By F. Luis Casasus, General Superior of idente missionaries
Commentary on the Sunday Gospel of 15-10-2017, Twenty-eigth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Book of Isaiah 25:6-10a; Philippians 4:12-14.19-20; Saint Matthew 22:1-14)
Heaven happens in our lives gradually, when we consistently share more and more of our existence, with God and with our neighbors. This is why the kingdom of God is often portrayed as a banquet. It is an excellent metaphor, representing the invitation of our Heavenly Father to communion with our fellowmen and sonship (filiation) with Him. To live a life of love and communion with each other is possible only when we are in God and God is in us.
In the first reading Isaiah describes, again under the image of a great banquet, the blessings and happiness that the Messianic kingdom will bring. Isaiah is referring to Heaven, the second and final stage of the Messianic kingdom. He gives a graphic description of the great banquet that the Lord will prepare for his people, expressing a grand prophetic vision of the universality of Salvation.
This Salvation means both freedom and fulfillment, with a peace that the world cannot give us.
When Paul wrote to the Philippians, he was writing from prison. Yet he exhibited much joy and peace even whilst he was awaiting his sentence. He was certainly not a broken and hopeless man. On the contrary, he had attained a state of equanimity where he had conquered all fears in his life. Yes, Paul had transcended the vicissitudes of life. He was one with God and already living the life of God.
When we are no longer slaves to our passions and the circumstances of life; when bad things cannot overwhelm us or destroy our peace of mind; when we learn to take everything in stride, living a centered life; when we find joy, then we know that we are living heaven on earth: freedom from fear, selfishness, anxiety, especially the fear of death. This is to be at peace in the hands of God
Food is used in all three readings today as an image of God’s favor and presence with His people. We urgently need a response to our deepest aspiration, to lay down our lives for others. This is the way we have been created; this is our nature, beyond our sins and weaknesses. And we can only satisfy this hunger with a genuine fellowship with Christ. This is a universal and anthropological truth:
But, linked with the paschal mystery and patterned on the dying Christ, he will hasten forward to resurrection in the strength which comes from hope. All this holds true not only for Christians, but for all people of good will in whose hearts grace works in an unseen way. For, since Christ died for all men, and since the ultimate vocation of the human person is in fact one, and divine, we ought to believe that the Holy Spirit in a manner known only to God offers to every person the possibility of being associated with this paschal mystery (Gaudium et Spes).
In the words of our father Founder:
The thirst for the Absolute, the vocation to transcendence, and the openness to the infinite, are experiences that, in one way or another, do not stop motivating the human being at every moment. All of us are overcome by it. There is no one that can sincerely affirm that he does not have these experiences. And if he understands them it is because he has some experience of them (Mystical Conception of Anthropology).
We can therefore approach the question of Salvation with confidence, even if we cannot understand how the Holy Spirit works.
The irony is that man does not want to receive this relationship as grace. When Jesus told this parable, it was addressed to the Jews, especially the religious leaders. They wanted to make themselves right before God by their own merits. They emphasized the importance of good works.
This Salvation presupposes detachment. If, in our preoccupation with temporary pleasures and duties, we refuse this invitation, our greatest pain after our death will be the realization of the precious things we have forfeited. And this is probably the most accurate description of purgatory. We know that God is not like the king in this story, but it may be that the judgment is the same. We prejudge ourselves by our choices, even though they often seem to be unconscious. Like the man who came to the wedding feast without the right garment, perhaps we are expecting to turn up in God’s Kingdom without really taking a conscious, consistent choice to do what God wants us to do to be like Christ, a person who lived for others.
We too, can take our baptismal calling lightly. We fail to make full use of the sacraments, Eucharist and reconciliation, or to have only an occasional, non-permanent state of prayer.
On several occasions, Paul has received generous financial support from the Christians at Philippi. So his words in the second reading are a “thank you” note to them from prison. Paul emphatically proclaims: In Him who is the source of my strength, I have strength for everything. When the Apostle thanks his friends for their kindness toward him, he does so as a realization that we should attain holiness in common.
But this banquet is more than an allegory or a promise. We all have been given the Wedding garment at our baptism. Baptism is the gateway to heaven. Hence, the second part of the parable refers to those who have accepted Christ in baptism.
The crux of our baptism is that we must ensure that the garment given to us at baptism remains a wedding garment and not a rag.
We are certain of the promise of heaven mainly because we experience heaven as a foretaste in the Eucharist. Indeed, the Eucharist as a meal is already a foretaste of heaven. Indeed, in the psalm we pray: You have prepared a banquet for me in the sight of my foes. To participate in this banquet is to live in the Lord’s house when we experience His goodness and kindness all the days of our lives.
And the Eucharist is more than a reminder of this banquet. Is a powerful sign, but is also the presence of Jesus among us. Some authors called it a costly grace, which is given through the death of God’s only Son. A grace which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for in a state of Beatific Supplication which, in turn, is a grace. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ.
A small boy was constantly late coming home from school. His parents warned him one day that he must be home on time that afternoon, but nevertheless, he arrived later than ever. His mother met him at the door and said nothing. His father met him in the living room and said nothing. At dinner that night, the boy looked at his plate. There was a slice of bread and a glass of water. He looked at his father’s full plate and then at his father, but his father remained silent. The boy was crushed. The father waited for the full impact to sink in, then quietly took the boy’s plate and placed it in front of himself. He took his own plate of meat and potatoes, put it in front of the boy, and smiled at his son. When that boy grew up, he said: All my life I’ve known what God is like by what my father did that night.
Our sin is serious business. God’s grace is a costly gift. Jesus explains it today through the parable of the wedding garment.
Our wedding garment is made of our grace-assisted works of justice, charity and holiness. Let us examine whether we have fully accepted God’s invitation to the Messianic banquet and remember that banqueting implies friendship and intimacy, trust and reconciliation.
Does not God invite us there? Aren’t we also called to be the Lord’s messengers who are instructed to go and tell the invitees (the whole world) that everything is ready? Or do we absent ourselves because we have other “pressing” business that we think is more important?
We need to be grateful to Christ for the invitation to the Heavenly banquet. Today’s parable shows us that true gratitude means to make use of the gift we have received.
When the king noticed the man who was not wearing a wedding garment, he said to him: How did you get in here, my friend, without a wedding garment? And the man was silent because he had no excuse for not wearing the wedding garment. In fact, it was customary that when one is invited for the wedding, the garment would be also provided. Not putting on the garment would be a sign of arrogance, lack of gratitude and also a sign that one does not wish to join in the feast. Thus, his silence said a lot about his recognition of irresponsibility and shame. He had no excuse. He was acting against his own nature. What is my excuse?
Receiving these gifts of God also demands that, instead of remaining marginal and lukewarm members of our community, we bear visible witness to our beliefs.
The parable means that when one freely accepts Christ as our Lord and Savior, one must dedicate his life to Jesus. In other words, the Christian must be clothed in the spirit and teaching of Jesus. Grace is a gift and a grave responsibility.
