Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

(10/11/2026) Gospel Reading: Matthew 22:1-14

“They Would Not Come to the Feast!"

May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our hearts,

so that we may know what is the hope that belongs to our call.

From the desk of Fr. Leo

     The first reading and gospel this weekend give us a beautiful picture of what it is we're praying for when we say “thy will be done.” God's will is for our complete and eternal happiness. Our gospel warns us, however, that in order to be part of His beautiful plan, we need to respond to the invitation He offers us.

     Heaven is going to surpass all our hopes and expectations. It's going to be more wonderful than we can imagine. Because there will be love and joy and peace like we've never experienced. It's hard for God to tell us about it. All He can do is to use images that we are familiar with: a great banquet, a wedding feast, the elimination of suffering and death, wealth that cannot be exhausted as in the hidden treasure, the pearl of great price or the mansion God is preparing for us. This weekend, we heard the prophet Isaiah compare it to a great banquet and Jesus compares it to a wedding celebration for a prince which would be an event people would remember for years.

     As Jesus tells us, to have all this wonder and joy we must respond to an invitation. We must be wise enough not to turn it down. How will we recognize the invitation when it comes? Reflecting on it, it comes with a long list of ways we might recognize. Just to give you a few ideas of how we might recognize it, it sounds something like this: “Come to me all you who labor and are burdened and I will refresh you.” Or “I am the good shepherd,” a shepherd whose sheep hear his voice and follow him. We hear the invitation in the Sermon on the Mount when Jesus tells us, “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on a rock.” Or from the Book of Revelation, “Behold I stand at the door, then I will enter his house and dine with him and he with me.” He doesn't promise everything will be wonderful in this world if we respond to His call, for, “If anyone would come after me, let him take up his cross and follow me.” But for those who respond, he promises “I will be with you always,” “I will not leave you orphans.” In a special way He invites us to begin enjoying the wonderful banquet heaven will provide when He tells us, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you do not have life in you.” He invites us each morning to “take this and eat, take this and drink.”

     Our new age theology wants us to think that everyone is going to be blessed in the next life. Jesus is telling us eternal happiness is not to be taken for granted. The way to eternal happiness is open for all, but we have a free will as to how we will respond. May the banquet we come to, eating His body and drinking His blood, lead us to the eternal banquet He has prepared for us.

Meditation: What can a royal wedding party tell us about God's kingdom? One of the most beautiful images used in the Scriptures to depict what heaven is like is the wedding celebration and royal feast given by the King for his newly-wed son and bride. Whatever grand feast we can imagine on earth, heaven is the feast of all feasts because the Lord of heaven and earth invites us to the most important banquet of all - not simply as bystanders or guests - but as members of Christ's own body, his bride the church! The last book in the Bible ends with an invitation to the wedding feast of the Lamb - the Lord Jesus who offered his life as an atoning sacrifice for our sins and who now reigns as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The Spirit and the Bride say, Come! (Revelation 22:17). The Lord Jesus invites us to be united with himself in his heavenly kingdom of peace and righteousness.

Whose interests come first - God or mine?
Why does Jesus' parable of the marriage feast seem to focus on an angry king who ends up punishing those who refused his invitation and who mistreated his servants? Jesus' parable contains two stories. The first has to do with the original guests invited to the marriage feast. The king had sent out invitations well in advance to his subjects, so they would have plenty of time to prepare for coming to the feast. How insulting for the invited guests to then refuse when the time for celebrating came! They made light of the King's request because they put their own interests above his. They not only insulted the King but the heir to the throne as well. The king's anger is justified because they openly refused to give the king the honor he was due. Jesus directed this warning to the Jews of his day, both to convey how much God wanted them to share in the joy of his kingdom, but also to give a warning about the consequences of refusing his Son, their Messiah and Savior.

An invitation we cannot refuse!
The second part of the story focuses on those who had no claim on the king and who would never have considered getting such an invitation. The "good and the bad" along the highways certainly referred to the Gentiles (non-Jews) and to sinners. This is certainly an invitation of grace - undeserved, unmerited favor and kindness! But this invitation also contains a warning for those who refuse it or who approach the wedding feast unworthily. God's grace is a free gift, but it is also an awesome responsibility.

Cheap grace or costly grace?
Dieterich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran pastor and theologian in Germany who died for his faith under Hitler's Nazi rule, contrasted "cheap grace" and "costly grace".

"Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves... the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance... grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate... Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life."

God invites each of us as his friends to his heavenly banquet that we may celebrate with him and share in his joy. Are you ready to feast at the Lord's banquet table?

Lord Jesus, may I always know the joy of living in your presence and grow in the hope of seeing you face to face in your everlasting kingdom.

read more at: http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org

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