Homily Twenty-eight Sunday Year A God's gift and our response
Homily for the Twenty-eight Sunday Year A
Reading 1: “On this Mountain” refers initially to Mt.
Zion where Jerusalem is built. But ultimately it is heaven. The prophet Isaiah
is calling the people of Israel back to God.
He is talking to the Jewish exiles who have lost everything, because
they put their hopes in others rather than in God. They had forsaken the God
who was their true source of all good things and made good things their god. In
doing so, they had broken their covenant relationship with God, giving him
merely lip service.
Isaiah is calling the people back to the Lord. He
tells them of the rich banquet of food and drink God will provide for his
people who turn back to him. The Book of Revelation talks about the wedding
banquet of heaven that awaits us.
Isaiah identifies the one fear that captures the
hearts of the people, namely death. But the death here is not physical death, which
is inevitable for everyone, rather it is the spiritual death, or second or
eternal death, which separates us from God. What will God wipe away, when we
turn back to him? He will wipe away our sins and their consequences, which is
eternal separation from God.
The focus of the reading is what God will do when the
people return back to him with their whole hearts. He will do four things. 1. He will provide
for all peoples a rich banquet. 2 They will not experience the second death. 3.
He will wipe away the tears from every face. 4. He will remove the reproach of
sin. In other words, God will save them.
What should theirs and our response be? We should
rejoice and be glad to follow the way of the Lord.
Gospel: The Gospel picks up on the theme of the rich
banquet in Isaiah. The king is God; the wedding banquet is in honor of Jesus,
his Son; the bride is the Church. The invitation was to share in the banquet.
How many times, like the people in the parable, have we
ignored God’s invitation, choosing something else instead? In the parable, they showed themselves not
worthy, because they chose not what was ultimately best for them.
What was the wedding garment? In those days, so that
people would not come in with their rags or dirty clothing, the host provided a
wedding garment for each guest. One person refused to put it on. When we were
baptized, we were clothed in the life of God, symbolized by a white cloth laid
upon us. We were told to keep the garment unstained until the day we meet the
Lord face to face. The man did not want to be part of the process. He didn’t
have the wedding garment and thus was not desiring to be part of the
celebration, except on his terms.
The gift of salvation comes from God. The conditions
of response to salvation is from God. We can refuse the invitation. But others
will be invited. However, we can’t share
in the banquet, if we die not in relationship with God, sharing in his Divine
Life, given to us in baptism and nourished by the sacraments. Without this wedding garment, the second death
awaits us.
Reading 2: Paul’s words helps us to recognize the
providential care of God in our lives, directly or through others. Paul
experienced the ups and downs of having or not having. He preached the Gospel free of charge. He worked as a tent maker, so not to be a
burden to those with whom he shared the gospel of salvation. His focus was not
whether he had or did not have, or was well taken care of or not. His focus was
that God will supply our needs, not as we expect, but as God sees is best for
us.
Paul’s dependency was on God. He said: “I can do all things in him who strengthens
me.” His message was simple. “My God
will supply whatever you need, not just materially, but more importantly, spiritually.
Therefore, look to him not only in time of need but also in time of
sufficiency. Give him the praise and glory that is his due and in recognition
of who he is and who we are in relationship to him.”
How much do we depend on God to take care of our needs
after we have done our part?
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