Gospel of the Day
From the Gospel according to Matthew 22: 1-14
At that time: Jesus again spoke to the chief priests and the elders of the people, in parables, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying, “Tell those who are invited, ‘See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’ ” But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, “The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.” And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.
‘But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?” And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” For many are called, but few are chosen.’
The Gospel of the Lord
An Illusion
My soul hungers to love and to be loved. It hungers for God, for communion. But the world offers me an illusion: “When I have more, when I achieve this… when my spouse changes… then I’ll be happy.” And so, “one went off to his farm, another to his business”.
The deception lies in trying to satisfy our hunger through having, doing, knowing, achieving, enjoying, controlling, being recognised… We trade the banquet for good things that are too small to satisfy us; eternity for the immediate; communion for possession.
What “farms and businesses” are drawing me away from my husband or wife today?
Brought Down to Married Life
John is hurt by his wife, Melissa. She has spoken harshly to him, and they have ended up arguing. This time, he is sure of one thing.
“Until she admits what she’s done, I’m not going anywhere near her.”
And he has a point: Melissa has been in the wrong. But without realising it, John is turning his need for justice into his own “farm and business”: he would rather collect the debt than restore communion with Melissa.
On his way home from work, as he drives to his daily appointment with Jesus in the Eucharist, he hears Cada uno su razón (each one their reason), a song by Nacha Pop. One line pierces his heart: “Perhaps it’s better for the two of us not to understand each other, so that each can hold on to their own point of view.”
Is he really willing to preserve his own point of view at the cost of losing communion?
Suddenly, he sees it clearly: yes, Melissa has been in the wrong, but he has clung so tightly to being right that he has turned his position into a wall. God reveals his pride to him.
After receiving the Eucharist, he feels the need to remain in adoration. At first, he wants to be comforted by God’s mercy. But little by little, something new begins to grow within him: an invitation to console the Heart of Christ, wounded too by his own lack of love. He no longer wants to be right; he wants to love.
When he arrives home, Melissa is sitting quietly. John walks past her, stops and, without saying a word, sits down beside her and takes her hand.
Melissa looks at him.
And the Banquet begins: the peace that comes from letting go of the need to collect the debt, the grace of seeing Melissa once again as a gift, and the joy of being reconciled.
By insisting on being right, John had almost missed the Banquet.
Prayer
Mother,
Take us by the hand and lead us to the wedding banquet of your Son.
May He be blessed and praised for ever, for by His Blood He has redeemed us.