Gospel for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 22, 1-14)
Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and elders of the people
in parables, saying,
"The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who gave a wedding feast for his son.
He dispatched his servants
to summon the invited guests to the feast,
but they refused to come.
A second time he sent other servants, saying,
'Tell those invited: "Behold, I have prepared my banquet,
my calves and fattened cattle are killed,
and everything is ready; come to the feast."'
Some ignored the invitation and went away,
one to his farm, another to his business.
The rest laid hold of his servants,
mistreated them, and killed them.
The king was enraged and sent his troops,
destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.
Then he said to his servants, 'The feast is ready,
but those who were invited were not worthy to come.
Go out, therefore, into the main roads
and invite to the feast whomever you find.'
The servants went out into the streets
and gathered all they found, bad and good alike,
and the hall was filled with guests.
But when the king came in to meet the guests,
he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment.
The king said to him, 'My friend, how is it
that you came in here without a wedding garment?'
But he was reduced to silence.
Then the king said to his attendants, 'Bind his hands and feet,
and cast him into the darkness outside,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.'
Many are invited, but few are chosen."
The Gospel of the Lord.
Father Gabriele's commentary
Dearly beloved,
This Sunday’s liturgy brings us to the last discourse in the Gospel of Matthew—the so-called eschatological discourse—which records the final moments of Jesus' life before His passion.
Jesus says that the Kingdom of God is like a wedding banquet that a King prepares for his son, sending out servants to invite people to join in. Unfortunately, the invited guests show no interest in sharing his joy, turning down the invitation with excuses and even with violence. So, the King sends his servants out a second time to invite everyone—the good and the bad, the crippled and the blind—who gladly accept the invitation. During the feast, however, the King notices a man who isn't wearing a wedding garment and has him thrown out.
What is the message the Lord wants to give us this Sunday?
Jesus compares the life of faith to a wedding feast where all people are gathered together in a relationship of grace and joy with God. The image of the banquet runs throughout Sacred Scripture because it represents a joyful encounter with the Lord—a feast we should all take part in, since at the end of time, the world is destined for this very banquet.
God is positive; He is a happy King who loves us and wants our happiness. The invitation highlights that God never forces Himself on us; instead, He invites humanity while fully respecting our freedom. Our relationship with God isn't an obligation, but an invitation that we can choose to accept or reject.
Most of us who are invited say no, often because we're caught up in so many busy tasks that wear us down, stealing our joy and bringing us sadness. Someone who refuses isn't necessarily a bad person, but simply someone who doesn't have time for God. As the Scriptures tell us, human beings are made of body and spirit, and the Spirit is the very essence of our life. God calls us first to what is essential, and only then to the things of the world. It is terrible that even today, the messengers the Lord sends to deliver His invitation still face violence.
Nowadays, humanity seems disinterested in God’s invitation and His joy, rejecting it for a quick sip of pleasure with devastating consequences. The prophet Jeremiah reminds us: "O men, you seek empty things and become empty yourselves." The prophet means that life without God loses its deep meaning; existence becomes trivial and vulnerable to every kind of slavery just to fill the emptiness. Our present times are marked by so much frenzy, restlessness, and mindless running around—chasing the wind and everything that lacks substance.
Today we witness a boundless discontent caused by the absence of God. We choose fleeting things, as the prophet Jeremiah puts it: "They have chosen cracked cisterns with foul water instead of a spring of living water."
In the King's second invitation, all of humanity is invited: the good and the bad, the crippled, the blind, and the poor. They represent the Church in its fullness, where the Lord freely gives His joy and love. God is the only true good, the only real joy. With this parable, Jesus wants to quiet our fake joy, which is like a balloon that pops and disappears at the touch of a tiny pin.
In the final part of the story, the King removes a guest who isn't wearing the white wedding garment. What does this garment represent? It points to how a Christian ought to live in the world—shining and pure. As Saint Gregory the Great explains, this garment is charity—the love through which the Son of God wedded our humanity when He came into the world. As Saint Paul says in his Letter to the Romans, we are called to clothe ourselves in Christ, in His goodness, His love, and His tenderness. So let's make sure we put on this garment right away, so we're ready to enter the final banquet.
Saint Paul writes to the Corinthians: "Even if I spoke in the tongues of men and angels, but did not have charity, I would be nothing before God." God doesn't evaluate us by our human greatness. What seems giant in the eyes of men is like a tiny gnat before God, while people who appear like gnats to men are giants before God because their hearts are filled with love and they live it out.
Praised be Jesus Christ.