28th Sunday, Year A: Homily by Fr Isaac Chima
Theme: The Eternal Banquet and the Required Garment
Readings: Is 25:6–10; Ps 23:1–6; Phil 4:12–14,19–20; Mt 22:1–14
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Through
the readings of this Sunday, God invites all of us to the great banquet of
heaven. He desires that every one of His creatures have free access to the
eternal feast He has prepared at the end of time. The invitation is universal,
the doors are wide open, and there are no restrictions at the gate. Yet, to sit
at the table and partake of the meal, certain conditions must be met. God
welcomes all, but He also transforms all.
In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah paints
a magnificent picture of the feast prepared by the Lord of hosts on His holy
mountain: rich food, well‑aged wines, the destruction of death, the wiping away
of tears, and the removal of disgrace. This banquet is not reserved for Israel
alone; it is offered to all peoples—to the nations once considered
pagan, and therefore, to us as well.
In the Gospel, Jesus uses the parable of the
wedding feast to illustrate Isaiah’s prophecy. Through His teaching, death, and
resurrection, He opened the door of the banquet hall to all nations. But He
also uses this parable to address some pressing realities of our present world.
The first lesson comes from the rejection of
the invitation. The first group of invited guests refused the king’s
invitation because they were absorbed in worldly pursuits—farms, businesses, and
personal interests. Their reaction mirrors the attitude of many people today. For
example, on Sundays, when Christians are obliged to participate in the
Eucharistic banquet, many of our friends, colleagues, and even family members
choose to stay home, go to bars, gyms, or offices. They consider the invitation
to the banquet of Christ unnecessary, a waste of their precious time. They have
time for everything except God.
Given the beauty of the feast Isaiah describes,
one would expect everyone to respond with a joyful "yes". Yet many still reject
God’s invitation. And the consequences of rejecting this invitation are serious,
including the loss of our place at the eternal banquet.
The second lesson comes from the treatment received by the man without
the wedding garment. The parable said the king ordered his servants to throw
him out. The king’s treatment of the man may seem harsh. After all, he
was brought in unexpectedly. But Jewish tradition helps us to understand that
the host of a wedding often provided appropriate garments at the entrance of
the wedding hall for those who lacked them. This means that the man had the
opportunity to change his clothes but chose not to—whether out of laziness, stubbornness,
pride, or bad will. He wanted the feast without the transformation. He wanted
the table without the garment.
In the same way, the
Church welcomes everyone—good and bad alike. The doors of God’s house are open
to all. But to remain at the banquet of eternal life, we must remove the dirty
clothes of sin and put on the proper garment of the feast. What is this
garment? It is love, peace, forgiveness, generosity, humility, kindness,
chastity, and every virtue that reflects Christ. These virtues are our heavenly
identity card—the attire required for the eternal banquet.
In recent years, the Church has been discussing
how to respond to those who persistently choose lifestyles or practices
contrary to the moral and theological teachings of Scripture—including, for
example, same‑sex unions and other practices that contradict the Gospel.
Opinions are divided. Some argue that the Church should welcome without asking
for conversion; others insist that the Church must safeguard the integrity of
her communion, remaining faithful to God’s commandments and the teaching
received from Christ.
Today’s Gospel offers us clarity. By inviting
people from the streets—both good and bad—Jesus shows that the Church must open
her doors to everyone. No one is excluded from the invitation. But by casting
out the man without the wedding garment, Jesus also teaches that God does not
want those who enter His house to remain unchanged. He desires conversion. He
desires transformation. The man without the garment was not expelled because he
came in dirty—he was expelled because he refused to change.
God invites the good and the bad to come as
they are, but He does not want the bad to remain as they are. He calls
all of us to change—to remove the garments of sin and put on the attire of
grace.
Therefore, those who choose lifestyles that
contradict the moral and theological teachings of the Church are indeed
invited. The Church welcomes them with love. But they should not expect the
Church to change her doctrines to accommodate any lifestyle that contradicts
the Gospel. Rather, God expects them—and all of us—to conform our lives
to His Word.
Whoever refuses to remove the garment of sin
and put on the garment of virtue risks losing his place at the eternal banquet.
So today, the Lord is asking each of us, "What garment are you wearing?” Are you wearing the garment of Christ? Or are you still
clinging to the old clothes of sin?
The invitation has been sent. The feast is
ready. The King is waiting. Let us remove the old garment. Let us put on
Christ. And let us take our place at the eternal banquet where joy never ends.
Peace be with you. Have a blessed Sunday.
Fr, Isaac Chinemerem Chima
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