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28 Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A Matthew 22:1-14 The text below is the transcription of the video commentary by Fr. Fernando Armellini

A good Sunday to all. The society of Israel in biblical times was made up of shepherds and farmers who led a pretty hard life. They were simple people who had to work on stony ground. There was a story that circulated among them that when God created the world He had four containers of stones; three of them were used for Israel alone, and one for the rest of the world!

The great fertile plains were in the hands of the landowners. The farmers had to work daily long hours under scorching sun and with very rudimentary tools to obtain a frugal daily meal for the family. Although these poor of the land organized some parties, but the sumptuous banquets were reserved only for the rich. The prophets have continually denounced these orgies that allowed the bad guys to satiate their greed and injustices and to exploit the poor. There was a time particularly difficult for the poor people, in the history of Israel. It was after the exile that several groups of deportees returned from Babylon.

They were poor, disinherited, who had not managed to position themselves in Mesopotamia and when they arrived in Israel, they discovered that their houses, their fields had been occupied by others, so they were forced to put themselves at the service of the landowners who exploited them and committed all kinds of abuses and injustices against them. What future awaited them? They couldn't cultivate the hope that something would change because those who had the power were the rich and they wanted things to continue as they were ... the rich celebrated and the poor tried to survive.

Right now, we are in the 5th century BC, when a very important theological movement, what we now call as the ‘apocalyptic movement’ begins.... They didn't know they were apocalyptic, but we call it by that name. They were people from the village, but were attentive and sensitive to the painful condition of the poorest, and in the name of the Lord began to give hope to these oppressed people. They were saying: "God cannot accept this reality, people cannot change it, but God himself will intervene to start a whole new world."

One of these apocalyptic prophets composed the poem that is presented in the first reading in today's liturgy. It is a poem that describes the new age as a great feast; it is presented with the image of a banquet that the Lord will prepare on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and describes it in detail: "There will be juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines."

Food, therefore, will not only be sufficient but abundant and there will be wine that is not necessary for life, but essential for a banquet; and then not only the Israelites will participate in this banquet, but all peoples will be invited. We are in the 5th century BC; in the following centuries, these apocalyptic prophets continued to encourage the people and tell them: "Today's world, in Hebrew: ‘olam azè,’ in which we live, is full of misery, pain, tears, but the future world: ‘olam abba,’ in Hebrew, will be a perennial party." It is in this context of waiting for this banquet organized by the Lord that Jesus tells his parable.

Let's hear how it starts: “Jesus spoke in parables, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast, but they refused to come. A second time he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those invited: “Behold, I have prepared my banquet, my calves and fattened cattle are killed, and everything is ready; come to the feast.”’ Some ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. The rest laid hold of his servants, mistreated them, and killed them.”

All the Israelites knew by heart the promise of this feast and the banquet that I mentioned earlier because they all expected this feast and the rabbis also mentioned it often, They said: 'This banquet will be organized by God in the next life for those who behave well on this side.' Jesus comes and says: But why in the afterlife? It is here that God wants to organize this great feast and organize it for his son's wedding.

The king clearly represents God and the spouse is Jesus. He says it from the beginning of his Gospel, when they object to him: "Your disciples, why don't they fast?" He replies, "But how can they fast when they have a bridegroom with them?" It is the bridegroom who has come to take the bride, all the humanity, that God loves madly! What are the characteristics of this new world, which is represented in the Bible with the image of the banquet? Joy will be the first characteristic of the new world. It's a feast!

At these banquets of the old world, there was pleasure, bewilderment, hedonism, rudeness ... but there could be no joy as these banquets were only for a few, while the rest faced hunger, misery, pain, and death, and there could be no joy! The second characteristic of the new world is where gratuity reigns. Everyone comes to dinner, everyone is invited. The owner cares for the necessary food for this banquet, that is, the lives of those who came to the banquet ... the owner is God.

God has prepared a beautiful world for his children and wants everyone to have the necessary food, that is, everything you need to make your life worthy of a child of God. The criterion of the old world was not that of gratuity, but that of the market. People in the old-world regard themselves as owners of what others need and they possess these goods that they have achieved with their skill or, often, with their cunning. They accumulate these goods and say that each one gets what they want; and the others are friends if they can help me to accumulate more and more ... This logic of the old world, invented by people, does not come from the Creator and can only lead to wars, disagreements, hatred, grudges; but it never leads to joy and peace.

If, on the other hand, you renounce this lie of being owners and accept the truth, If, on the other hand, you renounce this lie of being owners and accept the truth, that everything belongs to God and that we are only administrators of these goods, then everything changes. The logic of gratuitousness enters; I give the brother or sister what he or she needs because God has put these goods in my hands; and I give it to them not only because it is good, but because it belongs to them, these goods are destined for him. I also need what God has put in their hands. God has created us well; He has forced us to love, not to keep what we have for ourselves, but to exchange these goods.

Man is made to love, to pay attention to his brother and sister! Third characteristic: coexistence. In the new world, not everyone eats on their own, like the wicked I spoke of earlier, those who when satisfied ... say enough and go! NO! Now there is coexistence, attention to the other! In the banquet of the kingdom of God there is dialogue, where we exchange the richness of the heart, where we care for the other, their pains, their joys and their hopes. Fourth characteristic of the new world: A world of friendship. Any discord is excluded from the banquet of the kingdom of God because discord always arises when the logic of gratuity and love is not accepted; where people are welcome with their wealth and poverty, where friendship can reign.

Now comes the invitation: "Do you accept this new world or do you want to continue with the old banquets?" Someone may be interested in vintage banquets! Now three groups of servants are sent by the owner to invite people to enter this feast, this banquet. Let's pay attention because today it could be difficult to accept the new logic of the banquet.

The first group of servants: We do not know who has been invited, we only know that these servants represent the Old Testament prophets who were sent to prepare for the coming of the bridegroom. The first group to which they are sent and who answers 'no' could be those to whom the prophets naturally went first, that is, the religious authorities, the spiritual guides of the people, the priests, the scribes and the Pharisees.

They said 'No', they preferred the old banquet. The religion they practiced and taught was good for them; it was their banquet, in which they placed on the shoulders of people unbearable weights and did not deign to move these weights, not even with a finger. It was that banquet where they could devour the houses of widows, in which they prayed for a long time to show off and make themselves credible in the eyes of the people. These are the words of Jesus! Their religion calmed consciences, made people feel good about God, but there was no real relationship with the Lord.

They said 'No' because they wanted to continue the old banquet, they did not welcome the new feast, the new World. Let's pay attention, because we could find ourselves in the situation of rejecting the proposal of the new reality; if perhaps we are tied to a religiosity made of observance, of rewards, of punishments, of merits ... this was the situation of the Pharisees. Let us not prefer the old banquet because we are offered the joy of a completely new spiritual reality, that of the gratuitousness of God's love.

Now second group of messengers are sent. These servants say: "The banquet is prepared, the oxen, the fattened animals were slain, everything is ready ... Come to the wedding!" The invited guests refuse because they are interested in their field, in their business ... someone takes the servants and mistreats them, insults them and some are even killed. Who are they, the second group to say 'No'? They are those who turn to material realities; these are their banquets, their interests, their shops, investments in progress, those with houses, villas, large estates, land to visit ... they have their banquet, they know how to satisfy their hunger! At this banquet, the norm is that everyone manages oneself; who is fine – fine; leave the rest to solve their own problems. The more one resorts to material banquets, the less one will be willing to accept the invitation to the feast!

The rich man, however, is delusional that he can be satisfied with wealth, with pleasures, the need for infinite joy for which each person is created. Therefore, there are those who are not interested in the invitation, but only interested in their own affairs. And they also feel annoyed by these messengers who want to change the world, change their life where they do well. These power holders, at a certain point, can also get rid of those who annoy them: the prophets who remind them about the injustice, the lie of this world built on selfishness and not on truth.

Given this refusal, let's listen to what the king does:

“The king was enraged and sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, 'The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come. Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.’ The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, bad and good alike, and the hall was filled with guests.”

Before moving on to the third dispatch of the servants, we must clarify the strange interlude of the burning city. It was certainly a verse introduced by the evangelist Matthew in the parable told by Jesus, a verse that interrupts the story; if we delete it, then the parable unfolds smoothly; in fact, it's hard to imagine a banquet starting, then at a certain point it breaks off to make a war, and then the banquet goes on, No! That verse was inserted by the evangelist Matthew ... for what purpose?

As this gospel is written, the city of Jerusalem has already been destroyed; the evangelist interprets this event as a punishment from God. Let's try to understand what is meant by this archaic language because it is an interpretation that impacts our sensitivity. We know very well that God does not punish; God is not responsible for these disasters. What causes them is our folly!

Already in the Old Testament, this archaic language was used to say that it was a punishment from God, which in reality was the consequence of mistakes committed by people who did not want to follow what the Lord indicated; they did what they wanted and the consequences were always dramatic. What does the evangelist Matthew want to tell us? It means that the people of Israel, guided by these spiritual guides who have failed to grasp the message of the prophets, prophets who prepared the coming of the bridegroom, this new banquet, this new society… these prophets were rejected without accepting the new logic and the consequence has been that, resorting to violence, produced and caused disasters. Therefore, it would not be fidelity to the sacred text and it would be foolish fundamentalism to literally repeat today these expressions that no longer belong to our language and that distort the meaning we should give to this verse.

Therefore, we will have to reformulate this image, to make it understandable to today's people. We could perhaps translate it in these terms: ‘He who rejects the urgent invitations of the Lord to participate in the banquet of the kingdom of God, takes responsibility for a world where inevitably there will be abuse, violence, wars and destruction.’

We now come to the third dispatch of the servants. These servants are not sent to the houses of the rich, to those who own goods, nor to those who are interested in their affairs and not even to pious, devout people, the priests, the rabbis because all of them have already said 'No'. They are fine with the old world! These servers are sent, the text literally says: "To the crossroads" and where do the roads converge? Where they meet, in the markets, in the squares, that is, where ordinary people gather.

The third call is aimed at the social and religious marginalized, tax collectors, prostitutes and all those who carry on despised commercial activities ... and no exceptions are made. This is another characteristic of this banquet and of this new world, there are no people on top, no one is superior to others, all are sons and daughters of the same Father, without castes, without some who are superior, and others inferior ... No! This is what happens in the old world!

In the banquets of the society of the time, the seats were rigorously established, respectable people, those of high rank, sat next to the owner, then gradually the least important, up to the last. This conception had also been projected in relationships with God; there were also various gradations of the saints and, in fact, we see in the temple of Jerusalem how closeness to the Lord was established: the great sovereign, God, lived in the Holy of Holies, in the ‘Devir’ after Him, next to Him, the closest was the high priest. Once a year he could enter the Holy of Holies on the day of ‘Kippur.’ After him came the priests who could enter the sanctuary, and beyond, the male Israelites, then further, the women, finally still further, came the pagans, the gentiles.

The parable throws out all this social and religious order! Those who accept this banquet must renounce their superiority, all are equally sons and daughters of God; they all have the same dignity! Who are these third group that is sent? We have seen that the first two groups were the Old Testament prophets up to the Baptist. The third group are the apostles and also us.

Who are these envoys? They are the angels at the service of God's plan, that is, they are those who have realized that it is a joy to accept the new world; they are people who have entered this banquet hall with conviction and since they have realized that this is joy, this is the world worthy of humans, they also invite other people because they want them to be happy as they are. Therefore, this need arises from the joy one feels in having accepted the kingdom of God!

Who are these angels dealing with? The parable says it: good and bad, with wayward people ... This invitation should be made without distinction, even giving priority to the unhappiest, those who have no merit. This is one way of saying that the new world is completely free! So, let's try to reflect, who will be the people these messengers or angels will meet?

They must first consider that they will find indecisive people; people who do not want to enter the banquet because they are not completely convinced, they already have their banquets, their joys that are those of the old world and they will try to postpone the decision. They would say: ‘I will enter, but not immediately, in the meantime, I will continue with my life and when I retire, I will take an interest in these things.’

Let us bear in mind that whoever wants to be an angel, must be patient, even if they cannot immediately make others understand their feeling of joy upon entering the banquet hall. They will certainly find people who have already entered but are not comfortable there because they have heard it said that those who remain outside would be “send to hell’ by the Boss. But inside they find themselves a bit by force and cultivate envy, barely hidden, from those who remain outside and perhaps they think: ‘I could also stay outside and then come in, maybe at the end.’

Bear in mind that there are also people who have not understood that joy of being inside. But they will meet those who have understood that the kingdom of God is a feast and they will enter, determined not to lose any moment of joy, because every moment that is lost is a joy that has been lost and cannot be recovered. These angels take into account that even those who enter the kingdom of God are not immediately perfect, they will never immediately and completely accept the logic of the banquet, instead will bring with them their own miseries, moral weaknesses and diseases. They would often be moved by selfish desires; they will be tempted to snatch even the food that belongs to the brother or sister.

Among God's people, we also find people like this, a little good and a little bad, because in the kingdom of God there will always be wheat and weeds. The wedding banquet ends with the room full of people reclining, it means free people. The conclusion is moving because the room is full, no one is missing, all the children are gathered and if the angels have served their mission well, people can only be drawn to the banquet by the proposal of the world and the new relationships that these angels have established.

These angels, of course, must be careful not to threaten those who do not come with punishments of hell, because by threatening, they only make people flee. The curtain could close on this poignant scene instead the parable continues with an episode that seems to ruin everything. Why was it introduced by the evangelist? Because he wants to answer a question. It is this: Will it be enough to say Yes to the invitation and have physically entered the banquet hall with baptism, or will it be necessary to adopt a different behavior than the one when one attended the banquets of the old world? Will it be necessary to accept a new logic, that of gratuitous love, or can we continue with the selfishness as before?

Let's listen to the answer given to this question through a second parable: “But when the king came in to meet the guests, he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment. The king said to him, 'My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?' But he was reduced to silence. Then the king said to his attendants, 'Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’ Many are invited, but few are chosen."

The king's behavior here really blows us away; we no longer recognize him, he was generous with the most unfortunate, then, for a lack of nothing, his nerves jump and he becomes harsh and even cruel. It is immediately clear that this part of today's Gospel passage is not the continuation of the previous parable. The king should not be surprised as he himself asked his envoys to call everyone, all people were picked up on the street, in the fields, in the squares, in the market ... How to expect them to dress for a banquet? The explanation, however, is very simple: this second part of the Gospel passage is another parable that has its own message, therefore, one must separate these two parables and interpret the second parable without referring to the first that we just discussed.

What is the theme that the evangelist wants to highlight? He is a shepherd of souls, he knows that many people have entered the banquet hall, have been baptized, but being a shepherd of souls he realizes that even those who entered are still tied to the logic of the old world, hence the possibility of entering to the banquet hall only with the tongue and with words.

The evangelist, with this parable, says that they risk a life of failure as someone who has not entered correctly. If you materially enter the new community, but do not adhere to this proposal of a new world that Christ offers you in this parable of the banquet, you are identical to those who remain outside.

Here is the picture of the proper dress: the new life of the Christian is often compared in the New Testament with the new dress. It is often said in Paul's letters: "Put on Christ." And we know that at baptism we received precisely this garment, a new white dress, which is the symbol of light. "Putting on Christ" means that those who meet you should notice that your life is no longer that of a pagan. Instead, they acknowledge that “this is one belongs to the new world, he looks like Jesus of Nazareth." The dress must be completely changed, the old life-rags cannot be carried on: adultery, dishonesty, violence, moral debauchery ... No! And you cannot put on just a piece; the garment must be radically changed.

What does the king do? Now the dramatic images begin, he says: "Tie him hand and foot and throw him out into the darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." We find these images only in the evangelist Matthew because he is speaking to the Hebrews, to the Jews. In the community of Antioch, they are the majority, and their preachers have always used this language, which are the images of the time, linked to the culture of the people of Israel.

This fact must be taken into account so as not to create an absurd and even blasphemous image of God - a God without heart, without mercy, No! These are expressions and we just have to decipher the message that is expressed with those images and transmit them today in our language.

What does the evangelist mean by this parable? He says, 'Be careful, if you enter as baptized, but you don't change your clothes, you still belong to the old world.' What is the situation in the old world? He says: "He will be thrown into the dark, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Yes, if you don't change your clothes, you still live in the old world and there life is hellish, inhuman, there is crying and gnashing of teeth. If you choose the law of the competitive market, not that of gratuity, you can also sell once or twice, but you can also end up losing and getting destroyed because outside the logic of the gift, there can be no heaven on earth, but hell; one does not live in the joy of the wedding banquet, but in the crying and shrieking of a non-sense of life.

The conclusion of the passage is a saying of the Lord that has been added here, it has been spoken by Jesus in another context, the evangelist places it here: "Many are called, few are chosen." It can be seen that it does not suit the above because they were all chosen there, it is only one who has been expelled. What does Jesus mean by this saying: "Many are called, few are chosen"? He is saying what happens: everyone is invited to the banquet, but how many are really and fully embracing the joy of the new world?

He says "few" to shake our conscience a bit and make us review our life to check if we really are inside or if we still have one foot outside the banquet hall.

I wish you all a good Sunday and a good week.