Homily (2) 28th Sunday Year A: Michael U. Udoekpo
Readings: Isa 25: 6-10a;
Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5-6; Phil 4:12-14, 19-20 and Matt 22:1-14
My Shepherd is the
Lord,
Today we gather to celebrate and renew our trust, our power of
positive thinking and our readiness in the Divine King and Shepherd, whose
protecting, caring and feeding imageries run through the readings of today. As the Lord protects, cares and feeds us, he invites us to imitate him by doing likewise to our neighbors.
In the first reading, the Good Shepherd addresses words of hope
to the frightened community of Israel through the mouth of his Prophet, Isaiah. Even though
the enemies will momentarily overrun and humiliate Israel, and perhaps destroy
the temple, the Lord will surely be at the mercy of the remnant, who put their
covenantal trust in Him. The "will" here points to the future hope. God’s time is the best. At his appointed time,
the Lord will destroy the veil that veils all peoples. The veils of sadness and
hopelessness. The veils of frustrations and rivalries. He will wipe away the
tears of sorrow, humiliation and illnesses from the faces of those who put
their trust in Him. He will rebuild the mountain once destroyed, restore and
provide food for those once starved. He will invite to a banquet those once ignored.
It is this hope, this trust, this call for endurance that Paul re-emphasis to
the Church Philippians in the Second Reading. Paul knows how to manage
in all circumstances, in his missionary travels, in his trials, in his
rejections, in his poverty and needs. In bad times and in good times. He knows
the secret of being well fed as well as how to endure hunger. For him, “he can
do all things in Christ who strengthen him.”
It is this spirit of trust and garment of readiness that the
Good Shepherd expects in those invited to
the wedding feast, the banquet of today’s Gospel's parable (Matt 22:1-14). In this parable some of the
invitees ignored the king. Some refuse to come, while some invented all kinds of
excuses to justify their absence. Even some who were not interested in responding killed the servant messengers- of the king; while among
those who responded, one had no wedding garments. Perhaps, he took the banquet for granted. Of course, with the directives of the king, the shepherd, he was bound hands and feet
and thrown into the darkness for wailing and gridding of teeth.
Be it in this Gospel parable, provider of the banquets or in the shepherd metaphors of these other readings, God treats us as a traditional near eastern good shepherds would
treat their sheep. They provide food, and water for them. Sometimes they have
to search for their foods. They protect them from wolves. Put a fence around them.
These flocks trust their shepherds and listen to them, though instinctually.
Today we are faced with
all types of challenges such as poverty, Ebola and HIV threats, war and
terrorism, especially from Boko Haram and ISIS. We have also issues of climate
change, economic disparities, political and racial tensions in sections of our
societies.
Thank God we are blessed
not only with instinct, but with higher reason and faith. We have every reason
to make necessary good choices in our lives. Even though the road or path to good
choices may be rough, with the lessons and experiences of the biblical
exodus, the covenant relationship, the land, and the process of settlement, God
is constantly watching over us. He is constantly cooking for us. All he wants
from us is that spirit of a positive and imitative response. He wants us to be ready with the right garments of love, faith and trust in his eternal banquet of Love, and in his everlasting feasts of
Peace, Mercy and Care. He wants us to be convinced that we can do all things in Christ who strengthens us (Phil 4:12-14), and that the Lord is our Shepherd there is nothing we shall want (Ps,
23, Jer 23, Eze 34; John 10).
