Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
1. Feasting With the Lord 2. Those At the Crossroads Too Are Invited
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: II
Introduction
Greeting (See First Reading)
The Lord has prepared for all people
a feast of rich food,
a banquet of fine wines.
He will wipe away
the tears from every cheek.
May the Lord of our joy be always with you. R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant
1. Feasting With The Lord
Happy are the days of a good celebration, when we can forget our worries for a while, enjoy one another’s company, laugh and sing, dance, and be happy. We are lucky to have such a day now and then, a day of feasting and real joy. That is what God wishes for all of us. He has invited us to happiness without end, and as a token of this, he invites us, even now, to the feast meal of his Son Jesus. Do we care about this invitation? Are we aware that everyone is invited, including the weak, the poor, and the sad? Let us enjoy our celebration with the Lord.
2. Those At The Crossroads Are Invited Too
We come to today’s Eucharist in response to the invitation of Jesus our Lord, who welcomes all to his festive meal. All are invited, but not all are here. Some dare not come because they feel we do not welcome them or think they are not good enough. Others are not aware that they are invited. Jesus asks us to welcome all and make them feel at home with us, just as he feels at home with them.
Penitential Act
Instead of the joys of an honest life,
we choose at times the sadness of sin.
Let us ask the Lord to forgive us.
(pause)
Lord Jesus, you offer us the joy
of forgiveness and acceptance and love:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, in the name of the Father
you came to invite us
to the everlasting wedding feast of the Kingdom:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you invite to your feast of love
the weak and the humble with the strong and the healthy:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord,
and take us out of the shame and sorrow of sin.
Keep us in your caring love
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray that we may enjoy God’s happiness
with all the peoples of the world
(pause)
Lord God, our Father,
we come together here as a people
to share in the feast of Jesus, our Savior.
Let this celebration remain the sign
of the feast without end
which you have prepared for us.
Make us rejoice with you
and welcome all with open arms,
people from everywhere, from all nations,
the poor and the rich, the weak and the strong.
Make all accept your invitation,
that we may rejoice with all
in Christ Jesus our Lord. R/ Amen.
First Reading
God prepares a feast for all peoples: In a vision of hope, the prophet describes the time of the messiah-savior in terms of a feast. All peoples will come to this meal and find in God the fullness of life and happiness.
On this mountain, the Lord Sabaoth will prepare a feast of rich food and choice wines, meat full of marrow, and fine wine strained for all peoples.
On this mountain he will destroy the pall cast over all peoples, this very shroud spread over all nations,
and death will be no more. The Lord God will wipe away the tears from all cheeks and eyes; he will take away the humiliation of his people all over the world: for the Lord has spoken.
On that day you will say: This is our God. We have waited for him to save us; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
For on this mountain the hand of the Lord rests. Moab instead will be trodden down, as straw is trodden down on a dunghill.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (6cd) I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
He guides me in right paths
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
with your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
Second Reading
I can do everything through Christ, my strength: Paul thanks the Christians of Philippi, who had sent him material help in prison. God also has given him strength in his trials.
I know what it’s like to be in want and to have plenty. I am trained for both: to be hungry or satisfied, to have much or little.
I can do all things through him who gives me strength.
However, you were right to share my trials.
God himself will supply your every need according to his riches, and show you his generosity in Christ Jesus.
Glory to God, our Father, forever and ever: Amen.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the eyes of our hearts,
so that we may know what is the hope
that belongs to our call.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Come to the Feast!: Everything in life is an invitation from God, but we often offer excuses. We have also the mission to invite others to the feast of God’s love.
Parable of the Wedding Banquet
Jesus kept talking to them in parables:
“This story sheds light on the kingdom of heaven: A king hosted a wedding banquet for his son.
He sent his servants to summon the invited guests to the banquet, but they refused to come.
Once again, he sent out other servants, telling them to say to the invited guests, ‘I have prepared a banquet, slaughtered my fattened calves and other animals, and now everything is ready. Come to the wedding!’
But they paid no attention and walked away, some heading to their farms and others to their work.
Others captured the king’s servants, insulted them, and killed them.
The king was furious. He sent his troops to wipe out those murderers and burn their city.
Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but the invited guests were not worthy.
Instead, go to the main streets and invite everyone you meet to the wedding feast.
The servants went out into the streets and gathered everyone they found, both bad and good, so that the hall was filled with guests.
The king entered to see the wedding guests, and he noticed a man not wearing a wedding garment.
So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in without the wedding clothes?’ But the man stayed silent.
So the king told his servants, ‘Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Prayers of the Faithful
Let us recommend to the Lord all those we encounter at the crossroads of life, that they too may hear and accept the invitation to the table of the Lord. Let us say: R/ Lord, be our life and joy.
– That the Lord may gather all peoples in one common praise of his name, let us pray: R/ Lord, be our life and joy.
– That the life of all Christians may radiate joy and hope and bring a feast of happiness to others, let us pray: R/ Lord, be our life and joy.
– That the Lord who destroys death may give consolation and strength to all those who mourn the loss of someone they love, let us pray: R/ Lord, be our life and joy.
– That the communities without priests, isolated as they often are, may also receive the Lord as their food, let us pray: R/ Lord, be our life and joy.
– That the Lord in the Eucharist may be the joy and the bond of love of all our Christian communities, let us pray: R/ Lord, be our life and joy.
Lord, it is good to be with you. Let our hearts overflow with joy and make us share with one another all the good gifts with which you have enriched us. Bless us in Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord God, as a loving Father
you prepared among us the table of your Son
for the sick and the healthy,
the poor and the rich,
for saints and for sinners.
Accept our joy and gratitude
and let your Son present here among us
rouse us from our sluggishness and cowardice
and lead us to the feast of your unending joy.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. R/ Amen.
Invitation to the Eucharistic Prayer
We are now invited to share in the sacrifice of Jesus our Lord. That means: to accept his life, his love, but also to give ourselves with him to one another and to the Father.
Invitation to the Lord’s Prayer
We accept the invitation of Jesus our Lord
to pray with him to our Father in heaven. R/ Our Father...
Deliver Us
Deliver us Lord, from our apathy,
our easy excuses and pretexts
that keep us from accepting your invitation
to follow your Son on the road to you.
Do not allow us to be sad,
since you are our joy and strength.
Keep us from all sin that divides us
and lead us forward in hope
to the coming among us in power and mercy
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...
Invitation to Communion
This is the Lord who invites us:
Come, the table is set,
everything is ready.
Come to the feast.
Happy are those who are invited
to the supper of the Lamb. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Thanksgiving (J. Zink)
(This prayer can be said by all if they have leaflets, or read slowly by the leader as a guided thanksgiving.)
God, we bless you,
we worship you,
we praise you for your glory.
We rejoice in this festive day
which we receive from your hand.
We thank you for the meal
and for letting us enjoy your many gifts.
We thank you for food and drink,
which are the image and sign of a feast.
We thank you for all the love that surrounds us,
for the nearness of people whom we love.
We thank you for giving us many reasons
to be glad and joyful.
We rejoice in all that succeeds
and we trust your word
that ultimately all our life will be successful,
when after all our efforts
we celebrate your feast for all eternity. R/ Amen.
Prayer after Communion
Lord, our faithful God,
we have celebrated with joy
the liberating presence among us
of your Son Jesus Christ
and we have eaten from his table.
Accompany us in life
through the Holy Spirit of your Son,
the playful Spirit of wisdom and fantasy,
of encounter and gratuitous love,
that hand in hand we may go on
believing in the unexpected
and making the impossible come true:
a world of justice and love,
until you gather us around the table
of your feast that lasts for ever. R/ Amen.
Blessing
In this Eucharist we have been attentive
to the voice of God:
we have come to this feast,
we have heard God’s Word.
But now the invitation continues
in the routine of everyday life:
in our prayers and hopes,
also in our work and cares.
Let us be open to that call,
also when it cries out
in the needs of the poor and the humble.
May God bless you and keep you:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
May God go with you
and keep you in his love. R/ Thanks be to God.
REFLECTION
Matthew 22:1-14
A banquet for busy people
Jesus compares the Kingdom of God with a wedding feast. Nevertheless, the Gospel cautions us that accepting or rejecting the invitation is a personal decision, and God does not force anyone. There were several guests who declined to attend, believing they had more important or better things to do.
No one thought the wedding was sad or boring, but instead, they simply "did not care". The reason we distance ourselves from the love of God and of people is not out of malice but rather out of a desire for our own security, comfort, and pleasure.
When our options are to pursue profits, pleasures, and hobbies that make us happy, we fail to recognize God's call. We would assign time for all other activities - for our work, socializations, leisure trips, meals, games - but not for the Church, prayer and the Word of God because we do not care.
Furthermore, when everything depends on the self, we become rigid and evil. The invited guests were so self-centred that they insulted and even killed those who brought the invitation (v. 6).
However, even in the face of constant rejections and refusals to his invitations, the king goes on; he does not postpone the feast. He continues to invite and include even more people. Despite injustices and rejection, God responds with greater love. In spite of our "no's" to his invitation, God continues to take the initiative time and time again. That is how love works; that is how evil can be defeated.
The Gospel emphasizes one final point: the guests' dress code, which is indispensable. The answer to an invitation implies that we must put on the clothing, we must develop the habit of living love every day. One cannot say "Lord, Lord" without living according to God's will (cf. Mt 7,21). We need to clothe ourselves daily with his love and renew God's choice every day.
We have received in Baptism the white robe, the bridal garment for God. Let us ask Him for the grace to choose and wear this dress daily and keep it clean.