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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.'”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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We’ve all made different commitments in life and some of them are quite demanding.
For example, there’s marriage, family, friends, work, ministry, sports, leisure, and so on. If we ordered them from most to least important, which commitment would come out on top?
Which one would be second?
We don’t really need to answer the question with words – how we spend our time speaks for itself.
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In today’s Gospel, we encounter three people who’ve made the same commitment – to attend a friend’s dinner party.
However, when the time for the party arrives, each says to the host, “I ask you, consider me excused.”
One just purchased a new plot of land. Tending his fields became more important than attending the party.
Another just purchased five yoke of oxen. Caring for his animals suddenly became more important.
Another was just married. Being alone with his wife became more important than attending the party – even though they could’ve gone together.
Being attentive to your wife, tending your fields, caring for your animals – these are all good things. But each of these three people fell victim to a timeless temptation: choosing what is good over what is great.
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This imagery the Lord is using of hosting a dinner party is symbolic of God’s invitation to all of us to join him every Sunday at this Eucharistic feast.
Often, we say “yes,” as we should.
But when do we find ourselves saying, “no?” What, if anything, becomes more important than worship?
It could be one of the many other commitments we’ve made: work, our child’s sports schedule, even feeling tired after a dinner party the night before. When this happens, the Lord falls from first to second place in our lives.
Still, Jesus reminds us, there’s nothing more important than receiving Him together at this Eucharistic feast… Or is there?
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Image credits: (1) Medium, Steven Covey (2) MyPostcard (3) St. Benedict’s Parish