Ukrainian Catholic ChurchAustralia, New Zealand and Oceania
Homily by Fr. Iurii Tychenok on the Twenty-seventh Sunday after Pentecost
December 13, 2025
As we prepare for the joyful celebration of Christmas, let us do everything possible to ensure that the newborn Jesus is at the centre not only of our celebrations but also of our entire lives. He awaits us all at the Holy Liturgy, which is the guarantee of our entry and participation in the supper that the Lord has prepared for all who love Him and believe in Him.
The supper mentioned in today’s Gospel is the highest goal of our Christian life. An invitation to a banquet is the most important moment for each of us. However, because human nature has many other needs, we often lose sight of this importance. The challenges that this world presents distract us, weaken us, and lead us astray from the true path. It is precisely so that people do not stray that Jesus Christ tells us this parable about the royal banquet, the king’s supper, to which we have all been invited.
People who lived in biblical times, as well as those who hear this parable for the first time, have many questions: Where is this invitation? Where and when will this supper take place? How can we answer these questions? What must we do to get to this banquet? Nowadays, information spreads very quickly, and there is so much of it that it is simply impossible to keep track of everything. Each person chooses a few areas that interest them and tries to follow them. We are mainly interested in the most important events in the world, local news, and things related to our profession, hobbies, sports, and music. However, a lot of other information comes to us quite by accident: when browsing social networks, watching television, communicating with people, and observing the world around us.
One of the most painful and profound mysteries for all of us is the question of war. How can innocent people be killed? How can nations be destroyed? What is the goal of those who start wars? What does a person need to be completely happy? How can we stop this horror?
Many people set a goal in life and strive for it with all their might. For many, that goal is money, career, or fame. In pursuit of these things, people have no time for rest, family, friends, or God. When they fail to achieve their goals, they become nervous, depressed, and unbalanced, pouring their hatred out on the whole world.
It is no coincidence that God created the human body in such a way that we must draw energy from food, physical activity, and rest. The emotional energy that determines our mood, emotional stability, and overall quality of life is built through relationships with other people, hobbies, and interests. We receive spiritual energy from our communication with the Creator Himself: through prayer, fasting, acts of mercy, the Holy Sacraments, and, most importantly, through our full participation in the Divine Liturgy, which is an introduction and a foretaste of the supper that today’s Gospel speaks about.
As we prepare for the joyful celebration of Christmas, let us do everything possible to ensure that the newborn Jesus is at the centre not only of our celebrations but also of our entire lives. For this is why the Son of God came into this world: to be close to each of us, to teach, heal, and support us, giving us His Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist. He awaits us all at the Holy Liturgy, which is the guarantee of our entry and participation in the supper that the Lord has prepared for all who love Him and believe in Him.
Amen!
