1st Reading: Romans
12:5-16
Though many, we are one
body in Christ, with a variety of gifts
Brothers and sisters,
we , who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one
of another. We have gifts that differ according
to the grace given to us: Prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in
ministering; the teacher; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in
generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate in cheerfulness.
Let love be genuine;
hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual
affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in
spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in
prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.
Bless those who
persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice,
weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty,
but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are.
Gospel:
Luke 14:15-24
God invites poor people
from the streets and the alleyways- all sorts of places
One of the dinner
guests said to Jesus, " Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the
Kingdom of God!"
In reply, Jesus said to
him," Someone, gave a great dinner and invited many. At the time for the
dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ' Come; for
everything is ready now.' But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ' I
have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my
regrets.' Another said, ' I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to
try them out; please accept my regrets.' Another said, ' I have just been
married, and therefore I cannot come.' So the slave returned and reported this
to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave,
' Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor,
the crippled, the blind, and the lame.' And the slave said, ' Sir, what you ordered
has been done, and there is still room." Then the master said to the
slave, ' God out into the roads and Ines, and compel people to come in, so that
my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those who were invited will
taste my dinner.'"
REFLECTIONS
AND MEDITATIONS
Accepting
the Invitation
In today's gospel
passage, Jesus talks about these invited guests who were ungrateful and who
snubbed the invitation of God to a banquet. Many spiritual writers called this
as " banquet of life."
What can a royal
banquet tell us about God's kingdom? A king or lord normally sent our
invitations well in advance to his subjects, so they would have plenty of time
to prepare for coming to the banquet.
And in the Bible, heaven is frequently described as a great wedding banquet
celebration given by God. The good news is that we are invited to the most
important banquet of all. However, Jesus in this parable of the banquet, takes
an unexpected twist when the invited guests( also referring to us) made
excuses. How insulting for the invited guests to refuse the king's invitation
when the time for celebration came! They gave less importance of the King's
request because they put their own interests above his.
From this parable dear
brothers and sisters, we learn that God invites us every day to His Eucharistic
banquet so that we can be nourished by his life- giving Word, Body, and Blood
and Spirit. Nevertheless, , we have many reasons and excuses not to attend it
and these can distract us from accepting such gracious invitation. Jesus
mentions these reasons and excuses like: the first excuse is due to career or
business that take precedence over God's claim on us. We allow our work or
business to absolve us completely and consequently takes precedence over God's
claim on us. We allow our work to absorb us and keep us away from the thought
of God. For example we are always on a hurry. We feel bored and uneasy when a
Mass exceeds the allotted time.
Second excuse is we
allow other things we posses or want to distract us from the most important
thing of all, God's kingdom. Media like: television, mobile phones, radio, and
so on or other diversions crowd out our time for God in prayer and study of his
word. We spend hours watching television and yet we feel sleepy and tired when
we pray.
The third excuse is
that we put our home and family ahead of God. God never meant that our home and
relationships to be used selfishly. We serve God best when we invite Him into
our work, community, homes and when we share our possessions with others. Thus
at the end of this reflection let us all be convinced that God wants His house
to be full. St. Paul affirmed this as well as the Church's Magisterium
frequently re-affirmed this too that God desires everyone to be saved and to
come to the knowledge of the truth.( ITim2:4). Such is the goodness of God who
created the human person to know Him, love Him and serve Him in this life and
to enjoy His presence forever in the life to come.
Hakuna maoni:
Chapisha Maoni