Faith Questions
28th Sunday of Year A
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“The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come. …”
1ST READING
Can you see this message being fulfilled in the Cross On a Jerusalem Hill? In the Eucharistic Banquet? In the Church – the ‘New Jerusalem’?
Listen deeply to the feelings in the Isaiah text. It is painting a picture of hope for God’s people. What image and feeling speaks more deeply to you? Why?
2ND READING
Have you experienced living ‘humbly’ and also ‘in abundance’? What did the experience teach you?
GOSPEL
What thoughts and feelings are present when you open a wedding invitation? Why would you ‘refuse to come’? Why have the chief priests and elders ‘refused’?
Do you painstakingly search and urgently invite people to Mass so the ‘hall can be filled with guests’?
It seems that all are invited to the eternal wedding, but it is not sufficient to just ‘turn up’. To be ‘chosen to enter’ requires a life turned around to ‘good deeds’. Can I see the distinction between ‘faith’ and ‘works’?
A judgement parable forces a crisis. Am I ‘in’ or ‘out’? It shakes the comfortable and those ‘presuming’ eternal life is theirs by ‘right’. How does this parable challenge / judge you?
SOURCE: Living the Word resources are created by Fr Frank Bird a Marist priest and Mrs Bev McDonald, ACSD, distributed by Marist Laity Auckland, NZ
1ST READING
Go back to my own times of bereavement: what brought you through? Was there some moment of healing which you can recall?
God’s hospitality is anticipated in the Lord’s Supper when we sit at the banquet of life. We are not always conscious of this and yet it is profoundly real.
2ND READING
POINTERS FOR PRAYER
Paul’s sufficiency in Christ is remark- able—where have I found such strength?
GOSPEL
POINTERS FOR PRAYER
Think of times in your life when you have had “banquet” experiences and when you have felt ac- cepted and loved?
The host enlists the help of his servants to invite people to the banquet. We are commissioned by the Lord to invite people to the banquet of the kingdom, to the fullness of life—as parents, teach- ers, friends, etc. What has it been like for you to play a part in leading others to a fuller life?
How do you feel when someone turns down an invitation you offer? Have there been times when you have found excuses to refuse an invitation from the Lord, or from others? What effect did this have in your life, or on others? b) The second round of invitations went out to “everyone in the streets, good and bad.” What is it like for you to receive an invitation, particularly when you do not consider yourself worthy of that invitation? c) Notice that the banquet of the kingdom is an inclusive one. When have you given an open, inclusive invitation to others?
The second parable puts the focus on how we respond to invitations. Some invitations are ones that challenge us to change, to conversion, to put on a ‘wedding garment’. What has been your experience of changing in response to an invitation you received?
SOURCE: Hearers of the Word
1ST READING
How can a feast––juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines–– be a sacramental vision of the universe? Does banquet imagery describe well the fullness of life in the presence of God?
“He will destroy … the web that is woven over all nations.” What are the “webs” over all nations today that God will destroy? And in doing so will God wipe tears from every face? Are racial injustice, human trafficking, the climate crisis and starvation webs over many nations?
2ND READING
Will the Lord ever test you beyond your capacity? Will he always be with you? When difficulties arise in daily life do you remember Paul’s words: “I can do all things in him who strengthens me”?
The readings show God bestowing gifts on us without measure. Do you “measure” when you give? How could you be a little freer?
GOSPEL
Besides answering God’s invitation to the feast, what is expected of us? Are we the guests or are we also the ones doing the inviting? How does this banquet not only sustain life but also transfigure it?
SOURCE: Sunday Web Site at Saint Louis University
GOSPEL
What groups or categories of people today feel that they have not been called or welcomed to the fellowship of the Church? What groups in your city or town would you think might not be welcome at your services of worship? What about gay men and women? What about the divorced and remarried? What about women who have had an abortion? Do you think that, at times, the language we use to condemn sin ends up being heard as condemning the persons themselves?
2What groups are not taken seriously in the Church today? The poor? Unemployed? Divorced? Women? Those who have been away from the worship life of the Church for a while? Do we have a “robe of acceptance” that we can throw over their shoulders and make them “count” among us? How can we design such a “garment” and truly make it a sign of welcome and of belonging?
What were the times in your life when you heard the invitation but were too busy or distracted to respond to the call of God? Were some of those distractions really items of sin or just of neglect? What was it that finally got your attention? Did some person reach out to you and invite you to a personal conversion? Have you done the same for someone else? What could your group, family, or parish do to reach out to those who do not feel included?
CHRISTIAN ACTION
Discuss and decide what your group might be able to do, as a group, to make sure that the invitation of the Lord is heard again by someone who has not yet responded.
SOURCE: Portland Diocese
1ST READING
Was there a verse or aspect in the first reading that challenged you?
2ND READING
Paul speaks about living with abundance and with very little. What has been your experience in life? Have you had an experience of both abundance and very little?
GOSPEL
What does living out your baptism mean to you?
Theimageofabanquetisoneofthemostcommon images used in the Bible to describe the Kingdom of God or heaven. Why do you think this is so? What makes a banquet a suitable image of heaven?
Do you believe everyone is invited to have a place in God’s Kingdom? What do you think constitutes a refusal or ‘no’ to Jesus’ invitation?
Name one thing today’s Gospel says to us that we disciples of Jesus need to heed and act on.
RESPONDING TO GOD’S WORD
Share with the person next to you one way you can act on this week’s readings. Suggestion: As you move through the week, try to be aware to what extent your words and actions are a Christian response to those you interact with.
SOURCE: Ascension Catholic Parish, Melbourne, FL
28th Sunday of Year A
In the Midst of Danger, Hope
Where do you find hope in times of desperation?
When we read the prophets, especially Isaiah, we forget their timeless messages found a beginning in social and political crises. In the book of Isaiah, Assyria had swept the northern kingdom of Israel away. Now it rode from the north and endangered Jerusalem. Little did the city realize that the seeds of Assyria’s destruction lay in her expansion. The impending crisis had a “silver lining.”
These verses share the hope of the changing situation. Through the prophet, God announced a time of celebration in Jerusalem and an end to the desperation that covered the city “like a veil.” God was liberating Mount Zion (upon which the city was built) from danger and was restoring the reputation of the city and the people.
Hope in the light of vindication and liberation. The message of Isaiah still rings true today as it did so many centuries ago.
Where do you see hope in the light of danger? How has God restored you when you were “down and out?” How did you thank God for your turnaround?
SOURCE: Word-Sunday Permission for use. All materials are the property of Larry Broding (Copyright 1999-2022). Viewers may copy any material for use in any non-profit ministry. Materials may not be sold or used for personal financial gain.
28th Sunday of Year A
God’s Love On The Way
And At The Journey’s End
What is more important, the journey or the destination? Why?
The question of journey or destination is a false one, to be sure. Both are opportunities for faith, times to trust God. Faith on the road means a dependence on the divine for our daily need. Faith at the destination means celebration, a sense one arrived at the divine banquet.
How do you show your dependence upon God in your daily life? How do you celebrate those events of God’s presence?
SOURCE: Word-Sunday Permission for use. All materials are the property of Larry Broding (Copyright 1999-2022). Viewers may copy any material for use in any non-profit ministry. Materials may not be sold or used for personal financial gain.
28th Sunday of Year A
The Secret of Living
What do people claim is the key to happiness? What do you believe will make you happy?
In Phil 4:10-11, Paul thanked the community at Philippi for their generosity. When Paul had a need for material support, believers in this church responded. Paul showed his appreciation, but also used the opportunity to teach his audience the secret to a happy life.
Paul lived on the road and suffered for his missionary efforts. He had seen his fortunes turn from good to bad and back. He seemed to anticipate this cycle of scarcity and abundance to occur over and over. Yet, that prospect did not deter the apostle from his preaching, for he had a source of strength greater than his own fortitude. God had given Paul this ministry, and he gained power from that call. As he was emboldened and empowered by God’s call, he expected others to be urged on. Because the Philippians shared faith and fellowship with Christ, they, too, could live through the bad times and enjoy the good times as blessing.
For Paul, the secret to a happy life lay in the hands of God. We, too, will find happiness when God’s calling becomes our passion for living.
Review this week. How have you responded to God’s call? Was your experience empowering or draining? Why?
SOURCE: Word-Sunday Permission for use. All materials are the property of Larry Broding (Copyright 1999-2022). Viewers may copy any material for use in any non-profit ministry. Materials may not be sold or used for personal financial gain.
28th Sunday of Year A
Equal Dignity for All
Have you ever helped someone get ahead in life? How has the experience improve that person’s dignity?
Self-determination is one of the great American myths. We can achieve whatever we desire, as long as we work hard and keep our eyes focused on the goal. No class barriers will stop us. No social order can deny us. The small person can become great. Giants like John D. Rockefeller and Bill Gates have shown us the way!
Obviously, class barriers and the social order at the time of Jesus held people in their place. But, to the surprise of his audience, Jesus painted the Kingdom as a feast of equals. Equal in stature. Equal in dignity.
Have you ever stopped to realize you were God’s beloved? Have you ever reflected on the dignity of others as God’s beloved? How does that fact change your outlook on the world?
Jesus’ parable forces us to rethink our notion of place in the grand scheme. God creates us with equal dignity, and he expects us to treat others in the same way. How we respond to his expectation measures the quality of our faith. For, God is the Father of all, his Son is the savior of all, his Spirit is the power of faith in all. We have no claim over his favor.
Does the actions of others cause you to look down on them? Pray for the power to see them as God’s children. Look for an opportunity to affirm their dignity.
SOURCE: Word-Sunday Permission for use. All materials are the property of Larry Broding (Copyright 1999-2022). Viewers may copy any material for use in any non-profit ministry. Materials may not be sold or used for personal financial gain.
Lectio Divina
