for God, but with what God has already done for us.
God loved us before we ever thought about loving Him, He called us before we knew how to respond. He prepared a place for us before we understood how much we needed Him.
In our first reading, the prophet Isaiah describes God’s promise of a magnificent banquet:
“On this mountain the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines.”
But Isaiah is speaking about more than food and drink. He is describing a world in which God will destroy death, wipe away tears, and remove the suffering that burdens humanity.
What a wonderful promise!
Think about the people in our world today who carry heavy burdens: To all of them, God promises that suffering and death will not have the final word. There will be a banquet. There will be joy. There will be life. And God wants every one of us to be there.
The tragedy of the Gospel is not that the king failed to invite people. The tragedy is that so many people refused to accept his invitation.
Notice the excuses given by the invited guests. One goes to his farm. Another goes to his business.
These are not necessarily bad activities. Farming is good. Business is necessary. Working, raising a family, caring for a home, and fulfilling responsibilities are all important parts of life.
The problem is not that these people are doing something evil. The problem is that they have allowed ordinary concerns to become more important than the invitation of the king. And isn’t that sometimes our problem as well?
We may not deliberately reject God. We may not say that faith is unimportant.
We may even consider ourselves good Catholics.
But little by little, other things can push God to the margins of our lives.
We become busy with work, appointments, responsibilities, entertainment, and countless activities. Before we realize it, prayer becomes something we do only when we have time. Sunday Mass becomes one obligation among many. Our relationship with God receives whatever attention is left over. Brothers and sisters, that story reminds us of something important.
We often assume there will always be more time. More time to pray. More time to return to church. More time to forgive someone. More time to strengthen our relationship with God.
But the invitation is being offered to us today.
And today is the time to respond.
There is another beautiful moment in the Gospel.
When the original guests refuse to come, the king tells his servants to go out into the streets and invite everyone they can find.
And Matthew tells us that the servants gather all whom they find, “bad and good alike.”
What a remarkable image of God’s mercy!
The king does not invite only the wealthy, the important, the respectable, or those with impressive accomplishments.
He invites everyone.
This is the heart of the Gospel.
God’s love is not reserved for a privileged few. His mercy reaches beyond the boundaries we sometimes create.
There is room at God’s table for the person who has been faithful for many years.
There is room for the person who has wandered away and is struggling to return. There is room for the young and the old, the successful and the struggling, the confident and the uncertain.
There is room for the person who carries regrets about the past.
There is room for the person who wonders whether God could ever forgive what he or she has done.
Sometimes people stay away from church because they feel unworthy. They believe they must first get their lives completely in order before they can approach God.
But that is not how God’s grace works.
God does not wait for us to become perfect before He begins loving us.
He invites us because He loves us, and His love gives us the grace to change. The Church is not a gathering of perfect people. It is a community of sinners who need the mercy of God.
Every one of us comes to the Lord with weaknesses, failures, and struggles.
And every one of us needs His grace.
Now, the end of this Gospel however, is very challenging
The king notices a guest who is not wearing a wedding garment. When the man offers no explanation, he is removed from the banquet.
At first, this seems surprising.
After all, wasn’t everyone invited? Why would the king be so concerned about what someone was wearing?
To understand this part of the parable, we must look beyond the literal clothing. The wedding garment represents the response of a person who takes God’s invitation seriously.
God invites us freely, but accepting His invitation means allowing His grace to transform our lives.
We cannot simply say, “I belong to God,” while refusing to live according to His teachings.
The wedding garment is a reminder that faith must become visible in the way we live.
He does not simply want us to attend the banquet. He wants us to share in the life and love that the banquet represents.
Today’s Gospel then, leaves us with a simple but important question:
How are we responding to God’s invitation?
Are we preparing our hearts for the eternal banquet that God has promised?
The wonderful news is that God continues to invite us, even when we keep stumbling along in our sin.
But the invitation must be accepted.
A banquet can be prepared, a table can be set, and a place can be waiting. Yet none of these things can replace our personal response.
So today, as we approach the altar, let us remember that we are guests at the Lord’s table.
Let us come with gratitude for His love, humility before His mercy, and a sincere desire to live as His disciples.
And let us make sure that the things which keep us busy do not cause us to neglect the One who gives meaning to everything we do.
Because one day, when our earthly journey is complete, we hope to hear the Lord welcoming us into the joy of His kingdom.
On that day, all our tears will be wiped away, all our struggles will come to an end, and the promise of Isaiah will finally be fulfilled. Until then, the invitation remains before us.
The table is prepared.
The Lord is calling.
May we never become so busy with the things of this world that we miss the banquet of eternal life.