28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A (2026)

The end of Jesus’ parable—the Parable of the Wedding Feast—has a harsh surprise ending. We hear how the invitation was sent out with little or no notice, to many people: the good, the bad, those near and far. They responded and showed up for the king’s wedding feast. Then we get that unsettling detail about a man who came and apparently wasn’t dressed correctly. For this, he was tied up and tossed out to a frightening fate. What’s that about?That’s not the warm and fuzzy Jesus I like.

If you get into the layers of meaning in this parable, you would see that the parable is telling us of those who responded to Jesus’ Good News—a good thing—but the improper dress, is referring to the fact that they didn’t truly “clothe themselves with Christ” (Gal 3:27).

To use language familiar to us, perhaps we could say they were Christians in name only. This parable calls us to be alive as Christians, and to do the work—or maybe better said, allow God to do the work—of shaping us, more and more, into ‘other Christs’.

So we are to live like Jesus—that is, to be focused on the Father and to bring healing to those who are hurting. But given the fact that this warning comes in the context of a wedding feast, maybe we can also understand it in regards to our individual mindset and participation at Mass.

I wonder how many of us are merely checked-out when we come to this wedding feast, the Mass. Maybe you know the words to say, when to sit or stand, but your heart and mind are given to other things, not God.

In whatever way you’re checked-out, it’s worth asking if part of the problem is that either

a)    You aren’t really in relationship with Jesus

or

b)    You don’t sufficiently understand how he’s at work in this Mass.

Regarding the first of those two potential reasons, getting to know Jesus, part of how you can overcome that is to come to our Adult Faith Formation sessions, in which we will watch and discuss an episode of The Chosen each month.

Regarding the second of those two potential reasons, if I asked you to tell me how Jesus is at work in the Mass and further, why it’s meaningful to our lives, could you do it? What’s really happening, beyond just us sitting here, listening to a couple Scripture readings, getting communion and going home?

And if you don’t know or don’t care, then why wouldn’t you be checked-out. Not only is your mind and heart not transcending beyond this space and time, your mind and heart are likely fixed narrowly on just you.

But aside from boredom, in any way we don’t really understand what’s happening in this wedding feast, is it any surprise we take it all so casually, reflected in how we prepare, in how we dress, but also in our participation. Of the many ways we can presume God’s love and mercy: presuming that He’s content with us just as we are (which by the way is partially true, but only partially); and that He’s happy with the fact that we at least showed up to His wedding feast, even if our minds and hearts are elsewhere, even if we refuse to open our mouths and respond to Him in the sung prayers such as the Gloria.

Yes, the wedding garment referred to in today’s parable is our good deeds, our living like Jesus. But maybe also our wedding garment is being here in this Mass, heart, mind, body and voice—seeing this moment for what it is, or at least desiring to understand it, so that we can actually be part of it--this foretaste of heaven, this momentary participation in the life of heaven. To the extent we see this wedding feast for what it is, it will help clothe us with Christ, the wedding garment.