28th Sunday in
Ordinary Time 28
October 12, 2014
Matthew 22:1-14
“The feast is ready...(Mat 22:8).”
Normally, we receive an
invitation to attend a party or any celebration like birthday party, Debut,
wedding anniversary, graduation blowout, Christmas party, family gathering,
Friday’s night-out with friends or despedida
(farewell party). From womb to tomb, we mark significant events in our life’s
journey with an out-of-ordinary activity. It is also the time for us to go out
from our self-made solitary world by sharing this gracious moment with others.
When we come, we honor the host and share with their joy.
At times, however, we fail to come. Some
reasons are acceptable: prior commitment or sickness. But, others are simply
unthinkable. Our parable in today’s Gospel exemplifies this best. A king
prepared a royal banquet and invited his subjects. It was a royal wedding,
perhaps just like a wedding of the century between Prince William of England
and Catherine Middleton in 2011 at Westminster Abbey. They were officially
honored guests and a VIP-like treatment was ready to greet them. Unfortunately,
for unclear motives, these people skipped the event and did their business as
usual. Some even went overboard as they harassed the King’s messengers.
The attitudes of these people are
unreasonable, but it does not mean that it is not real and purely imaginative.
Surprisingly, at times, we act just like these characters in Jesus’ parable. A
Filipino friend shared to me his difficulty in choosing work. He was offered a much better opportunity, with
bigger salary, friendlier workmates, and alluring career path. He also
recognized that his current company could no longer provide him a higher wage,
let alone a position and personal growth. Yet, despite these obvious facts, he
could not make up his mind. He explained further his reasons that he was already
much comfortable with his world as well as afraid with the unforeseen
challenges. The reasons may not be logical, but they are real.
Aside from dwelling in our
comfort zone and fear, John Maxwell in his book The Difference Maker, identified discouragement, problems and
failure as big five obstacles in our growth. Definitely, they are other things
aside from the big five obstacles, but all of these are psychological pathogens
because they are inside us and influence our behaviors. It is a kind of mental
block that paralyzes us to take up the opportunity, to experience grow and to
celebrate life.
Jesus invites us to the Kingdom
of God. It is where goodness, truth and life are celebrated. But unlike any
earthly celebration, the Kingdom does not give us immediate gratification like
sumptuous food, upbeat music or good company. Often, it challenges us to take a
risk, to stand for a good cause, and to suffer persecution. Because of the
challenges, the mental pathogens start creeping in and poisoning our courage to
heed the invitation.
Every time a heavy storm hits
Manila, our home, Santo Domingo Church, turns to be an instant refuge center.
Some thoughts like “Why we should open
our door to this poor people?”, “isn’t it the work of government?”, “I am tired
of this hassle and laborious serving” came and disturbed my consciousness.
Fortunately, my brothers have resolved to give their best to help and then, I realized
that this was actually God’s invitation to come to His Kingdom. I said yes. We
received all people, the poorest, the homeless and the sick. We squeezed all
our resources to worthily shelter them and to provide a simple yet healthy
meals. It was tiring, yet we all were aware that goodness, truth and life have
triumphed in our church. It is the royal banquet. It is the Kingdom.
God’s invitation can touch us in
the most unexpected time and unlikely place. Now, it is up to us to answer His invitation.
Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno,
OP
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