Catholic Identity
Gospel Reflection
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Summary
Jesus tells a story about a king who prepares a huge wedding banquet for his son. Everything is ready, and the king sends his servants to tell the invited guests to come — but they refuse. Some are too busy with their own lives, while others even mistreat and kill the king’s servants.
So the king sends his servants out again, this time telling them to invite everyone they can find. The wedding hall fills with guests — both “good and bad.”
But then the king notices one guest who is not dressed appropriately for the wedding. When the guest cannot explain why, the king has him removed. Jesus finishes with the challenging words:
Scripture – Matthew 22:1-14
Jesus used stories to tell other things to the people. He said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding feast for his son.The king invited some people to the feast. When the feast was ready, the king sent his servants to tell the people to come. But they refused to come to the feast.
“Then the king sent other servants. He said to them, ‘Tell those who have been invited that my feast is ready. I have killed my best bulls and calves for the dinner. Everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’
“But the people refused to listen to the servants. They went to do other things. One went to work in his field, and another went to his business. Some of the other people grabbed the servants, beat them, and killed them. The king was very angry. He sent his army to kill the people who had killed his servants. And the army burned their city.
“After that, the king said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready. I invited those people, but they were not worthy to come. So go to the street corners and invite everyone you see. Tell them to come to my feast.’ So the servants went into the streets. They gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.
“Then the king came in to see all the guests. He saw a man there who was not dressed in the right clothes for a wedding. The king said, ‘Friend, how were you allowed to come in here? You are not wearing the right clothes for a wedding.’ But the man said nothing. So the king told some servants, ‘Tie this man’s hands and feet. Throw him out into the darkness. In that place, people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.’
“Yes, many are invited. But only a few are chosen.”
Reflection
God’s invitation is incredibly generous.
The king doesn’t give up when people reject his invitation. Instead, he opens the doors even wider. People who probably never imagined they would be invited to the king’s banquet suddenly find themselves welcomed inside.
There’s something beautiful in that image: there is a place for you at God’s table.
But Jesus also challenges us. It is possible to receive an invitation without really responding to it.
We can say that our faith matters to us. We can go to Mass, pray, attend a Catholic school or call ourselves Christian. But Jesus asks something deeper: Does accepting God’s invitation actually change the way we live?
That is one way of understanding the wedding garment. The guest has come to the banquet, but he hasn’t really entered into what the invitation means. For us, the “garment” might be the life we choose to live because we belong to Christ — how we treat people, forgive, show compassion, speak, serve, include others and make choices.
God keeps saying, “Come.”
The question is not simply whether we have heard the invitation.
The question is: What are we doing with it?
Reflection Questions
- Where might God be inviting me at the moment?
- Are there times when I am so busy with other things that I miss what God is asking of me?
- If I say that I follow Jesus, can people see that in the way I treat them?
- Who are the people I might forget to “invite to the table” — people who feel left out, unnoticed or unwelcome?
- What is one thing I could do this week to genuinely respond to God’s invitation?
Prayer
Loving God,
Thank you for always inviting us to know you, to love you and to be part of your family.
Help us to notice your invitation in the ordinary moments of our lives.
When we become too busy, help us to make time for what really matters.
When someone feels left out, help us to make room for them.
And when we say yes to following Jesus, give us the courage to live that yes through our words, our choices and the way we treat others.
May our lives show your love and help others know that there is a place for them at your table too.
Amen.