28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Yr A
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Yr A
15 Oct 2017
Homily
Just like the image of the vineyard we heard last week, both the prophets and Jesus regularly used the image of a feast to talk about God and being in God’s kingdom. Given that most people lived in the edge of real hunger pretty much their entire lives, with famine a regular threat, Isaiah’s imagery of “..juicy, rich foods and pure choice wines..” would be a very attractive one!
Given that obesity is a real issue for us today, it can be difficult for us to grasp the power this image would have at the time. After all, when was the last time any of us were really hungry, to the point of needing to slowly rebuild our diet? (For me, it is almost 40 years ago, when I was on a survival course –and we didn't catch much.)
However, just like last Sunday, today’s Gospel passage can be very dangerous. It can – and has – been used to justify anti-Jewish behaviour. We need to remember that Jesus is talking about the Jewish leadership, not the Jewish people as a whole.
We also need to remember that Jesus is most definitely not suggesting that God behaves like the king in the story. He is using an image that his audience would be very familiar with. They knew all about an arbitrary government using violence simply because it felt in some way threatened or insulted. That was their reality!
As a child, I was always confused by the king’s reaction to the person not wearing a wedding garment. I felt it was a bit unfair. After all, he had’nt known that he was going to be invited! Anyway, he might not be able to afford it! However, this is taking the allegory too far.
Jesus is reminding his audience that God’s invitation is not to the deserving. It is to everyone! It is not for us to decide who is worthy of being invited. We do well to remember that God is inviting and some of those who respond may surprise us! However, we are also “unworthy” guests at this banquet. The point he is making is that we need to respond, not just “turn up”.
As we reflect on our response to God’s invitation – how do our wedding garments look?