Twenty-Eight Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A. Is. 25:6-10; Ps. 22; Phil. 4:12-14, 19-20; Mt. 22:1-14 Theme: Happy Are Those Invited to the Wedding of the Lamb. Today’s gospel presents a king who celebrates his son’s wedding. This detail inclines us to an allegorizing interpretation. In this parable of the kingdom of heaven, the king immediately calls God to mind and, at the same time, the messianic nuptials at the end of time. Blessed is the one who will dine in the kingdom of God (Lk. 14: 15); Blessed are those who are called to the wedding feast of the Lamb. Jesus’s invitation to enter his kingdom comes in the form of parables, a characteristic feature of his teaching. Through his parable, he invites Christians to the feast of the kingdom of God, but he also asks for a radical choice - to gain the kingdom, one must do everything. Words are not enough; deeds are required at all times. The parable s are like mirrors for men and women: Will he be hard soil or good earth for the word? What use has he made of the talents he has received? Jesus and the presence of the kingdom in this world are secretly at the heart of the peoples. One must enter the kingdom, that is, become a disciple of Christ, in order to “know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 13: 11). God invites us to his wedding banquet. This banquet will be a day of great joy. A banquet of all peoples gathered on the mountain, which is the place of God’s presence. A feast incomparably more sumptuous than wedding meals, sacred means in the temple. What is more, this great banquets is only an image describing the immense joy of the just, admitted on that day to God’s table, into God’s presence, into God’s community of life. By the way, the invitation of God is universal- for everyone. It is not enough to accept the invitation. One must prove himself or herself worthy. The rebirth of the soul is an essential requirement for being admitted legitimately to the banquet. The wedding garment represents the rebirth, the grace of God. Once a person is admitted to the wedding feast, he cannot remain as before. The wedding garment is given in Baptism. We must preserve it; if we have lost it, we must regain it. This is the level of personal commitment required to accept our place at the wedding feast. I like to think that this refers primarily to community spirit, an ability to share our well-being with other people, in the presence of God. Though founded on faith in God’s creative love, Christian hope retains a strong ethical dimension. Our wedding-garment is, therefore, being woven daily, by the quality of our interaction with others. In this sense, we hold tomorrow in our own hands, as with the help of God’s grace, we build our own eternal future. Our help is in the Name of the Lord, who made Heaven and Earth. Happy Sunday. Fr. Deniskingsley, SDV