This Sermon is prepared by

Rev.Fr.Peter Jayakanthan sss
Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament
Corpus Christi Catholic Church,
Houston, Texas, US



ஞாயிறு மறையுரைகள்

மதிப்பிற்குரிய அருட்பணியாளர்களே, துறவிகளே, அருட் கன்னியரே, உங்கள் ஞாயிறு மறையுரைகளை எமது இணையத்தளத்தின் ஆன்மீக வலத்தில் பிரசுரித்து, ஆண்டவர் இயேசுவின் நற்செய்தியை எல்லோருக்கும் அறிவிக்க விரும்பினால், info@tamilcatholicnews.com என்ற எமது மின்னஞ்சலுக்கு உங்களுடைய ஆக்கங்களை அனுப்பிவைக்கவும். உங்கள் மறையுரைகள் உலகெங்கும் இருக்கும் அனைத்து தமிழ் உள்ளங்களையும் சென்றடையும்.



இதோ! ஓநாய்களிடையே ஆடுகளை அனுப்புவதைப்போல நான் உங்களை அனுப்புகிறேன். எனவே பாம்புகளைப்போல முன்மதி உடையவர்களாகவும் புறாக்களைப்போலக் கபடு அற்றவர்களாகவும் இருங்கள்.
(மத்தேயு 10:16)

நீங்கள் போய் எல்லா மக்களினத்தாரையும் சீடராக்குங்கள்; தந்தை, மகன், தூய ஆவியார் பெயரால் திருமுழுக்குக் கொடுங்கள். நான் உங்களுக்குக் கட்டளையிட்ட யாவையும் அவர்களும் கடைப்பிடிக்கும்படி கற்பியுங்கள். இதோ! உலக முடிவுவரை எந்நாளும் நான் உங்களுடன் இருக்கிறேன்
(மத்தேயு 28:19-20)

நீ அவற்றை உன் பிள்ளைகளின் உள்ளத்தில் பதியுமாறு சொல். உன் வீட்டில் இருக்கும்போதும், உன் வழிப்பயணத்தின் போதும், நீ படுக்கும்போது, எழும்போதும் அவற்றைப் பற்றிப் பேசு.
(இணைச்சட்டம் 6:7)








28th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Banquet…. To be connected!!

Is25:6-10a; Phil 4:12-14, 19-20; Mt22:1-14

Dear Sisters, Brothers and Children, we are gathered again to renew our life, our faith and our call to be sisters and brothers of one Church. We come to this Eucharistic Celebration as a family, as a community and as responsible children of God. We surround around the altar to celebrate the incarnation, the death and resurrection of Jesus. We encounter the presence of the Lord, in our gathering, in the breaking of word and Eucharistic communion. We shall once again today experience this oneness as the whole Church lifting the entire Synod participants that the spirit of the Lord may move their thoughts and interactions towards forming God centered families.

If the governor of my state offers the invitation for his banquet, how would I respond?
If I get a welcome note from the White House for a banquet, what would I say?
Will I be hesitant or excited or willing to be there?
If I invite people for my family banquet will I expect them just for banquet or more than that?
How do I enter into Eucharist every Sunday? Am I halfhearted or just want communion or something more that? We are called for more than that….To say connected.

All the readings speak about the banquet. The two images of feast and marriage are well known in both Old and the New Testament. Feast and marriage reveal the banquet. A banquet is a community event; it enhances peace, equality and joy. Food binds us with the spirit of togetherness, sharing and abundance.

In the first reading, the Prophet Isaiah announces the messianic banquet. It will be at Mount Zion. This signifies the dwelling place of God, where He will be present with all power, authority and covenantal love. He will fill you in abundance with food and wine. He will reveal His love not only for His chosen race but to His entire people. Isaiah is asking them to come out of their ritual sacrifices with a meal, and to look for the banquet with fuller participation and celebration. Isaiah shares with them that this encounter of the Lord with them will wipe away their struggle and tears, offering an intimate connection.

The gospel of today speaks about the banquet of a king to his son. The King offers an open invitation to all, when he did not get any response, then his invitation became very inclusive. But he becomes very upset and angry when one of the visitors misses the wedding garment. What do we learn from this banquet….and wedding garment?

Jewish tradition had long days of wedding celebration. People will come with their whole family for the banquet. The first invitation used to be very general; they will not have the date, place or the time. It is just before the close of the event when they will offer specific invitation. The evangelist Mathew is writing to this community soon after the destruction of Jerusalem in 71AD. People were worried, scared and sad that their great symbol of the dwelling place of Jerusalem was broken and destroyed. They felt that their identity was lost, shattering the tradition passed on by their ancestors. Here Matthew is pointing out the Eucharistic banquet, which the new Christians were celebrating every weekend after the resurrection of Jesus. He was trying to remind them that Jesus our Lord is present in the Eucharist they celebrate, He is present in their gathering and He is present in their sharing. Jerusalem gave them the chance just to offer a symbolic sacrifice to reach Yahweh, but here in the Eucharist, God is encountering them intimately and closely. So it is time for celebration.

Matthew also demands from them that they need to connect with the Lord and community with fuller participation and celebration. His words could be, “you should not come for sharing of communion, rather you should stay connected too”. Being filled with the food is equally as important to connecting with one another. This is the wedding garment. The King was furious with those who just came in for the food at the banquet in order to fill their stomach. They did not come to share the joy of the king, they did not come to identify and connect with king. So the king recognizes and extends his invitation to the gentiles who have that longing and desire.

The wedding garment reveals how well we are connected to the Lord and to one another with whom we live, share and celebrate our life. As the king felt the need to be connected and related his joy and life, so Jesus invites us at every Eucharist to be connected to Him, to abide in His love and to celebrate our life with others. This connection is possible only if we have the genuine desire and longing to be united with the Lord and to stay united. Then we shall have the full participation in this banquet celebration.

We know that when some world leaders don’t connect to the society, they are failures. We know how connecting to humanity Blessed Mother Teresa and St. John Paul II were and all that they accomplished. Now we have Pope Francis who called two boys to ride with him in his Pope Mobile. The present Synod on families is the typical lesson for others to stay connected for celebration of the fullness of life

We have a well-known news in the media, about Brittany Maynard who is deciding to end her life on November 1. She is trying to prove to the world that she has control over her death with one pill. “I want to die only own terms”. I understand and admire her courage after going through all the pain and suffering. My observation is, how far she is connected? She thinks her mind is stronger over her life situation and fear of death. She wants only husband, mother and a friend at her bed side. I respect her choices but I don’t approve her decision rather challenge her attitude and connection to the rest of the world and community.

We also have Kara Tippettis of Colorado who is preparing for the end of her life in cancer, who responded to Brittany and challenges her attitude and approach. She says, “Suffering is not the absence of goodness; it is not the absence of beauty.” She feels the connection with her family, faith and religious sacraments helping her to see the life in dying. She strongly brings in the aspect of God, pleading with Brittany to ask herself this question before decides to take that pill, “who is this Jesus and what does he want to do with my dying?”

Gathering the thoughts of Brittany and Tippettis, we shall recognize that the Eucharist is a banquet of communion, a celebration of dying and rising. It is Jesus’s banquet and celebration of community gathered with our thoughts and feelings. The more I connect myself to Our Lord Jesus and with others, the more I am strengthening to live my life. We shall always remember to wear our wedding garment of longing to be connected-Amen.