28th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A
When we hear the parables of Jesus in the Scriptures, it seems like fairytales, but when we take a moment to meditate on them, we find out that they are really very relevant and applicable to us today. For instance, the parable of the king who gave a wedding feast for his son we heard in today’s gospel reading from the gospel of Saint Matthew 22:1-14 informs us of the ingratitude of the chief priests and elders of the people to God which re-echoes our ingratitude to God. This parable also tells us that the kingdom of heaven is open to all and not restricted to a select few. The people who received the first invitation rejected it then God opened it up to everyone without discrimination. But even with this open invitation, there still exists a proper code of dressing or conduct to be observed in order to participate in the feast as we heard in the parable. The chief priests and elders of the people were the first ones to be invited but they ignored the invitation, mistreated the messengers and killed some. Just like the chief priests and the elders of the people, we have been invited to the heavenly banquet of God in His kingdom and we have done the same exact evil acts by ignoring God’s invitation to participate in His banquet. We have also mistreated God’s messengers clergy and laity by our attitude towards them, by our words to them and by our actions towards them too. We have even killed some of them physically and mentally with our hurtful and malicious words and actions to them. So this parable is not far fetched from us because we are still doing the same exact things the chief priests and elders of the people did and even worse today. Ask yourself today, am I living my life as a true Catholic Christian today? Have I answered or am I answering God’s invitation to His banquet? Have I welcomed His messengers and His message? Am I really participating in proclaiming His kingdom in our world today?
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the best practices to help us live out our Catholic faith and practice the gospel of Christ today is by truly Accepting God’s Word into our lives, by sincerely Living out the Word of God we have received and accepted, by Carrying our crosses daily and following Christ, by Fighting the temptations that come our way as we answer our call to discipleship and by Loving God and our neighbors as ourselves. Amen!
