TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
(Isaiah 25:6-10; Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20; Matthew
22:1-14)
We see another parable in today's Gospel. Perhaps it's
better to say we see two parables. The first is the story of the banquet a king
held for his son's wedding. The second takes place during the banquet when a
man arrives without a wedding garment. It seems separate from the main story
because it has a different purpose. Before we look closely at these stories,
let's review our knowledge of parables.
The word parable means comparison. To
understand something unknown, the parable teller compares it to something well
known. For example, to discover the greatness of the Kingdom of God, Jesus says
it is like a pearl of great price. Parables can be as short as a phrase or even
a word or as long as the story of the prodigal son. Jesus was a genius at
telling parables, whether short or long. His parables captured people's
attention. But more importantly, they moved people to reconsider their approach
to life. Take the parable of the Good Samaritan. A teacher of the Law asks
Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” Then Jesus tells the parable of the Samaritan who
saved the life of the man attacked by robbers. Jesus asks the teacher who the
man's neighbor was. The teacher, who undoubtedly hated Samaritans, had to admit
that the neighbor was a member of the hated people. Upon hearing this parable,
we must rethink our approach to the peoples we resent.
In today's Gospel, the parable of the king's banquet is a
very similar allegory to last Sunday's parable. The king is God. The wedding
banquet is the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven where Jesus accepts the Church as
his bride. The first servants are the prophets, and the second are the
apostles. The invited guests are the Jews who refuse to accept Jesus as God’s
Messiah. Finally, the people on the roads are the non-Jews, the Gentiles, who
accept Jesus and are baptized. The purpose of the parable is to say that for
the most part, it will be only the Gentiles, and not the Jews, who will enjoy
the banquet of the Kingdom.
The second parable tells of what happens during the banquet.
The man who enters the banquet without wedding clothes is thrown out. “That’s
not fair,” we might think. “He was probably so poor he didn’t have a wedding garment.”
However, the excuse is invalid because wedding clothes were readily available.
The wedding garment represents the good works that are required to have a place
at the banquet in heaven. Even if a person is baptized, a place at the heavenly
banquet is not guaranteed. They must feed the hungry and visit the sick, et
cetera to enjoy eternal life.
Those who want to watch football or soap operas seven nights
a week should pay attention to this parable. Yes, rest and recreation are
necessary for our natural life. However, it is also necessary to help those in
need to have eternal life. Yes, marriage is necessary to satisfy our carnal
desires. However, it is also necessary for married couples to support each
other emotionally and spiritually. Likewise, both must cooperate in raising
their children.
Life is complex. We often want to navigate it by doing what
most people do. Unfortunately, most people do what is comfortable and
convenient, not what has eternal value. Jesus told parables to shake us out of
this complacency. They show us God's ways that lead us to the heavenly banquet.
They are not as difficult to live as we think, because we have Jesus as our guide's
companion.
