Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time – October 15, 2023 – Matthew 22: 1-14 Fr. Chris Heller
When Jesus tells a parable story, there’s always a lesson he wants us to see & learn But sometimes, the story’s ORIGIN is NOT as obvious as we might think. Remember the Gospel a few weeks ago where workers were hired to go out to the vineyard at all times of the day, and they all get paid the same FULL DAY’S WAGE, even if only working an hour? We learned THAT parable story is NOT about labor unions or even just wages, but about how GENEROUS God is about calling people home to heaven. And Jesus says it’s not about how long you’ve been believing- it could be you turned to Jesus on your deathbed - but about how FULLY you believe.
Today’s Gospel about the wedding feast ALSO has a back story as its origin. People were beginning to REJECT Jesus and his teaching and preaching. So the Jesus who was sent by God to reform the Jewish religion switches his EMPHASIS in the parable story, and EVERYBODY gets invited to come to the wedding feast, which stands for heaven. & that EVERYBODY includes you and me, our neighbors & enemies: everybody! It even includes a group of people I’d never heard of in my earliest years, and that the FRENEMIES: you know, sometimes friends, sometimes enemies! So, Part One of the Good News this weekend is that God welcomes all of us, in all our situations:
*if you’ve been persecuted or hurt, COME TO JESUS: let Him heal your soul. *if you’ve been suffering with mental or emotional illness, let Jesus be your Physician. "If you’re stuck – you know how sometimes we get stuck, & can’t get out of a rut, let Jesus be your new life, YOUR new beginning. He can spring you free from that rut. And Jesus knows ways out of ruts that you haven’t even begun to imagine! *and if you’ve been stubborn and knocking heads with some other people whom YOU would call stubborn, ALLOW Jesus to loosen up & soften your heart to change you!
That stubbornness is at the core of the person not properly dressed for the wedding. If this parable story was just about a wedding, then clean clothes would be enough. But since, once again, this story is about heaven and living a heavenly life right now, the CLOTHING we’re talking about here are INTERIOR CLOTHES & ATTITUDES. Remember good old St. Paul: well around Easter time each year, St. Paul quotes a scene of what adult baptisms are all about, ALL THE WAY back to the time just after Jesus. Paul says that Baptism means taking off all the OLD clothing- meaning old attitudes, & putting on the NEW clothing, with Christ’s attitudes, & living Christ’s new love.
So, THAT’S WHY the man with the ungodly attitudes was NOT fit for the wedding feast: his attitudes were NOT heavenly joy, peace, patience, communion, & more important: there’s NO evidence this man was working toward a complete commitment to Christ. & that’s our task as well: Jesus is RIGHT: if I’m not on the same page with God’s values, it doesn’t matter how many other people agree with my stubborn way of thinking/doing. And in the midst of a world of conflict, it’s VERY good news that God is giving us the grace of TIME to get on board with Jesus. Let’s do our best to bring our thoughts, words & deeds into union with the loving God who’s busy making room…. FOR EVERYBODY!
