Homily for 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
We have just five Sundays to go now until the end of the Church year and the first Sunday of Advent. (Which leaves how many shopping days to Christmas?) This year we have been reading exclusively from Matthew's gospel. We have reached chapter 22 of the 28 chapters of that gospel. The final chapters consist in the main of what scholars call 'crisis parables', culminating in the parable of the Final Judgment on the Feast of Christ the King, the last Sunday of the Church year. The crisis parable is the one where the listener is forced to make a choice, to select one of the two options on offer. The alternatives on offer in today's gospel is 'to wear a wedding garment, or not to wear one.' In summary, Matthew is writing for a community in crisis. He is writing in 80ad. The Romans had destroyed the Temple in 70. The Jewish people are being persecuted by the Romans. But the Christian sect in turn is being persecuted by the Jewish leaders. So this new sect is getting it in the neck from both sides, from the Romans and the Jews. The Christians had already been expelled from the Temple and the synagogues. Some of the new sect had already been expelled. Matthew is telling his community to look back to the experiences of Jesus himself. Expulsion and rejection was central to his experience of life. Matthew is saying to them: "Take heart. It is not the end of the world if we are expelled from the synagogue. Rejection was central to the experience of our founder. If we are authentic followers, can we expect to be treated differently?"
We have two distinct parables in that Gospel I have just read to you: the parable of the wedding feast and the parable of the wedding garment. As straightforward stories they make little sense. They will only work as allegories or fables. The king represents God; the big feast was the popular Jewish image for the joy of the life to come. You will have some idea from last Wednesday night of the centrality of the banquet in Jewish lore and culture. As we heard in the first reading, "On this mountain the Lord of Hosts will prepare for all people a banquet of rich food, a banquet of fine wines." Throughout the bible, God is the generous host who knows how to throw a good party.
When the wedding feast is prepared, the King sends his servants to inform those already invited that the feast in now ready. These servants represent the prophets of Israel. The invited guests who refuse to come represent the chosen people of Israel. The king sends out a second set of servants to plead with his guests to honour the invitation. These servants represent the first apostles and their mission to Israel. The original invitation speaks of God's gracious call to his chosen people. The second invitation underlines the patience of God, even when the food is going cold, he still hopes there will be a change of heart.
But when the original guests persisted in their refusal, the servants search through the highways and byways in search of more willing guests. The banquet hall was full, we are told. The meaning of this is clear enough: when the intended guests refused (ie. the Jewish people) the early apostles turned to the gentiles. In this way the early church was founded and the Word of God had a universal audience. Your continuing presence at the banquet will depend, not upon your place of birth but upon your behaviour and your attitude towards your fellow guests or, as the gospel writer colourfully puts it, your presence will depend upon you donning the wedding garment. This was a common image used for those who adopted the Christian way. In fact we still retain the imagery in our baptism ceremonies to this day. "See in this white garment the outer sign of your Christian dignity. With you family and friends to help you by word and example, bring that dignity unstained into the everlasting life of heaven." At one particular point in the ceremony the child is clothed in the wedding garment. All of this imagery is best understood in the context of Paul's writings: He writes as follows to the Corinthians: "You are God's chosen race, his saints. he loves you and you should be clothed in sincere compassion, in kindness and humility, gentleness and patience...Over all these clothes, to keep them together and complete them, put on love. And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts." The wedding garment mentioned in the gospel then is a way of life, not a mode of dress.