01. My sisters and brothers, whenever scripture mentions a marriage feast or banquet, it usually refers to the kingdom of God.
02. This is because at the time of Jesus, only a wedding feast could convey the joy and fulfilment of how heaven is. It is probably the same today.
03. In a wedding, everyone from the host to the guests is very happy. There is no place for anything sad or bad. The wedding is also the fulfilment of two persons’ love story
04.Similarly, the kingdom of heaven is indeed a place of eternal joy and the mother of all fulfilments.
05.All other joys and fulfilments in our earthly life do not and cannot last.
06.Two Sundays ago, Fernando Alonso won the F1 race in Singapore. What a great achievement. After years of training and millions of dollars spent in preparation, he must be over the moon. But by this weekend, someone else would probably replace him. How long did his joy last?
07.And who remembers which country won the World Cup in 1998? (pause) Yet when France won, it meant everything to each of the eleven players. But after that great feeling, they all went back to their home. They went back to face their everyday life. Typically, like you and me, they would have to struggle with domestic problems, or face disappointments caused by loved ones or experience health problems.
08.Ten years have passed since they first kissed their World Cup medal. In the midst of all these everyday struggles, these footballers could stare at the medal they won in 1998… but will never be able to find comfort.
09.Would the medal make a difference to their struggle? Would it make it less painful?
* I would like to quote the words of ZINEDINE ZIDANE after being elected as UNDP Goodwill Ambassadors together with Rivaldo and Roberto Carlos, he says; “I know what poverty is. I, too, lived in difficult places, where we didn’t have anything. And today I want to help. There are things in this world that are more important than football.” He describes his anti poverty efforts as “the kind of thing my family, my upbringing and people I love have always encouraged. It’s something that is part of you or isn’t – but it is not something you embark upon or give up for any amount of fame and success.10.Now, you and I have had our own victories. The job promotion that we worked so hard to achieve, the i-phone that we had waited for, the argument that we wanted to win, the expensive diamond ring that we saved up to buy.11.How long did the taste of victory last?
10.Now, you and I have had our own victories. The job promotion that we worked so hard to achieve, the i-phone that we had waited for, the argument that we wanted to win, the expensive diamond ring that we saved up to buy.
11.How long did the taste of victory last?
12.Okay, so you get the point. There is nothing in this life that can satisfy us.
13.We are all made for heaven. That is why St Augustine said that our hearts are restless till they rest in God. Heaven is forever.
14.Yes, when God created you and me, it was His absolute intention to welcome us into His kingdom when our earthly life is over. And in today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us how we can get there. And also, how we cannot get there.
15.In the parable that Jesus told, the host invited all kinds of people to the wedding. The good and the not so good. No one is excluded. That represents the Heavenly Father’s great love. No one is excluded in His grand invitation to His kingdom.
16.But then someone got thrown out of the wedding feast because he wasn’t dressed for it. And here is the lesson for us.
17.Are we dressed for heaven? We may be dressed for church, but inside, are we dressed for His kingdom?
18.We come to church, we recite our prayers with our lips, but are we sincerely willing to put it into action?
19.We join various ministries, but inside, do we serve God or our own egos?
20.Dressed in white, we take our baptismal vows, but are we willing to enter into a genuine relationship with God? (PAUSE) I remember, when I was baptized 36 years ago, one of my Catholic friends lent me a white shirt as my parents didn’t want to buy it for me. And my borrowing of that white shirt has brought me to my life as a priest today.
21.Even we priests are challenged to examine ourselves. Underneath the cassock we wear, are we true to our commitment to be like the Servant King? Or do we lord over others like the Pharisees, the Scribes?
22.Yes, my sisters and brothers, the person who was thrown out of the wedding feast was invited just like all the others. God does not pre-judge. His great love and mercy ensure that everyone, and I mean everyone, is invited.
23.Your names and mine are in the Father’s guest list. That’s for certain. The moment we are born, we are all invited to His kingdom.
24.To conclude, I pray that you and I better be dressed properly for it.
25.You know why? Because whether we remain in the wedding feast or be thrown out… it is forever.
A m e n
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Matthew 22:1-14
22:1 Once again Jesus used stories to teach the people:
22:2 The kingdom of heaven is like what happened when a king gave a wedding banquet for his son.
22:3 The king sent some servants to tell the invited guests to come to the banquet, but the guests refused.
22:4 He sent other servants to say to the guests, “The banquet is ready! My cattle and prize calves have all been prepared. Everything is ready. Come to the banquet!”
22:5 But the guests did not pay any attention. Some of them left for their farms, and some went to their places of business.
22:6 Others grabbed the servants, then beat them up and killed them.
22:7 This made the king so furious that he sent an army to kill those murderers and burn down their city.
22:8 Then he said to the servants, “It is time for the wedding banquet, and the invited guests don’t deserve to come.
22:9 Go out to the street corners and tell everyone you meet to come to the banquet.”
22:10 They went out on the streets and brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike. And the banquet room was filled with guests.
22:11 When the king went in to meet the guests, he found that one of them wasn’t wearing the right kind of clothes for the wedding.
22:12 The king asked, “Friend, why didn’t you wear proper clothes for the wedding?” But the guest had no excuse.
22:13 So the king gave orders for that person to be tied hand and foot and to be thrown outside into the dark. That’s where people will cry and grit their teeth in pain.
22:14 Many are invited, but only a few are chosen.