Ordinary Time 28 - Who Is Welcome?

 

Homily for October 15, 2023

Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Who Is Welcome?

 

            The Christian Roman emperor Theodosius had a large task on his hands. It wasn’t easy ruling the entire Roman Empire, stretching from Spain and England to north Africa. The Empire combined thousands of tribes and languages, and tensions were frequently high. So when the people of Thessalonica in Greece started to riot, Emperor Theodosius sent troops to quell the riot…but they ended up massacring the entire city.

            St. Ambrose, who was Theodosius’ bishop, wrote to him and told him that he needed to make a public display of penance for such an atrocity. The bishop refused to give the Emperor Holy Communion until he had atoned for this act. To his great credit, Theodosius did as he was told – he took off his royal robes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and walked barefoot to the cathedral in Milan where Ambrose met him at the door of the church – and refused him admittance. The Bishop told him that such an atrocity required more than a day’s penance. So every Sunday, the Emperor made the barefoot pilgrimage to stand outside of the church door, praying, until Christmas Day when the Bishop allowed him in and reconciled him to God.

            Was St. Ambrose being unwelcoming to the Emperor? No, he was waiting until the Emperor was ready to put on his “wedding garment” of repentance before entrance into the wedding feast. All are welcome in the Church, and all are called to repent.

            There are three groups of people in today’s Gospel. The first group is those who were invited but refused. Sadly we see that in today’s world – AP News last weekend ran an article about the “nones” (those who claim to have no religion), which now comprise about 30% of Americans, and 70% of “nones” were raised in a Christian household. These are the people who are invited into the abundant life of Christ through the Eucharist and the Sacraments, but who choose to abandon that, for a variety of reasons. I know that many “nones” say they still believe in God, but God has made it clear how to have a relationship with Him: through Jesus Christ. And Christ established the Catholic Church as His continuing work on earth, and the Eucharist as the most intimate encounter with Him. So to be a “none” is to eat from a dumpster while a wedding feast awaits – a person might become satiated but miss out on the abundant joy and life that God desires! I pray that none of us may become a “none”, and that those of our families who belong to no religion may experience the spiritual hunger that drives them into the arms of the Catholic Church.

            The second group of people are those who have accepted the invitation to the wedding. The very-imperfect Catholic writer James Joyce once said the definition of Catholicism is “here comes everybody.” It is indeed a motley crew that the Lord has assembled and invited to His feast – if you want a perfect Church, this isn’t the one for you – and what a blessing that is that the Catholic Church is messy, motley, imperfect. Let’s be honest, whose life isn’t messy, imperfect, crazy? As the Vatican II document Lumen Gentium states, “The Church is at the same time holy and always in need of being purified.” A good description of the members of the Church as well!

            Much ink (and pixels) has been spilled lately about making the Catholic Church a “welcoming” church. So who is welcome into the Church? Everybody! Every human being from every race, culture, and background is invited to come into the Church. No matter what you’re struggling with, no matter what you’ve done in the past, you are welcome here.

            But if one were to receive a wedding invitation, there are certain expectations: one must dress appropriately, one should bring a gift, etc. I know that my brother and sister-in-law don’t wear shoes in their house, so when they invite me over, I take my shoes off when entering. I wouldn’t go over someone’s house and light up a cigarette or rummage through their refrigerator. So while the invitation is offered to all, there is also an expectation for all. And our response to the invitation of Christ to come to His wedding feast is repentance.

            This brings us to the third group – or rather, person. The man who comes in without a wedding garment. This symbolizes the person who wants to be welcomed into the Church but refuses to give up their sin. The Church makes a distinction between sins of weakness and deliberate sins. All of us struggle daily with sins of weakness – a harsh word, an impure thought, laziness, telling a white lie. Those are struggles we do without thinking about it, based on the weakness of our nature.

            This is quite different from a deliberate sin. This is a sin that we purposely choose to enter into. Examples include purposely holding a grudge or planning revenge, living in an intimate relationship with someone without a Sacramental marriage or being closed off to life within marriage, intentionally choosing a sports game or recreation over Sunday Mass, cheating on our taxes, harboring racism in our thoughts, or other sins where our hearts purposely choose something against the commands of God. Many people in today’s world want to be welcomed into the Church while living in a state of sin, unwilling to repent. But Christ makes clear that all are welcome in the Church on His terms, not ours. To experience the joy of the banquet means to give up the counterfeit happiness of sin. Repentance is our ticket to the banquet!

            My friends, the question of who is welcome in the Church and its corollary who is welcome in Heaven is simple: everyone is invited, and everyone is called to put off the rags of their sin (through repentance) and embrace the wedding garment of holiness that Christ has already purchased for us. Let’s RSVP to that invitation quickly, for the banquet awaits!