SUNDAY HOMILY : TWENTY-EIGHTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A
BY: FR. Cyril Unachukwu CCE
God never created any one of us without a specific plan or without a purpose. Individually and collectively, God has designed us for a purpose and for a set goal which come to pass with respect to how positively responsive we are to His invitation. His plans for us are not only in this life that passes and fades away, but also and most importantly in the life without end. It is the plan of God that we live good and in a godly manner according to His will so as to reign eternally with Him in the celestial realms. Salvation is God’s wish and plan for every human person, born and unborn. May God’s wish and plan be accomplished in you and in me; Amen.
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The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council never stopped re-echoing and reaffirming the message of (1 Tim. 2:4) which forms the foundation and the background of the Church’s Missionary Activities, namely, that God “wishes all men and women to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (cf. _Ad Gentes_ , n. 7). God is open to all, He invites all without discrimination or classification. His openness to all is not conditioned by human classifications or stereotypes. It is rather an openness that is boundless, flowing from His very nature and borne out of His unfathomable love for the men and women He created in His image and likeness. It is within this framework that we can understand the prophetic pronouncements in the First Reading of today (Isaiah 25:6-10), made at a time of hopelessness and despair in the history of the people of Israel similar to the present global situation; “on this mountain, the Lord of hosts will prepare for all peoples a banquet of rich food, a banquet of fine wines, of food rich and juicy, of fine strained wines.” The use of these imageries for corporeal nourishment does not only indicate material sustenance. Much more than that, these imageries reveal God’s Universal wish and plan for the salvation, not only of the whole individual human person, but also of the whole human race. This salvific wish and plan involves “all peoples and all nations”, in which God liberates all from the obstacles posed by “the mourning veil and the shroud… The Lord will wipe away the tears from every cheek.”
God never ceases to remind us of His invitation to embrace His plan of salvation, even though He never forces us to accept this invitation and plan. It is part of His wish and will that we freely and positively respond to this _Divine Motif_ . A sincere response to God’s invitation requires sacrifice. One of the greatest sacrifices we make in response to God’s Universal Call to Salvation is trusting God; trusting that He knows what is best for us; trusting that He is real with His promises and plans; entrusting all of our plans and prospects into His divine will and dissolving our wills into His. No one can trust God without sacrificing the ‘self’. Trusting God is that state of certainty in which one can affirm like Saint Paul in the Second Reading (Phil 4:12-14, 19-20); “there is nothing I cannot master with the help of the One who gives me strength”. In response to God, this trust is both salvific and makes one whole. However, it takes a great deal of conviction to arrive at this level of trust. This could explain the recalcitrant attitude of the invitees to the wedding feast in the Gospel Reading (Mt 22:1-14); “one went off to his farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his servants, maltreated them and killed them.” Nothing places the greatest obstacle between us and God than when the ‘self’ is placed in the forefront, unassisted by grace, and is allowed to totally and autonomously determine the course of our actions. Such a ‘self’ could grow to become the greatest militant against our progress towards being saved and may even initiate the process of self-destruction as we read that “the King was furious. He despatched his troops, destroyed those murderers and burnt their town.” In any case, human indifference and human institution of self-destructive principles do not limit the generosity and magnanimity of God. God is forever ready to save! He is forever offering us salvation! In the man who eventually came into the wedding feast without a festive garment and was kicked out, we recognise that the generosity and magnanimity of God do not entertain irresponsibility and laxity. God wishes us to be responsible in our acceptance of His generosity and in our experience of His magnanimity. Responsibility in this regard means divesting ourselves of our old self and putting on the fragrance of Christ, through our words and action, inspired by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Lord, give us the grace and the humility to recognise always that in your Will is our peace. Help us to constantly and positively respond to Your Universal wish and plan for the Salvation of all men and women; Amen. Happy Sunday;
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