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28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
First Reading: Isaiah 25:6-10a
Responsorial: Psalm 23:1-6
Second Reading: Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20
Gospel: Matthew 22:1-14

There probably were places like Galilee Fried Chicken or Matzo Hut for quick meals in ancient days, but real meals were taken very seriously. Food was what gave strength for work, what nourished life. To share food was to share the source of life and signaled a close relationship among those who ate from the same platters. That’s why Jesus’ opponents were so upset when they saw Him eating with “tax collectors and prostitutes.” Didn’t He know who these people were that He was getting so close to?
Meals were also a way of thinking about sharing in God’s kingdom, His total making over of our world. In the book of Isaiah, there is a section of several chapters where the prophet speaks about God’s ultimate conquest of evil and death and the triumph of new life. The first reading is from that section. Far from being about destruction and punishment, it speaks of God’s victory as a banquet of the richest foods for all people. The prophet makes clear what the banquet means. For those sharing it, God will “destroy the veil that veils all peoples, He will destroy death forever. The Lord God will wipe away the tears from every face.” And he foresees the joyful response of all people, “This is the Lord for whom we looked, let us rejoice and be glad that He has saved us!”
In the Gospel parable, Jesus plays on this theme of banquet and makes it a wedding feast, which implies even closer relationships. He recalls the invitations brought so many times by the prophets to those whom God had put first in His plan to reach into our world. God called them to share His life but the responses of many were shocking. Some people ignored His invitations. Some thought they were just too busy to be bothered. Some could not stand to have their own way of life challenged, so they insulted and even killed those bringing the invitation. The story ends not with God withdrawing in anger from His sinful creatures but rather extending His call to all.
The first part of the parable doesn’t need much updating. The response to God’s invitation to share more fully in the life to which He calls us can meet with responses from us that are just like those in the story. “I’m not interested.” “I can’t be bothered.” “I’m fine just as I am.” “Can’t you see all this other stuff I have to do?”
We might even make an application of the parable to the invitation to share in the King’s Banquet of the Eucharist, to be nourished with the life of Jesus Christ himself. Since only about one of four people who identify themselves as Catholic celebrate the Eucharist weekly, many have obviously reasoned, “It’s not that important,” or “I’m too busy,” or “Sunday is for shopping and sports.”
God has given us the freedom to say “Sorry, I won’t be coming” to His invitation but what a loss it is not to want to be part of the wonderful feast of sharing in His peace, justice, life and beauty.
There is a strange ending to this parable. The king who has filled his dining hall with spur-of-the-moment invitees sees a man who doesn’t have on respectable wedding attire. The king commands that he be thrown out. But why? How could the man, called in off Main Street, be wearing wedding clothes? This is another instance of how a parable is meant to get us thinking. The parable here is not real life, but it is a real lesson. Whoever accepts the invitation to this close relationship with God has to live up to what that invitation means. It’s not enough to get inside the door.
Who delivers these invitations to the banquet of God’s life and truth and beauty?
They may come in envelopes we’re not expecting. Something said to us by a friend. A good deed that touches our heart and makes us think of imitating it. Some nasty word overheard that makes us think, “I hope I’m not like that.” A moment of silent prayer. A homily at Mass. The brief passage in a book that struck us. A deed good or ugly by someone we are very close to. Even the criticism that stung. All of these invitations can be easy to miss or even resented. We need to stop and think.
The banquets that Jesus calls us to, His kingdom and His Eucharist, are not junk food. They are about life now and forever. We need to be careful about how we respond.