BIBLE STUDY #58
TWENTY EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
October 9, 2011


READING1: IS 25:6-10A

On this mountain the LORD of hosts
will provide for all peoples
a feast of rich food and choice wines,
juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.
On this mountain he will destroy
the veil that veils all peoples,
the web that is woven over all nations;
he will destroy death forever.
The Lord GOD will wipe away
the tears from every face;
the reproach of his people he will remove
from the whole earth; for the LORD has spoken.
On that day it will be said:
"Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us!
This is the LORD for whom we looked;
let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!"
For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain.

The Word of the Lord

READING 2: PHILIPPIANS 4:12-14, 19-20

Brothers and sisters:
I know how to live in humble circumstances;
I know also how to live with abundance.
In every circumstance and in all things
I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry,
of living in abundance and of being in need.
I can do all things in him who strengthens me.
Still, it was kind of you to share in my distress.

My God will fully supply whatever you need,
in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
To our God and Father, glory forever and ever. Amen.

The Word of the Lord

GOSPEL: 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

Reflection

This is the third week in a row we have had a parable (the parable of the 2 sons two weeks ago, the parable of the vineyard last week, and the parable of the wedding feast this week). Each of the parables is aimed at the religious leadership who should have understood God’s message as sent through Jesus and should have responded affirmatively to that message. This parable also offers hope to those who thought that they were not acceptable to God.

The Kingdom of God is often compared to a wedding banquet in both Jewish and Christian writings. Jesus eating meals with outcasts and sinners, and even the Last Supper, signify what God’s kingdom is about. Today’s parable about the wedding feast, therefore, tells us something about the kingdom.

The King (God) prepares a wedding feast and sends his servants (the prophets) to bring the invited guests (God’s Chosen People), but they refuse to attend this feast.

The King again sends out his servants, and again they refuse; they even mistreat and kill some of these messengers. In response, the enraged king sends his troops to destroy those murderers and burn their city. This probably represents the burning of Jerusalem during the Jewish revolt of 66 A.D. to 70 A.D., which indicates that Matthew’s Gospel was probably written after this revolt. This idea of God’s wrath in burning Jerusalem would not be a problem for those Jewish people who became Christian because their history is replete with God using foreign powers to punish them (i.e., the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and the Persians). Therefore, it seems that God is punishing the people who rejected the preaching and purpose of Jesus. Since this parable is directed at the spiritual leaders of Israel, it laying the responsibility for this destruction at their feet.

In line with this, it is interesting to note that in his travels, St. Paul first preaches to the Jews, and then goes to the gentiles later.

God them sends other servants (Christian disciples) out in the highways and byways to invite everyone to the feast. This invitation represents inviting the marginal people of Israel who would have been ritually unacceptable in the Temple to participate in the feast. It also represents an invitation to the gentiles to participate in the feast, and it maybe Matthew’s way of explaining gentiles in the church.

Notice that God tells his servants to invite ‘whomever you find’ and that they ‘gathered all they found, bad and good alike’. All people are invited to participate in the feast, the banquet of life Christ has prepared for us. All are welcome in our church.

We must be careful not to condemn the Jewish race as a whole because of this parable. It is the leadership that is targeted, not the people as a whole. Remember that most of the early disciples of Jesus were Jews (as was Jesus himself). While some rejected Jesus, some followed him. It’s the same with gentiles; some rejected him, some followed him.

All are welcome, but not all remain in the kingdom, as we see in the last part of our gospel. A man not dressed in a wedding garment was ejected from the banquet. It could be that this wedding garment (like the bib at baptism) represents our Christian commitment to following Jesus; it represents our commitment to respond with our whole lives to God’s call of salvation. This scene is a judgment scene, where the King (God) judges some of his banquet guests to be worthy of the kingdom, while others are not. This ties in well with the last sentence, “Many are invited, but few are chosen."

The first reading from Isaiah is one I like to use at funerals because of its’ beautiful promise of salvation. It speaks of a God who loves us and would not abandon us at the time of our greatest need, the time of our death.

The reading begins ‘On this mountain.’ In scripture, God lives on a mountain (Moses meets God on a mountain, he gets the 10 commandments on a mountain, for example). Whenever we see the word mountain, we know God is near.

Isaiah describes eternal life (living on God’s holy mountain) to be similar to a banquet with “rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines,” which would be very attractive to people living on a subsistence level. Having this kind of abundance would be like paradise.

When we get to this mountain, everything that separates us from God, called a web or a veil, will be removed and death will be destroyed. Not only that, suffering will be no more, and we will be saved. No wonder Isaiah praises God for his bountiful love!

In the second reading, we have one of the famous quotes from St Paul: “I can do all things in him who strengthens me.” St. Paul was not defined by his wealth or even lack of it, he is defined by his faith and trust in Christ. He has experienced both wealth and poverty, and it is all the same to him.

In this part of the letter, the Philippians are supporting him financially, which he normally didn’t accept (he liked to support himself) but the Philippians were special to him, and he accepted the funds not for himself, but to continue his ministry.



Fr. Phil