Where Lies Our Priority

Homily for Thursday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time

It is futile to defend Jephthah’s action. We might be able to understand his rash impulsiveness at the beginning. Caught in the fever and panic of military action, he vows to make a sacrifice if God will help him prevail over his enemies. However, his rash statement is one thing; carrying it out is another.

It seems that Jephthah is able to adhere to the covenant law when it is convenient to do so; but when he gets in over his head, he reverts to the kind of human sacrifice that would have been prevalent among his pagan neighbors. However, God demands our complete obedience.

The Gospel presents us with another human problem. The immediate context of the parable of the wedding feast is the history of the Israelites and their treatment of the prophets who repeatedly invited them to return to the Lord. Prophets, judges, and kings all acted as God’s emissaries, but the wedding feast just never got started. Then God sent his only begotten Son who quite literally brought the wedding feast to them. However, they were still not able to accept the invitation.

However, the parable applies to us as well whenever we give greater priority to our worldly affairs than to God’s abundant gifts and gracious friendship. It convicts us for the time we ignore God’s invitation to partake in the feast of faith, love, and discipleship. It alerts us to our need to be daily clothed with the armor of God so as to fulfill our baptismal promises, while also being prepared for Christ’s return.

Finally, if we are caught without a wedding garment, do not, like the man in the parable, be reduced to silence. If he had simply asked for the king’s mercy instead, the tale would have ended differently. God never refuses to forgive if we simply ask for mercy and forgiveness.

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator