Come to God's Feast
Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Matthew 22:1–14
This Gospel passage presents one of Jesus’ most striking parables: a king who prepares a wedding feast for his son, only to have the invited guests refuse to come. Some ignore the invitation, others mistreat the messengers. The king then opens the doors wide, inviting anyone willing to come. Yet even then, one guest arrives unprepared, without a wedding garment, and is asked to leave.
Loving and Merciful God,
This article was prepared with the assistance of CoPilot
At first glance, the story feels harsh. But beneath the strong imagery lies a deeply hopeful message: the wedding feast represents God's gift of salvation and the joyful life God desires to share with each of us. It symbolizes the love, grace, mercy, and salvation that God freely offers to every person.
God's feast is not a distant event—it begins now, in the choices that shape our hearts and minds. God calls us through the ordinary moments of our lives, through Scripture, spiritual practices, prayer, the sacraments, the Church, and the people and experiences God places in our lives.
Yet, like the guests in the parable, we can sometimes become distracted by work, possessions, entertainment, worries, or our own plans. The Gospel challenges us to ask whether we are making room for God in our minds, hearts, and daily lives, or whether we have become too busy or distracted to hear God's call and respond appropriately to God's invitation.
The wedding feast reminds us that the invitation to be accepted into God's Kingdom and to become "children of God" is not something we earn. It is a gift from God, who invites us as we are, "bad and good alike."
But accepting God's invitation means more than simply showing up. It also calls us to humbly surrender to God and allow God's grace to transform us into God's Way of being and living in our relationships with God, others, ourselves, and creation.
The garment represents the inner readiness of our hearts and minds to respond sincerely to God’s invitation to become the best versions of ourselves that God intends for us to become. It is not about outward appearances; it symbolizes the attitudes, virtues, and choices that show we truly desire to live in God’s grace, allowing it to transform us so that our daily words and actions reflect the love, joy, peace, and goodness of God's Way as taught, exemplied, and lived by Jesus.
We put on the garment of Christ whenever we humble ourselves, seek to follow God's will, and choose love and compassion over indifference, patience over irritation, forgiveness over resentment, generosity over self‑interest, and prayer over distraction. We come to Mass, listen and reflect on God's living Word, and partake of the Eucharist, not merely out of habit, but with a mind and heart ready to receive, celebrate, and share God's love and joy in communion with others.
Every day, God sets a place for us and invites us to feast at God's table. The question is whether we recognize God's invitation, accept it, and humbly allow God to transform our lives now.
You are invited to reflect today about what distractions or priorities in your life sometimes prevent you from responding fully to God's invitation? How can you better "wear the wedding garment" of faith, love, and holiness in your relationships and daily actions this week?
Thank you for inviting me to the great feast of your life.
Help me never to take your invitation for granted or
allow the concerns of daily life to draw me away from you.
Clothe me with the wedding garment of grace, faith, and love.
Renew my heart so that my words and actions may reflect
the presence of Christ within me and through me.
Give me the courage to follow you faithfully and to welcome
others with the same love and generosity that you show to me.
May we all one day share fully in the joy of your heavenly banquet,
where we will praise you forever with all your saints.
I ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.