Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur

 Twenty Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Sr. Katy Webster, SNDdeN

Matthew 22: 1-14

To begin our reflection today, it is important to remember that a significant element of the Gospel that the Community of Matthew wrote is JUSTICE. The justice of God is an essential key to the reading of this Gospel. This justice is lived. It is not a discourse. It is not a philosophy in the air, but it is a way of living in the community, in society.

It is also important to remember and appreciate that Jesus describes his program of action in Chapter 5, 3-12, or popularly called “The Beatitudes.” This program of Jesus guides our contemplation and our understanding of this Gospel of Matthew. Who are the blessed? What is the consequence for them of living these Beatitudes?

So we have this passage from the Gospel, Chapter 22, 1-14. Jesus is making a comparison between the Kingdom of Heaven and a banquet. The king is inviting people to participate in his son’s wedding banquet. It is a moment of celebration and joy the alliance of his son with the bride. He sends the invitations and no one accepts, no one at all. What a disappointment! He repeats the invitation with an addition of how he is preparing for the invited people. Now comes the true interests of those invited: one has to take care of his fields, another his business, and those invited end up killing the messengers, a radical rejection of the invitation.

The king gets angry and does two things: First he sends his troops to kill the murderers and burn the houses. How can the king who seems to be taking on the figure of God, do something like that? Truly, I don’t know. I remember the Beatitudes: those who live Jesus’ program suffer persecution, they are even killed. Perhaps this reaction of the King is not revenge but a way of saying that I am on the side of you who are persecuted for me.  Your persecution is not for nothing.  John the Baptist was murdered. Jesus was murdered. The apostles are being murdered. But the mission continues.

The second action of the King: he sends the invitation again, and this time to a different population. He sends the invitation to the streets, to the crossroads, to the good and the bad. The room is filled with people. The servants bring the food. The king comes in to greet and socialize with the guests. Everyone is dressed in bridal clothes, except for one person. The king asks how he entered without the proper clothing? The person remains silent. He is thrown out. Again, there is an action that seems out of tune with a merciful God. Weren’t the good and the bad invited to be guests? I ask myself: what is this wedding garment?

The wedding garment is an attitude. Upon receiving the invitation to the banquet, a person is touched and wants to live in this joy, in this conviviality of equality, sharing, justice and hope and in this community where the Beatitudes are the most important law, so wear the dress of this desire.  One person (and for me it is the hopeful and challenging miracle that there is only one person in this crowd) did not dress in the proposal of this banquet. He did not give it importance. And he was thrown out. He was not killed, perhaps later he will return dressed in the Beatitudes.

It happened here that a rancher, a man of a lot of land, many possessions, a lot of wealth, also wanted to be of  the community. He came to the celebrations. When there was a campaign to fix the road, he helped. When there were people who needed a ride, he offered one. He gave the appearance of a rancher who was from the community, a good rancher. One day there was a meeting with the National Institute of Agrarian Reform in the City Council. It was about certain lots that the poor people were occupying and the ranchers were trying to throw these people out. It was an audience with important representatives from Brasília, the capital of Brazil, to try to come to an agreement between the people and the ranchers. The ranchers wanted the people to let them raise their cattle even inside the lot where the people had crops. The ranchers did not let the people speak, so  the coordinator asked the group who defended the ranchers’ proposal to leave the room to be heard later. The good rancher got up and left. He never tried use clothing of community again.

How does this passage from the Gospel touch you? How are you seeing this Gospel in your life?

Matthew 22: 1-14

Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and elders of the people in parables, saying,
“The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who gave a wedding feast for his son.
He dispatched his servants
to summon the invited guests to the feast,
but they refused to come.
A second time he sent other servants, saying,
‘Tell those invited: “Behold, I have prepared my banquet,
my calves and fattened cattle are killed,
and everything is ready; come to the feast.”’
Some ignored the invitation and went away,
one to his farm, another to his business.
The rest laid hold of his servants,
mistreated them, and killed them.
The king was enraged and sent his troops,
destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.
Then he said to his servants, ‘The feast is ready,
but those who were invited were not worthy to come.
Go out, therefore, into the main roads
and invite to the feast whomever you find.’
The servants went out into the streets
and gathered all they found, bad and good alike,
and the hall was filled with guests.”

Meet Sister Katy Webster

Katy Webster (known as Kátia in Brazil) entered Notre Dame at Ilchester, Maryland in 1976. After initial formation in the Baltimore-Washington area, Katy was missioned to Brooklyn, New York. She taught sixth graders for nearly 5 years at St. Catherine of Genoa School. In February, 1984 Katy was sent to Brazil by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, with the blessings of students and teachers of St. Catherine’s. Kátia lived in Maranhão for 9 years. Then in 1993, she moved to Pará where she has lived at Centro Nazaré on the Transamazon Highway, Altamira, Anapu and Itaituba. Kátia is currently back in Anapu. Kátia has lived with and among the people who struggle to live community while facing the greed of ranchers, loggers and lately the mining companies, and always learning far more than teaching. It is a blessed journey of faith and trust in the good God.