A Homily – The Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) All Saints Day, A Holy Day of Obligation

First Reading – Apocalypse 7:2-4, 9-14 ©

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 23(24):1-6 ©

Second Reading – 1 John 3:1-3 ©

Gospel Acclamation – Matthew 11:28

The Gospel According to Matthew 5:1 – 12a ©

 

(NJB)

Listen!

God is not a king; the divine does not occupy a throne.

Be mindful.

The multitude John witnessed in his vision was numberless, without measure and without end.

This was a vision of the eternal and infinite God, and all of God’s children, all of those who have experienced the persecution of the living, all who have come to God, the creator of the universe having endured the long sojourn through time and space.

The multitude is all of us, gathered together as one people…with no-one left behind, not one of us lost.

Have faith in this vision, trust in it; believe in it, hope for it, pray for it.

Know this!

We do not arrive in this place by the blood of the lamb; the cult of animal sacrifice is inefficacious…and always has been. We are not saved by the blood of Jesus, his death on the cross was not needed to make remuneration for our sins, the economy of salvation is not based on debt and redemption. These tropes are metaphors (and poor ones at that).  

Grace is not distributed through blood-magic.

Understand.

We are sanctified through the way, by fulfilling God’s will for us, as we are led in the spirit to walk humbly and love mercy.

We come into God’s presence only when we have let go of all our enmities, when we have finally forgiven all who have wronged us, as God has forgiven us, and when we have accepted the forgiveness of those we have wronged….when we have given up the burden of our sins and the sins of others.

It is then and only then that we are able to be in the presence of God and experience the fullness of the divine; it is then and only then, that together with the multitude of our sisters and brothers, we will have fulfilled John’s vision.

Be mindful!

Do not look for God in vestiges of glory and power and honors; such illusions are easy to dwell on…to cling to, and easy to misunderstand. Keep before you the image of Jesus in his humility, look for God there, in his wisdom, gentle as a lamb.

Consider the psalm for today.

All things and persons have their being in God, God who is the foundation of all that is and without whom there is nothing, without whom there is not even the possibility of being.

If you wish to climb the mountain to find God…that is fine; do it! Though God might prefer for you to turn to your neighbors, and see the face of God reflected there.

See them; all your sisters and brothers, your friends and family, the alien, even your enemy; behold the face of God, and together with them, in God’s presence…rejoice and give thanks. 

Be mindful.

Do not worry about your holiness; God loved you before the creation of the world, when only the possibility of you and all that you are existed. This is true of you and everyone, we are all beloved by God.

Look for God’s blessing in the service you provide to your neighbor, to your mother and father, to your sister and brother. Seek justification through the quality and extent of your mercy…you will find God’s blessing there.

If you go searching for the God of Jacob, instead of seeing God in Jacob, you will be chasing an idol. God is not confined to the pages of a book, or the inked letter on a scroll, neither is God bound by the history and mythology of a people. Perhaps there is wisdom in looking to those testimonies for glimpses of God, and remembrances of past encounters, but if you wish to find the living God you must look into the hearts of living people.

Be mindful of the words of the apostle…he is not always right, and in the reading for today he is wrong.

You must always bear in mind that every person is a child of God, there is not a single one of us whom God rejects.

Know this!

The devil has no children; the devil does not exist. God has no enemies, only wayward children.

Acknowledge your own faults without blaming the “forces of evil.” This is the way to wosdom.

Every single one of us has sinned, no one is free from it. Living a saintly life does not wipe out sin, or make it so that the sins we have committed never happened. God’s promise is not to erase our sins as if they never were, but to undo the harm they have caused to us and others, to transform the consequences of those sins into something good…reconciling all things through the spirit of truth and the power of forgiveness.

Be mindful.

The teachings of Jesus cannot be treated like a shell game, though they often are and have been since the beginning, as Matthew’s Gospel illustrates.

The way of Jesus is not a long con, neither is it a bait and switch; it is a simple teaching that cannot be controlled or owned by any one group of people. The truth is in the open for anyone to see.

The wise and the powerful, the learned and the clever, the weak and the meek, everyone has access to the truth, to the knowledge of God, of justice, of hope and the power of love.

Who are the wise and powerful?

Who are the learned and the clever?

Who are the faithful and childlike?

In every generation, you will see a new group of believers labeling the elder group as out of touch, blind, privileged, in the dark or corrupt.

The cycle is endless, and the way remains the same; love justice, be merciful, do good, serve God through the loving service you provide to one another: to your family, your friends, your neighbor, the stranger, even your enemy; walk humbly with them, this is the way.

Be mindful.

Just because a person may be considered wise and powerful, learned and clever, or a child of the Church, does not mean they will inerrantly recognize the truth when they see it, or act upon it when they do.

It is not your station in society, it is not how other people regard you, it is not the titles you have earned, or even the ways you have been marginalized that determine how you will fulfill the calling to follow Jesus. What matters is what is in your heart, what matters is your willingness to trust in the content of your hope, the hope you hope for yourself and the hope you hope for everyone.

Consider the Gospel reading for today.

Much has been written about the sermon on the mount. It is hard for me to believe that I would have anything new to add to that discussion, but adding something new is not as important as sharing the story itself, and how it shapes our understanding of the Gospel.

In this teaching Jesus shares a way of seeing the world, of living in society, of understanding our relationship to the creator; it is a teaching that reverses the expectations that were prevalent in his time, and in our time as well.

Jesus might have said:

The providence of heaven belongs to all people, regardless of who they are or where they came from or how far they think they are from the love of the creator, no matter what creed they profess, or what traditions bind them, and no matter how little they may think about God.

Divine providence is the inheritance of all people, because God wills it and distributes grace freely.

The gentle seek no possessions, they have nothing to guard, they are themselves unguarded and free; by freeing themselves from their desires the gentle have gained everything.

Have hope, all sadness and all mourning come to an end.

Strive for what is right and just, for what is universal and true, for what touches all people, give up your concerns for yourself and your tribe, your family and nation, your class and station; they are illusions.

The narrow path leads to misery, and the broad road leads to joy. Whether you can see it or not, we all share the same road; its narrowness or its breadth is only determined by our perspective.

Mercy follows upon mercy, as the sun follows the rain.

All people will come to the vision of God, as certain as they will come to know their true selves. The fullness of God is at the center of all people; God’s spirit unites us in an indelible bond, connecting us to one another, from the beginning to the end.

Accept the parentage of the divine. Take up the task God has set before us. Love justice, be merciful, walk humbly in the pursuit of peace.

The providence of heaven belongs to all people, in order to possess it you must share it; there is no other way.

If you are abused and persecuted for the sake of peace and mercy. Have no fear, the powers of sin and evil, the pain they bring, the reality of sickness and death, these are all temporary and they will come to an end.

 

First Reading – Apocalypse 7:2-4, 9-14 ©

I Saw a Huge Number, Impossible to Count, of People from Every Nation, Race—Tribe and Language

I, John, saw another angel rising where the sun rises, carrying the seal of the living God; he called in a powerful voice to the four angels whose duty was to devastate land and sea, ‘Wait before you do any damage on land or at sea or to the trees, until we have put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.’ Then I heard how many were sealed: a hundred and forty-four thousand, out of all the tribes of Israel.

After that I saw a huge number, impossible to count, of people from every nation, race, tribe and language; they were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palms in their hands. They shouted aloud, ‘Victory to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’ And all the angels who were standing in a circle round the throne, surrounding the elders and the four animals, prostrated themselves before the throne, and touched the ground with their foreheads, worshipping God with these words, ‘Amen. Praise and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and strength to our God for ever and ever. Amen.’

One of the elders then spoke, and asked me, ‘Do you know who these people are, dressed in white robes, and where they have come from?’ I answered him, ‘You can tell me, my lord.’ Then he said, ‘These are the people who have been through the great persecution, and they have washed their robes white again in the blood of the Lamb.’

 

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 23(24):1-6 ©

Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.

The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness,

  the world and all its peoples.

It is he who set it on the seas;

  on the waters he made it firm.

Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.

Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord?

  Who shall stand in his holy place?

The man with clean hands and pure heart,

  who desires not worthless things.

Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.

He shall receive blessings from the Lord

  and reward from the God who saves him.

Such are the men who seek him,

  seek the face of the God of Jacob.

Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.

 

Second Reading – 1 John 3:1-3 ©

We Shall be Like God Because We Shall See Him as He Really Is

Think of the love that the Father has lavished on us, by letting us be called God’s children; and that is what we are.

Because the world refused to acknowledge him, therefore it does not acknowledge us.

My dear people, we are already the children of God but what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed; all we know is, that when it is revealed we shall be like him because we shall see him as he really is.

Surely everyone who entertains this hope must purify himself, must try to be as pure as Christ.

 

Gospel Acclamation – Matthew 11:28

Alleluia, alleluia!

Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened and I will give you rest, says the Lord.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to Matthew 5:1 – 12a ©

How Happy Are the Poor in Spirit

Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the hill. There he sat down and was joined by his disciples. Then he began to speak. This is what he taught them:

‘How happy are the poor in spirit; theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Happy the gentle: they shall have the earth for their heritage.

Happy those who mourn: they shall be comforted.

Happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right: they shall be satisfied.

Happy the merciful: they shall have mercy shown them.

Happy the pure in heart: they shall see God.

Happy the peacemakers: they shall be called sons of God.

Happy those who are persecuted in the cause of right: theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

‘Happy are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.’

 

The Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

All Saints Day, A Holy Day of Obligation

A Homily – The Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

First Reading – Exodus 22:20-26 ©

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 17(18):2-4, 47, 51 ©

Second Reading – 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10 ©

Gospel Acclamation – Acts 16:14

Alternative Acclamation – John 14:23

The Gospel According to Matthew 22:34 - 40 ©

 

(NJB)

 

Listen!

God wills that we take care of the stranger who lives among us, that we do not oppress her or him. Keep faith with God, the creator of the universe.

This is the way to holiness.

Love the immigrant and the alien, show compassion to the widow and the orphan, do not abuse the poor or put them in your debt.

Be mindful.

There are times when a psalm of thanksgiving is little more than an expression of vanity; the psalmist gives credit to God for saving him…but it was not God. The psalmist would have us believe that God paid special attention to his prayer and gave special favor to him and him alone. This is false, God did not hear his voice alone among all of the others and fly from the temple to save him. We must understand that the psalmist saved himself, or was saved by his allies, though he may have been spared only by chance.

We know this is true because God does not favor one child over another, not one family, not one tribe, not one nation, not one sect over any other. God loves all of God’s children equally, no matter whether they live, whether in sin and rebellion or in the peace that comes through faith; we are all the same to the divine.

God is not like Zeus or Jupiter, Indra or Thor. God does not step onto the battlefield, shoot arrows and hurl lightning.

It is foolish to think so.

Therefore, it is incumbent on us to set an example for all whom we along the way.

Know this:

God is with you.

God will hear you, and though God will not intervene in this world to spare you any pain, God has a plan to resolve all-pain in a place beyond the bounds of time and space.

Be mindful.

The grace of God is not transactional, and while love fosters love, there is always love. God is always with you. The divine love is always present to you, even when you are at your worst, even when you are most hateful, and your most destructive self.

Consider the Gospel reading for today.

Here is the core of Jesus’ teaching, it is the sacred path to the divine.

Any interpretation of Jesus’ life and mission that do not reflect these teachings are false.

Every pericope and parable; every metaphor, simile and analogy; every story, fable and myth must adhere to this canon…it is the measure of the faith.

We encounter God through each other, in relationship to one another. We serve God through the service we give to the other another.

This is the way.

First Reading – Exodus 22:20-26 ©

If You Are Harsh with the Widow and Orphan, My Anger Will Flare Against You

The Lord said to Moses, ‘Tell the sons of Israel this:

‘“You must not molest the stranger or oppress him, for you lived as strangers in the land of Egypt. You must not be harsh with the widow, or with the orphan; if you are harsh with them, they will surely cry out to me, and be sure I shall hear their cry; my anger will flare and I shall kill you with the sword, your own wives will be widows, your own children orphans.

‘“If you lend money to any of my people, to any poor man among you, you must not play the usurer with him: you must not demand interest from him.

‘“If you take another’s cloak as a pledge, you must give it back to him before sunset. It is all the covering he has; it is the cloak he wraps his body in; what else would he sleep in? If he cries to me, I will listen, for I am full of pity.”’

 

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 17(18):2-4, 47, 51 ©

I love you, Lord, my strength.

I love you, Lord, my strength,

  my rock, my fortress, my saviour.

My God is the rock where I take refuge;

  my shield, my mighty help, my stronghold.

The Lord is worthy of all praise,

  when I call I am saved from my foes.

I love you, Lord, my strength.

Long life to the Lord, my rock!

  Praised be the God who saves me,

He has given great victories to his king

  and shown his love for his anointed.

I love you, Lord, my strength.

 

Second Reading – 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10 ©

You Broke with Idolatry and Became Servants of God; You Are Now Waiting for His Son

You observed the sort of life we lived when we were with you, which was for your instruction, and you were led to become imitators of us, and of the Lord; and it was with the joy of the Holy Spirit that you took to the gospel, in spite of the great opposition all round you. This has made you the great example to all believers in Macedonia and Achaia since it was from you that the word of the Lord started to spread – and not only throughout Macedonia and Achaia, for the news of your faith in God has spread everywhere. We do not need to tell other people about it: other people tell us how we started the work among you, how you broke with idolatry when you were converted to God and became servants of the real, living God; and how you are now waiting for Jesus, his Son, whom he raised from the dead, to come from heaven to save us from the retribution which is coming.

 

Gospel Acclamation – Acts 16:14

Alleluia, alleluia!

Open our heart, O Lord, to accept the words of your Son.

Alleluia!

 

Alternative Acclamation – John 14:23

Alleluia, alleluia!

If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to Matthew 22:34 - 40 ©

The Commandments of Love

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees they got together and, to disconcert him, one of them put a question, ‘Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?’ Jesus said, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second resembles it: You must love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and the Prophets also.’

 

The Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

A Homily – The Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

First Reading – Isaiah 45:1,4-6 ©

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 95(96):1,3-5,7-10 ©

Second Reading – 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5 ©

Gospel Acclamation – John 17:17

Alternative Acclamation – Philadelphians 2:15 – 16

The Gospel According to Matthew 22:15 - 22 ©

 

(NJB)

 

Listen!

 God, the creator of the universe, God does not intervene in the course of human affairs. God does not appoint kings, or grant victory in battle.

 All such talk is vanity.

 While it is right to praise God, and it is right to treat our discourse concerning God with respect to God’s holiness and God’s sacred work, we must be mindful of the fact that God is not a Lord.

 Understand.

 God has already judged the world; God has judged the entirety of the created order, God levelled God’s judgement at the beginning, seeing the end, and God proclaimed that it is good.

 Take heart in this and let your faith rest in it; God desires that we have faith in the divine, that we share our faith in love, and that we do not approach the divine with fear and trembling.

 Know this!

 There are no other God’s but God; the divine is one. We are called to study, to respect and  to strive to understand all language concerning the divinity, from whatever culture or nation it comes.

 Be mindful.

 Do not put too much stock in the buttery words of the apostle as found in his preaching to the church in Thessalonika; remember this when you read the text, he was there to ask for money.

 Remember this as well:

 God has chosen everyone, God loves all-people; there are no exceptions. The Thessalonians were no different than any other group of people insofar as they were the subjects of God’s love.

 God’s spirit touches everyone, and anyone can feign conviction, false-faith, or pretend to a greater degree of certainty than they actually possess, such is the nature of charlatanism.

 Be mindful.

 You cannot lie and serve God at one and the same time.

 Take joy in the work that is in front of you. Be content, there is good-purpose to be found in sharing the word of life.

 If you are not engaged in loving service to your sisters and brothers, to the stranger, and even your enemy, then you are not engaged in the work of salvation.

 Consider the Gospel reading for today.

 Listen to Jesus, the way has nothing to do with the concerns of political parties, and zealots.

 Pay taxes or not, it does not matter. What does matter is whether the choices you make fulfill the will of God who desires to see all people well: fed, housed, clothed and educated, who desires to see that all of our basic needs are met.

 If paying taxes, no matter who the taxes are paid to, furthers the ends of a just and ethical society, then pay them.

 If not, then not.

 If waging a tax protest advances the suffering of the people, to no good end, then do not protest; pay.

 If not, then not.

 Be mindful in all things you do and evaluate the choices you are pondering both for the immediacy of their impact on you and your community (to include the whole world), and the long-term consequences that will flow from them as well.

 Follow the good, be humble, love justice and be merciful all the days of your life.

 This is the way.

 

First Reading - Isaiah 45:1, 4-6 ©

I Have Taken Cyrus by His Right Hand to Subdue Nations Before Him

Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whom he has taken by his right hand

to subdue nations before him and strip the loins of kings, to force gateways before him that their gates be closed no more:

 

‘It is for the sake of my servant Jacob, of Israel my chosen one, that I have called you by your name, conferring a title though you do not know me.

I am the Lord, unrivalled; there is no other God besides me.

Though you do not know me, I arm you that men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that, apart from me, all is nothing.’

 

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 95(96):1, 3-5, 7-10 ©

Give the Lord glory and power.

O sing a new song to the Lord,

  sing to the Lord all the earth.

Tell among the nations his glory

  and his wonders among all the peoples.

Give the Lord glory and power.

The Lord is great and worthy of praise,

  to be feared above all gods;

  the gods of the heathens are naught.

It was the Lord who made the heavens,

Give the Lord glory and power.

Give the Lord, you families of peoples,

  give the Lord glory and power;

  give the Lord the glory of his name.

Bring an offering and enter his courts.

Give the Lord glory and power.

Worship the Lord in his temple.

  O earth, tremble before him.

Proclaim to the nations: ‘God is king.’

  He will judge the peoples in fairness.

Give the Lord glory and power.

 

Second Reading – 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5 ©

We Constantly Remember Your Faith, Your Love and Your Hope

From Paul, Silvanus and Timothy, to the Church in Thessalonika which is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ; wishing you grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

We always mention you in our prayers and thank God for you all, and constantly remember before God our Father how you have shown your faith in action, worked for love and persevered through hope, in our Lord Jesus Christ.

We know, brothers, that God loves you and that you have been chosen, because when we brought the Good News to you, it came to you not only as words, but as power and as the Holy Spirit and as utter conviction.

 

Gospel Acclamation – John 17:17

Alleluia, alleluia!

Your word is truth, O Lord: consecrate us in the truth.

Alleluia!

 

Alternative Acclamation – Philadelphians 2:15 – 16

Alleluia, alleluia!

You will shine in the world like bright stars because you are offering it the word of life.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to Matthew 22:15 - 22 ©

Give Back to Caesar what Belongs to Caesar

The Pharisees went away to work out between them how to trap Jesus in what he said. And they sent their disciples to him, together with the Herodians, to say, ‘Master, we know that you are an honest man and teach the way of God in an honest way, and that you are not afraid of anyone, because a man’s rank means nothing to you. Tell us your opinion, then. Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not?’ But Jesus was aware of their malice and replied, ‘You hypocrites! Why do you set this trap for me? Let me see the money you pay the tax with.’ They handed him a denarius, and he said, ‘Whose head is this? Whose name?’ ‘Caesar’s’ they replied. He then said to them, ‘Very well, give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar – and to God what belongs to God.’

 

The Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

A Homily – The Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

First Reading – Isaiah 25:6-10 ©

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 22(23) ©

Second Reading – Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20 ©

Gospel Acclamation – John 1:14, 12

Alternative Acclamation – Ephesians 1:17, 18

The Gospel According to Matthew 22:1 - 14 ©

 

(NJB)

 

Listen!

 Consider the words of the prophet and know that God, the creator of the universe, that God seeks the well-being of all people. God is working toward the salvation of every single one of us.

 The prophet asks us to do the same: to hope for it, to pray for it and to wait for it in humility. The prophet asks us to advance the work of God with patience, demonstrating kindness, evincing mercy.

 Everyone has a seat at God’s table: all people of all nations, everyone from every clan and every tribe, all people will be healed by the hand of God.

 Consider the words of the psalmist. God is shepherd to us all; if we walk in the way of God, we may serve as shepherd to our sisters and brothers.

 Whenever the circumstances of our life are such that we struggle with wants and needs, when we experience a sense of lack in our lives, know this: our time in this world is not the end of all things…everything is transitory.

 If we are hungry, we are hungry only for a time. If we thirst, it is but for a moment. We live and breathe but briefly, before we are called to the divine.

 Trust in God…have faith; believe in what we hope for, this is the way and there is peace in it.

 Know this.

 The power of sin and evil, the reality of death, these are temporalities, we endure them in our sojourn through time and space, and then the are gone; only God endures forever, and we are all the children of God.

Be mindful.

 It is not only because God loves you that God guides you, it is for God’s own sake that God blesses you. Follow the way, when your table is set share it with the world, invite even your adversaries and love them.

 Consider the life of the apostle:

 It is sad to read the account of him, begging for money. Jesus never asked for anything for himself, but only for the poor.

 It is sad to read of the apostle promising the fledgling Christian communities that God will reward them lavishly, because they have given him what he needs…neither salvation nor its promise should be treated as a commodity, grace is not transactional, it is not a thing that can be exchanged.

 Much harm has come to the world because of these words; many priests and bishops and would be prophets have enriched themselves while doing little for the poor…we are called to be better than that.

 Listen!

 Do not repeat the errors of John, do not depart from the message that all people are the children of God, who is the author of all being. We do not come into existence by any other power, not by a power that comes from within us, neither by a power that is external to us. We are born as children of God, created in the Word, by the Word and through the Word who sustains everything that is.

 Our status as children of God is as unconditional as God’s love for us, which is to say that it is without condition.

 Remember this when you meditate on the life of Jesus, and God; whom he called father…abba… amma…mother.

 May each and every one of us come to the knowledge of God. There is hope in the knowledge of Godl we are called to express it, to preach that the hope we hold for ourselves and those we love is meant to be extended to everyone, even those we do not love, for God leads us in our hope, and God heals us through our hope.

 If you think that God has promised riches and glories to be the inheritance of the saints, remember that the first will be last and the last will be first, and that spiritual rewards are not counted in gold and silver and precious things.

 Know this.

 God’s greatest status is that of parent living in relation to us, enduring the world as we do, suffering with us while holding onto love and demonstrating mercy, in the spirit of humility.

 Consider the Gospel reading for today:

 It is shameful when the Gospel writers betray the teaching and mission of Jesus, when they allow their own fears and their own reflections on the tribulations they have suffered to warp the good news that Jesus proclaimed as the entry point to the way of God.

 Understand this.

 Heaven is not a kingdom, it is a garden; God is not a king, God is a loving parent; Jesus is not a princeling, he is our brother.

 Any reflection on the way that does not reflect these principles, is a distortion or a deliberate deception.

 God does not command troops, God is not a warrior, God does not deliver the death sentence as punishment for any crime; rather God’s Justice is merciful, it is loving and kind.

 As Isaiah said, God has laid a table for everyone to share. God has invited the good and the bad alike, the rich and the poor, the friend and the stranger; God has made a place everyone.

 The feast at God’s table is less a wedding celebration and more of a family reunion (though the two have much in common), the feast is not to celebrate the contractual joining of two, who were not one already; it is the celebration of a unity that pre-exists all things, and because God has made it thus, it can never be broken.

 At the feast we come to know a thing we have forgotten, that all people are the children of God; we are all brothers and sisters in the divine.

 At the feast in the garden, at the foot of God’s mountain, there are no wedding garments, we wear no badges, we are not asked to present credentials; everyone is welcome and none are rejected.

 At the feast there is no darkness, the sun never sets and there is no weeping, no gnashing of teeth; there is joy of God’s blessing, and all things in one.

 

First Reading – Isaiah 25:6-10 ©

The Lord Will Prepare a Banquet for Every Nation

On this mountain, the Lord of hosts will prepare for all peoples a banquet of rich food, a banquet of fine wines, of food rich and juicy, of fine strained wines.

On this mountain he will remove the mourning veil covering all peoples, and the shroud enwrapping all nations, he will destroy Death for ever.

The Lord will wipe away the tears from every cheek; he will take away his people’s shame everywhere on earth, for the Lord has said so.

That day, it will be said: See, this is our God in whom we hoped for salvation; the Lord is the one in whom we hoped.

We exult and we rejoice that he has saved us; for the hand of the Lord rests on this mountain.

 

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 22(23) ©

In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.

The Lord is my shepherd;

  there is nothing I shall want.

Fresh and green are the pastures

  where he gives me repose.

Near restful waters he leads me,

  to revive my drooping spirit.

In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.

He guides me along the right path;

  he is true to his name.

If I should walk in the valley of darkness

  no evil would I fear.

You are there with your crook and your staff;

  with these you give me comfort.

In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.

You have prepared a banquet for me

  in the sight of my foes.

My head you have anointed with oil;

  my cup is overflowing.

In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.

Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me

  all the days of my life.

In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell

  for ever and ever.

In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.

 

Second Reading – Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20 ©

With the Help of the One Who Gives Me Strength, There Is Nothing I Cannot Master

I know how to be poor and I know how to be rich too. I have been through my initiation and now I am ready for anything anywhere: full stomach or empty stomach, poverty or plenty. There is nothing I cannot master with the help of the One who gives me strength. All the same, it was good of you to share with me in my hardships. In return my God will fulfil all your needs, in Christ Jesus, as lavishly as only God can. Glory to God, our Father, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

Gospel Acclamation – John 1:14, 12

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Word was made flesh and lived among us: to all who did accept him he gave power to become children of God.

Alleluia!

 

Alternative Acclamation – Ephesians 1:17, 18

Alleluia, alleluia!

May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our mind, so that we can see what hope his call holds for us.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to Matthew 22:1 - 14 ©

Invite Everyone You Can to the Wedding

Jesus began to speak to the chief priests and elders of the people in parables: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a feast for his son’s wedding. He sent his servants to call those who had been invited, but they would not come. Next he sent some more servants. “Tell those who have been invited” he said “that I have my banquet all prepared, my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, everything is ready. Come to the wedding.” But they were not interested: one went off to his farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his servants, maltreated them and killed them. The king was furious. He despatched his troops, destroyed those murderers and burnt their town. Then he said to his servants, “The wedding is ready; but as those who were invited proved to be unworthy, go to the crossroads in the town and invite everyone you can find to the wedding.” So these servants went out on to the roads and collected together everyone they could find, bad and good alike; and the wedding hall was filled with guests. When the king came in to look at the guests he noticed one man who was not wearing a wedding garment, and said to him, “How did you get in here, my friend, without a wedding garment?” And the man was silent. Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot and throw him out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.” For many are called, but few are chosen.’

 

The Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)