Tuesday of the Thirty-First Week in Ordinary Time
Gospel Luke 14: 15-24
One of those at table with Jesus said to him, "Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God." He replied to him, "A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many. When the time for the dinner came, he dispatched his servant to say to those invited, 'Come, everything is now ready.' But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves. The first said to him, 'I have purchased a field and must go to examine it; I ask you, consider me excused.' And another said, 'I have purchased five yoke of oxen and am on my way to evaluate them; I ask you, consider me excused.' And another said, 'I have just married a woman, and therefore I cannot come.' The servant went and reported this to his master. Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.' The servant reported, 'Sir, your orders have been carried out and still there is room.' The master then ordered the servant, 'Go out to the highways and hedgerows and make people come in that my home may be filled. For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.'"
REFLECTION
"Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God."
Have you received a personal invitation to attend a special dinner or event?
On the invitation there was probably an RSVP phone number or email address
to respond to whether you would attend or not attend.
Did you respond immediately or did you think about what else was on your calendar
or did you have the dressy clothes you would wear for the dinner?
I was invited to a special dinner and at first, I was worried about what to wear or what
to do about other commitments. This was so formal. Will what I wear be appropriate,
or will I feel out-of-place? All of these excuses kept popping into my head.
Then the date was approaching and I finally made my decision. I went to the dinner.
When the food was served and the blessing said, I had the most wonderful time.
The food was delicious and the people at my table was so fascinating to talk to and
get to know; that I wondered why I was so anxious about going.
It was a beautiful night!
In the Gospel, Jesus tells a story about a man who wanted to have a special dinner
and he invited all his friends. All of his friends declined the invitation. Everyone
had an excuse about why they couldn’t attend. Then the man sent his servant to
invite people in the streets; the poor and the handicapped. Soon he filled the
banquet hall and the feast began.
Let us remember that God wants us all to be with Him at the banquet.
He has everything prepared, all we have to do is say, “Yes.”
Please, make your decision to attend the First Annual PAPA Conference to be
held on December 6-8th, 2019 at Our Mother of Perpetual Help Retreat Center.
Together, let us pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance and help in discerning...
