Twenty Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Mt. 22:1-14)
Twenty Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Mt. 22:1-14)
“The Kingdom of heaven may be likened.” We often hear Jesus introduce a parable with those words. Today, we hear Jesus compare “the kingdom of heaven” to a banquet.
The banquet that is described in Jesus’ parable is peculiar. In ancient times, kings had supreme power over their subjects. When they spoke, people jumped. The idea that people would simply ignore the invitation to a party thrown by their king would be unthinkable unless that King had lost his influence. Another reason why the invitation might be ignored would be that those invited didn’t feel that the King’s son was someone to be respected either. Some of those invited showed their disinterest so they ignored the King’s invitation. Others attacked the king’s messengers. And they paid a terrible price.
The idea of using a banquet to describe the reign of God wasn’t anything new. Jesus was building on the words of the prophets. We heard about the banquet that will come at the end of time from the prophet Isaiah in the first lesson. What will that banquet be like? Peace will reign. Different faiths will come together. Divisions will be put aside. Polarization will come to an end. But are we simply waiting for that last banquet. Is that what our Judeo-Christian faith is about?
We also hear about banquets in chapter nine of the Book of Proverbs. We hear about two banquets. One is thrown by Lady Wisdom. The other is thrown by Lady Folly. Wisdom’s banquet is the banquet of understanding. The days of the one who eats at this banquet of Wisdom will be multiplied and their years increased. Lady Folly’s banquet has no nourishment, for she is inane, she knows nothing. We all have a choice we can feast at the table of Lady Wisdom. Or we can choose to dine at the table of Lady Folly. We can live out the kingdom’s ethics. Or we can treasure the world’s values. We have a choice.
We sit here at the Eucharistic banquet today. The similarities between what Jesus is teaching about and what we are seeing played out are striking. No one must tell us of the decrease in Mass attendance over the last fifty years in the United States. Wednesday night we will be having a meeting to discuss the future make-up of parishes in our diocese. The first part of that meeting will outline the dramatic decrease in sacramental activity in our parishes. The Eucharist is central to the Catholic faith. Many seem to be indifferent to attending. Others are angry at organized religion, so they refuse the invitation.
We can debate the consequences of the lack of Mass attendance. We might say that this is a sin. We might put it in terms of the loss of a sense of obligation. Another way we might describe the situation is that Lady Wisdom’s banquet is being rejected. Guidance on how to live life is being lost. The Kingdom’s values aren’t being absorbed. And this is having a dramatic effect on our society.
God is love. People aren’t learning about all the blessings of Christian life. People aren’t hearing about the teaching of Jesus concerning self-love for example. Jesus taught that we are to love God, love our neighbor, love ourselves. St. Thomas Aquinas taught that the root of all love is self-love. He taught that there are types of self-love. The proof of self-love is that we value our own lives. The person we are closest to is ourselves. We live with ourselves every instant of our life. We must come to a sense of peace with ourselves. How many people in the world love themselves. As suicide, self-mutilation, despair, addiction increase we must wonder.
Aquinas further states that there is disordered self-love. Also, there is healthy self-love. Disordered self-love revolves around selfishness. We can spend all our time promoting ourselves, entertaining ourselves, using more resources than we need, trying to live in a small world of self-interest. All this can lead to a variety of mental, physical, and spiritual sicknesses.
Jesus’ teaching promotes a healthy self-love. If we want to love ourselves in a virtuous way, we hunger to be holy people. We want to live a life of goodness. We also value ourselves enough to know that we are worthy of the care we extend to others. We are images of God. Our lives are precious.
Such is the message the Gospel offers. We all have a choice to learn from Jesus. We remember that love isn’t only a feeling, but it is an act of will. We came to the banquet of plenty today. We dine at the table of Lady Wisdom. We can be the messengers that God sends to invite others to the banquet. Let’s start today.
Reflection Questions:
1. Does it seem like people have healthy self-love? What are signs of this?
2. Do I value my life? What makes me do that?
Dear Parishioners,
On Sunday October 22nd during the 11 a.m. Mass we will be celebrating the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. During Mass we will anoint those who wish to be.
Sometimes people ask if they should receive this sacrament. The church has tried to make this sacrament more available to people for the last 50 years. At the beginning of the church’s history anointing with holy oil was one of the only remedies for those who were ill. There was not the vast array of medical treatments there are today. The church and its ministers were some of the primary health care workers. Later, the absolution from sin that the sacrament provides was emphasized. Because of that celebrating the sacrament did not happen until someone was in danger of death.
Today, we say that all Catholics who have chronic disease, who are facing a serious illness or who are elderly can be anointed. We anoint children who have received First Reconciliation and communion. Sometimes people ask if they can be anointed if they have a psychological illness. The answer would be yes. We know today that psychological illness is tied to physical illness most of the time.
I would encourage anyone who feels drawn to the sacrament to be anointed.
May Our Lady pray for our troubled world,
Fr. Mark