Meditation Minute

My Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

 

“Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God.”

 

Gospel Reading 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.’”

 

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. One said to him, ‘I have purchased a field and must go to examine it” and another, “I have purchased five yoke of oxen” and another, “I have just married.” When Christ calls us to his banquet, do we find excuses to turn away from his feast?  Are there more important things in our lives then the call of God?  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. We are all called to celebrate with our Lord.  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 “Go out to the highways and hedgerows and make people come in that my home 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. In this year of Faith, we are called to evangelize those who are around us; to bring them into the fold.  The three excuses which Jesus presented in the Gospel have great meaning.  They 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.  As a family, we are called to pray together and to celebrate Christ together in all that we do. 

 

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