Liturgical Table Talk: 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Weekly Reflections

The Hors d'oeuvre

What would you wear to a royal ball?

Dig in!

There are academic years that begin in August. There are companies that begin their fiscal years in July and others begin their fiscal years in October. In the Church, the new year – the new liturgical year – begins at the end of November. That means in mid-October we are entering the final phase of the current year. In this phase the gospels will continue to focus on something called eschatology (es-kah-TAHL-ogee). This is the belief about the end times.

In this reading from Matthew there is a parable about a wedding that shows us two things about the end times. First, the invitation to heaven is sent out widely. The clue to this point is found in verse 9. The Greek word that is translated as “main roads” is diexodos (dee-EX-oh-dohs). This was, as “main road” indicates, the primary thoroughfare that went through the middle of town. Locals walk along that road, but people who were just passing through also walked that road. It wasn’t just the citizens of the town who were invited. Anyone within earshot of the servants was invited.

The second thing that the parable shows about the end times is that there is a requirement placed on those are invited. Jesus is being radical prior to this as he describes how many different kinds of people will be invited. Jesus says that tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before religious leaders are. For an invitation to go to such people was radical to those who heard Jesus teach. Yet, it is not enough to simple hear the invitation. The authentic response requires a change.

The change required is symbolized in verse 11 in reference to wedding garments. The king’s inspection of the hall and the guests serves as a metaphor for the final judgement. Matthew’s gospel is very clear that there will be a final judgement. We will go before God, and we will be judged. Have we “clothed ourselves with the right clothes”? Matthew is also very clear about what true righteousness is. Have our hearts changed? Jesus wants more than religious behavior that looks righteous. He wants to us to be changed from the inside out. That way, our external behavior is an expression of what we are like on the inside. He wants honest words because we have honest hearts. He wants fidelity to our spouses because we have faithful hearts. He wants the works of mercy because we have hearts of mercy. The wedding clothes come from being single-hearted for God.

Please read Matthew 22:1-14 together.

 

Table Talk

  • The invitation to enter the Kingdom of God is a broad invitation that is extended to everyone through Jesus. Where do you think you are? Are you on the road through the town waiting an invitation? Have you heard the invitation and are on your way? Have entered the wedding hall but haven’t put on the right clothes, yet? Or are you in the wedding, fully dressed, and ready for the feast to begin?
  • Matthew is saying that good deeds begins in the heart and flows outward. Which do you think is more correct? Do righteous deeds lead to a righteous heart? (This is the “fake it until you make it” approach) Or do you think that a heart must change first? Or is it a combination of things? Explain why you think the way you do.
  • What do you think you need to do in this time in your life in order to respond to Jesus’s invitation to the Kingdom of God?
  • Can you think of ways that today’s gospel is challenging you live differently in a specific way?

And for dessert

Lord Jesus, we thank you that the invitation to come to the great wedding feast in heaven has been given to us. Help us to more clearly hear that invitation and help us to say “yes”. We often fail. Please forgive us. Please help us to change. Change our hearts and change our behavior. Where we are unwilling, help to motivate us. Where are motivated, give us the strength to change. Let your will be done on earth and in our lives as we pray:

Our Father, who art in heaven …

We ask this through Jesus who is Lord forever and ever. Amen.

Song Suggestions to prepare your heart for Sunday's Liturgy

Here I Am to Worship by Jeremy Camp

Hallelujah is Our Song by Sarah Hart

10,000 Reasons by Matt Maher