First reading Ezekiel 36:23-28
I will remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of flesh
The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows: ‘I mean to display the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned among them. And the nations will learn that I am the Lord – it is the Lord who speaks – when I display my holiness for your sake before their eyes. Then I am going to take you from among the nations and gather you together from all the foreign countries, and bring you home to your own land. I shall pour clean water over you and you will be cleansed; I shall cleanse you of all your defilement and all your idols. I shall give you a new heart, and put a new spirit in you; I shall remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of flesh instead. I shall put my spirit in you, and make you keep my laws and sincerely respect my observances. You will live in the land which I gave your ancestors. You shall be my people and I will be your God.’
Responsorial Psalm 50(51):12-15,18-19
I shall pour clean water over you and all your sins will be washed away.
A pure heart create for me, O God,
put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
nor deprive me of your holy spirit.
Give me again the joy of your help;
with a spirit of fervour sustain me,
that I may teach transgressors your ways
and sinners may return to you.
For in sacrifice you take no delight,
burnt offering from me you would refuse,
my sacrifice, a contrite spirit.
A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.
Gospel Matthew 22:1-14
Invite everyone you can to the wedding
Jesus began to speak to the chief priests and elders of the people in parables: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a feast for his son’s wedding. He sent his servants to call those who had been invited, but they would not come. Next he sent some more servants. “Tell those who have been invited” he said “that I have my banquet all prepared, my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, everything is ready. Come to the wedding.” But they were not interested: one went off to his farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his servants, maltreated them and killed them. The king was furious. He despatched his troops, destroyed those murderers and burnt their town. Then he said to his servants, “The wedding is ready; but as those who were invited proved to be unworthy, go to the crossroads in the town and invite everyone you can find to the wedding.” So these servants went out on to the roads and collected together everyone they could find, bad and good alike; and the wedding hall was filled with guests. When the king came in to look at the guests he noticed one man who was not wearing a wedding garment, and said to him, “How did you get in here, my friend, without a wedding garment?” And the man was silent. Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot and throw him out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.” For many are called, but few are chosen.’
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The banquet of God’s love
Like the king who invited the guests to come and join the wedding feast, God never stops to invite us to enter into the feast of His love, into a personal relationship with Him. He never forces but invites. On our part,we need to respond to Him. We need to stop making excuses, “I have no time”, “I have more important things to do”, and instead make the daily effort to enter into communion with God by spending time to pray and listen to Him.
In the parable, Jesus speaks of a man who responded to the king’s invitation and came for the feast without wearing a wedding garment. This shows that the man did not take the invitation seriously. What does it mean for us today? it is not enough for us to verbally say “Yes” to God’s invitation, but we also need to respond by the way we live our lives. We put on our “wedding garment” by living a life of love so that the way we think, feel, speak, and act will reflect the God of love we have within.
Reflection question:
How can my relationship with God define the way I think, love, feel, speak and act?
How can my relationship with God define the way I think, love, feel, speak and act?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year C” by Sr Sandra Seow FMVD.
