The Twenty Eight Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

Collect

May your grace, O Lord, we pray, at all times go before us and follow after and make us always determined to carry out good works. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Amen. 

Reflection

The Prophet Isaiah describes in great detail the banquet that God prepares for his people: rich food, well-matured wines, meat rich in marrow … Isaiah’s description begins and ends with the words “rich” and “choice.” God is the Father who gives his children the finest and the best.

He goes beyond this: he does not merely feed us, but removes the veil that covers the face of the peoples, destroys death, wipes away the tears from every face, and takes away disgrace. And all this is accomplished through the strength and power of his Word. This is the God in whom we have hoped, who has come to save us, who awakens joy and gladness within us because the hand of the Lord rests upon this mountain.

In Psalm 23 we read: “I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.” Who among us would not want to dwell in a house where what the Prophet Isaiah described so beautifully is offered to you and to me in such abundance, where the Lord cares not only for our physical needs but also for our emotional and psychological needs?

He is the true shepherd who cares for his sheep and does not rest until he has led us to the fresh waters where he gives us rest and refreshes us.

To the Philippians St Paul speaks about the paradox of his life: he knew how to live in every circumstance that life offered him, whether in plenty or in hunger, whether in abundance or in need. But St Paul makes it very clear to us that he could not have done this by himself, but only through the strength of God, who strengthened him in his weakness.

St Paul reminds us once again of how much God cares for us by referring to God as the one who provides for all our needs, and this always according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

St Matthew once again refers us to the abundance of the wedding feast of the king’s son. At one time or another, we have all witnessed the abundance at a wedding feast to which we have been invited. St Matthew speaks of three invitations that the king extends to the guests. They not only refuse and ignore the invitation, but even go so far as to kill the servants who brought it to them.

Could it be that we too sometimes adopt this attitude? The invitation of today’s readings is for us to be grateful whenever God draws near to us to renew his relationship with us through the Sacraments, through the feast that takes place at every Eucharist, both during the week and, especially, on Sunday, and through a life of prayer and open communication with him.

Prayer
Lord, open my eyes and all my senses to the abundance of your love for all humanity in these cruel times of war, including in the Holy Land. Enlighten the minds of those who resort to weapons in the mistaken belief that they can bring about peace by one nation dominating another. Amen.