Clothed in Righteousness

Homily: Twenty-Eighth  Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Matthew 22:1-14

11 October 2020

Fr. Ricky C. Montanez

I believe it has been established that one of the ways to control the spread of Covid 19 is to wear a face mask. Strangely enough, some people still refuse to wear one! Understandably, those with breathing problems, some forms of physical or mental handicap and babies cannot comply especially since they do not leave the confines of their homes.  Those of us who must comply, may believe in the principle of using masks but fail to be mindful how to wear them properly. Take a look at this chart I chanced upon showing how masks have been incorrectly worn by people.  These are some of them… “The Escape Hatch”, “The Earring”, “The Sniffer”, “The Stache”, “The Nose Plug”, and “The Neckbeard”. Comic as it appears, we might be surprised to find that we, ourselves, may have been guilty of these improprieties.

In today’s Gospel passage we are presented with a king who became tremendously angry during his son’s wedding banquet for two reasons — One, some of the invited guests ignored and abused his invitation with some even mistreating and killing his servants; and Two, when one of the stand-in guests did not dress up accordingly for this most special occasion hosted by no less than the king. “My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?” (Matthew 22:12)

I am sure we will be in agreement that the mistreatment of the servants is reason enough to merit the king’s anger. However, one wonders why the king is so enraged by just one man who is not dressed in a wedding garment? Why was it of utmost importance that that man be dressed properly when in fact he was only a stand-in? The guests are identified to be street people — good and bad alike who were rounded up by the servants to fill the banquet hall.  We then wonder: Why, is the king so meticulous… Why is his majesty so demanding of his guests who were practically picked up off the streets? Some commentators point out that it is customary that the best garments suited for the occasion were provided for all the invitees. And usually the host’s best provisions are offered to the guests.  Thus, for this solitary man to be dressed inappropriately, we can rightly assume that he flat out refused the clothes generously given by the King. This sort of insult and disrespect has no place at a royal wedding feast. 

As Catholics we understand that the king, is God the Father. The same one described in the Second Reading as fully supplying whatever need in accord with His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. We know that the wedding garment is also a metaphor for the white garment we wear at our baptism.  St. Irenaeus refers to it as the “garment of righteousness”. In his sermon #90, St. Augustine calls this the “wedding garment of love”.  At our Christening we were told: “You have clothed yourself in Christ. See in this white garment the outward sign of your Christian dignity. With your family and friends to help you by word and example, Bring this dignity unstained into the everlasting life of heaven.”

In baptism, we become eligible to receive the other sacraments made available to us by the Church.  In effect, baptism gives us access to the wedding banquet of the Lord— a rich wellspring of grace enabling us to partake in His divine life. We are all encouraged to make use of these channels of grace, to cooperate with God’s generosity, to wear the wedding garment of virtue and righteousness in all circumstances of our lives. We are challenged to always strive to “clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 13:14) so as to be true to our baptismal promises at all times.

Yesterday was the beatification of Carlo Acutis, the first of the millennial generation to become officially known as a “blessed.”  Just recently his remains were found to be “fully integral”.  His remains were dressed in a pair of Nike’s, jeans and a hoodie, very typical of kids these days. He was an ordinary kid who did ordinary things kids loved to do. He got sick and made the most of his short life on earth by being the best version of himself.  He loved his PlayStation but he didn’t think twice about spending his gaming money to buy a homeless man a sleeping bag. He had a heart for kids at school who were bullied, or whose parents were going through divorce. He did what he could to help others regardless of their state in life. When he died, his funeral was packed with many of the city’s poor residents to whom he had shown generosity and compassion. It is said that Blessed Carlo Acutis shows each of us how to be clothed in righteousness, living our Christian faith in this day and age. The video-game playing Italian shows us that all of us, especially our young people can also grow closer to God and become witnesses of the faith in our time. We need to see as a Church that sainthood, heaven, and eternal life with God is real and attainable. 

As Catholics, we must dress in accordance with the dignity of our baptism. The world and all its troubles and temptations can alter how we perceive ourselves but God gives us the grace to overcome all these impediments. We take inspiration from St.  Paul who confidently says, “I can do all things in Him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13) Through this challenge of the Gospel and the pious example of Blessed Carlo Acutis, may we, “as the elect of God, holy and beloved, clothe [ourselves] with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” (Colossians 3:12) So that when the time comes, we may find ourselves welcomed into the heavenly banquet!