HOMILY FOR 28TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR A.
By Rev. Sylvanus Amaobi.
THEME: DIVINE INVITATION FOR A HEAVENLY BANQUET
(1st Reading, Is. 25:6-10; 2nd Reading, Phil. 4:12-14,19-20; Gospel, Matt. 22:1-14)
Dear brothers and sisters, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).
GOD INVITES US FOR A BANQUET
Jesus once again tells another parable about how the Kingdom of God would be likened. A king, he said, willfully gave a wedding feast for his son and invited guests to the wedding feast. He prepared a wonderful banquet, killed calves and fattened Cattle, and got everything ready for the feast. Contrary to the expectation of the King, some of the guests ignored and refused to come to the wedding invitation. They all came with different excuses. One went to his farm, another to his business, and others mistreated the servants who came to remind them of the wedding feast. But the King must go ahead with his feast.
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As we read in the first reading, Isaiah had already prophesized that on the holy mountain, the Lord of host will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food, and pure wines. God is the King in Jesus’ Parable, who threw a feast and prepared a wonderful banquet. He keeps inviting us to share in His feast and participate in His banquet. The invitation of God is not for earthly banquets and worldly feasting. Instead, it is an invitation to become His children, grow in friendship with Him, and speak with Him in prayers. It is an invitation to eat Him in the Eucharist as the food of life and participate in His redemptive act. It is an invitation to learn from Him and trust Him.
HOW DO WE RESPOND TO DIVINE INVITATION?
How do we respond to the invitation of the Lord? Do we answer like the people in the parable of Jesus? Do we ignore the divine invitation because of flimsy excuses? Are we too busy for the Lord and too busy to honor divine invitation? Are we too concerned with our work and occupations that we are distracted and cannot respond positively to the Lord? Or are we just not interested in the affairs of the Lord, in the invitation of the Lord, in the things of the Lord? The guests in Jesus’ parable didn’t honor the King’s invitation as a result of the different flimsy excuses and stories they concocted. Nevertheless, their spots were taken by other people. This should not be our lot.
We should understand that divine invitation to us is an act of love and generosity from God. A positive response to a divine invitation is an act of appreciation since every loving and generous act should be reciprocated with appreciation and gratitude. This should be our attitude. Let us respond positively to different invitations of the Lord in order to participate and share in His banquet. Not responding or being apathetic to such a marvelous invitation works to our own detriment, a situation we will regret eventually.
Always remember that Jesus loves you!
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