Homily for the Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

 

The Parable Of The Wedding Feast

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara

Homily for the Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

Church of St. Bridget of Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, October 11, 2026

Parables are meant to shake things up, to unsettle and trouble us. They are meant to be over the top to wake us from our spiritual and moral slumber and indifference. How come? Because in the land of the deaf, you have to shout. When I was growing up, I used to accuse my grandmother and mother of talking too much and too loudly, until one day my grandmother said, “Wherever there is a talkative mother, there is a misbehaving child.” 

In his parables, Jesus shouts and screams loudly because the human race is deaf and blind to spiritual realities. One of those over-the-top parables is the one we heard today (Matthew 22:1-14). A king prepares a magnificent banquet for his son and invites as many guests as possible. Everything is ready—the table is set, and the food is prepared—but the invited guests refuse to come. Some ignore the invitation; others make excuses. Still, the king does not cancel the feast. Instead, he sends his servants out again, instructing them: “Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.” 

In ancient times, and to a great extent today, a king is a man at the top of society. He is the highest figure in society. He organizes a wedding party for his son and invites as many people as possible. This invitation is the highest invitation you will receive. Imagine receiving an invitation from the president or the pope for a special banquet. I tell you, you will clear your schedule to attend. I don’t think you will make excuses: Oh, I don’t think I have the time.“I am sorry, it is my day of rest;” “Oh, I am too busy;” “I am sorry, I won’t come because I am taking my son or daughter to their soccer game.” You will certainly go. Look at it this way: the Almighty God is inviting you to the wedding party of his Son. In Jesus, God the Father has sent his Son, the Bridegroom, to his bride, the Church. This is the greatest invitation you will ever receive. What is usually our response? I am too busy. My family needs me. We are going out with friends. I am tired. I cannot make it. These excuses are signs of our spiritual dysfunction, spiritual tragedy, and spiritual death. 

From ancient times to the present, God has sent messengers. He sends prophets: Ezekiel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, Habakkuk, Hosea, Jonah, Moses, etc. But they were ignored. Some were maltreated, and others were killed. Nevertheless, the Father continues to reach out and send messengers to invite us to his Son’s banquet. Messengers have been sent out to all the streets to invite all manners of people to this banquet: the good, the bad, and the ugly alike. You don’t need to be good to be invited— it is for all, saints and sinners. 

But who was the man without a wedding garment, and why was he thrown out? In Christianity, we believe in the primacy of grace: God takes the first step. Our presence here began with God. But once we accept the invitation and enter the house—the Church—we must cooperate with God’s grace and follow in the Lord’s footsteps. The Lord has called us, and we have answered. Now that we are inside the castle, we must behave in a way worthy of the place we occupy. There are two ways to respond negatively to God’s invitation: we can refuse it altogether and ignore it, or we can accept and honor it while rejecting the transformation grace should bring. Once inside, we must wear the garment of love, forgiveness, peace, and nonviolence. If we fail to do so, we are like those who ignored and refused the invitation altogether. 

God bless you!