Meditation Minute

My Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

“Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!” In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus tells the parable of the invited guests. In this parable, a man is giving a great banquet and invited many. But the guests found excuses not to attend the party. “The first said to him, `I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it; I pray you, have me excused.' And another said, `I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them; I pray you, have me excused.' And another said, `I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’” When the man heard that the guest were refusing to come, he said, “Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and maimed and blind and lame.” Then the man said, “Go out to the highways and hedges, and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.” God is holding a great banquet and has invited each of us.

This great banquet is the celebration of the Eucharist, the celebration of Reconciliation, the celebration of Confirmation. The banquet is all those activities which bring us closer to God. We are all invited to his table to eat the bread of the kingdom of Heaven. How often do we find excuses not to attend his banquet? I’m too busy, I’ve got sports or I’ve got homework. If God invites us to know him, we should sacrifice everything we are doing so that we can accept the call. The reasons we find not to attend are just excuses to avoid this relationship. There is no good excuse to miss the banquet.

Not only are we invited to the table, but Christ tells us to “compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.” Through our own invitation, we must bring others to the table. God does not want us to force people to come to his table, but for us to convince people that the banquet is the greatest celebration on earth and no one should miss it. We must help our fellow man make the right decision to choose Christ and follow is path. A person is compelled to come to the table through your actions, your prayers and your words. They need to see that you are living a true Christian life.

The three excuses presented in the parable for not coming to banquet represent the three areas of our life that we are most likely to deny the invitation. The first is in our jobs, our school life, or the activities which occupy our time outside our house. The second is the material possession which we own. Do we spend more time finding clothes to wear then we spend with God? Do we miss church because we work? The last excuse calls us to place God before family. This means that we need to invite God into the family and to be a part of our family life. God invites us into the celebration not to punish us but so that we may share in his love and compassion.

A Simple Prayer

Lord, your banquet is plentiful and the table is large.

Help me find strength to find my way to your table.

Help me lead a true life to lead others to your table.

Yours in Christ

Michael Marcon