SUNDAY HOMILY: 28TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A

SUNDAY HOMILY: 28TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A

THEME: Dress Code. Wedding Chapel at Cana

BY: DEACON BILL FRERE

Gospel – Matthew 22:1-14

49 years and 59 days ago, Ginger and I were married at IHM Church in Chicago. Since today’s Gospel is all about a wedding feast and the proper wedding garment, it seems only fitting to share a few memories about our wedding day! Ginger’s wedding dress was hand-made by Ginger and her mom; truth be told, they were still making adjustments to it the night before! My tux, well that was definitely not hand-made! The pictures, since they have faded a bit over the years, do not adequately do the tux justice. It was a lilac brocade, a very ruffled shirt and a huge bow tie! These days I imagine I would have been the wedding guest without the proper wedding garment and would not have been admitted to my own wedding!

Our wedding feast was ‘different.’ We had our reception outdoors in the forest preserve, complete with music, wedding cake, a sit-down dinner and even volleyball courts for the adventurous. We made it a point in our wedding invitation to encourage guests to go home after the wedding ceremony, change into comfortable clothes, grab some lawn chairs and meet us in the forest preserve. So much for a dress code!

We read in today’s Gospel about another wedding feast given by a rich man for his son. All his friends and relatives were invited; and all refused to come. They didn’t just forget; they made a deliberate choice not to attend. Eventually the father invites in anyone/everyone he can find – the poor, the good, the bad. But when the father comes in to greet all his guests, he sees someone not wearing a wedding garment.

Now this is where I always had problems with the parable. That poor man, how can you expect him to have a wedding garment; he just got invited at the last moment. How rude! How inconsiderate of the host! But wait a minute, not so fast!

It was the responsibility of the host to provide a wedding garment for all the guests, not the guests themselves! That way, no one needed to feel embarrassed because they were not dressed as well as others. This way everyone was dressed the same and all could enjoy the celebration.

I guess that would have worked out better for me if everyone was wearing that same jacket

This is obviously a metaphor for the Kingdom of Heaven. All are invited. But some will refuse to come! Others come willingly and accept the wedding garment (following the teachings of Christ). And that other guest? Well basically the guest without a wedding garment was also making a deliberate choice, one of disobedience and disrespect. He was offered the wedding garment but he refused. He wanted to enjoy the benefits of the wedding feast without following the instructions of the host (God). He wanted to enter the Kingdom but only on his terms.

Too often, we think we know better; we have a better plan than anyone else, even God. We want to walk our own path without concern for others. And only later do we see and suffer the consequences. Following Christ is not always easy but the reward is worth it.

That simple wedding garment reminds me of another one, that white garment we all received at our Baptism. God welcomed us into His family that day and, as a sign of our new life, we were clothed with a simple white garment. But that was only the beginning of our faith journey. Once we put on that new garment, once we began this new life as a son/daughter of God, we are called to live out this life as a Christian, to follow the teachings of the King, to answer the Master’s invitation with respect and obedience, and to hopefully enjoy the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Both the First Reading from Isaiah and the second, Paul’s Letter to the Philippians remind us as well – God will fully supply us with all we need. He has prepared a banquet for us, a feast of rich food and choice wines. The wedding feast is set! The invitations have been sent and delivered! But the choice is left to us! Will we attend? Or will we choose to ignore the invitation?

Creator of all, grant me today the wisdom and humility to follow your Word and the courage to see it through. Aho!

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