Category: Uncategorized

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Gospel: Luke 14: 25-33

Great crowds were traveling with Jesus,
and he turned and addressed them,
“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters,
and even his own life,
he cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me
cannot be my disciple.
Which of you wishing to construct a tower
does not first sit down and calculate the cost
to see if there is enough for its completion?
Otherwise, after laying the foundation
and finding himself unable to finish the work
the onlookers should laugh at him and say,
‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’
Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down
and decide whether with ten thousand troops
he can successfully oppose another king
advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?
But if not, while he is still far away,
he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.
In the same way,
everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Christ’s parables are endlessly rich, capable of being interpreted in a variety of ways. 

Consider the parable of the two kings in today’s Gospel. “What king marching into battle,” Jesus says, “would not first sit down and decide… whether with ten thousand troops he can successfully oppose another king with twenty thousand troops?” 

Who are these two kings?

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One spiritual writer interpreted the stronger king to be Jesus, and we, the weaker king. The battle is over divine judgment. Since none of us can overpower the Lord or justify ourselves, we should spend our lives performing good works in order to gain his mercy.

Another interpreted the weaker king to be Satan. 

Jesus, the stronger king, has already counted the cost of going into battle against evil. He knows he is stronger than Satan – and stronger than death – so his disciples should not fear when he is sent to the Cross. 

Although the cost will be excruciating, the victory is his.

Similarly, the disciples should not fear when Jesus sends them into battle like, “lambs among wolves.” Every disciple must pay a price for following the Lord, for sharing his Word, for ridding ourselves of temptation, for carrying our cross, and keeping God first in our lives.

There are real consequences for our decisions. But, as Saint Paul writes, “What can separate us from the love of Christ? Nakedness, or peril, or the sword? No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who has loved us.”

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How has my faith come at a cost? In what ways am I fighting to keep God’s Word? 

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May we fight the good fight. 

Victory is ours, thanks be to God, our King.

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Image credits: (1) Lincoln Presbyterian Church (2) Bible Study Tools (3) Bible.com

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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. 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? Third?

We really don’t 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. Another bought five oxen. A third was just married and preferred to be alone with his wife, even though they could’ve gone to the banquet together.

Being attentive to your spouse, tending your land, and caring for your animals 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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The Lord uses this imagery of hosting a dinner party to describe God’s invitation for us to join him at Mass.

Often, we say “yes,” as we should. 

But when do we find ourselves saying, “I ask you, consider me excused?” What life priorities trump Sunday 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.

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“Come, everything is ready,” Jesus says to us. Will we accept his invitation this week?

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Image credits: (1) Oakwood Church of Carrollwood (2) LinkedIn (3) Jesus with the Eucharist at the Last Supper, Juan de Juanes

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Gospel: Luke 14: 12-14

On a sabbath Jesus went to dine
at the home of one of the leading Pharisees.
He said to the host who invited him,
“When you hold a lunch or a dinner,
do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters
or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors,
in case they may invite you back and you have repayment.
Rather, when you hold a banquet,
invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind;
blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.
For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Every so often, we hear stories about people who apply the Gospel to their daily lives in a very literal way.

For example, Mother Teresa’s parents took today’s Gospel passage to heart. “When you hold a lunch or dinner,” Jesus says, “invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.”

Whenever they held a large family gathering at their home in Albania, Mother Teresa’s parents would send her and her siblings out into the streets to invite those who could not repay them – literally the sick and the homeless. 

I can only imagine what kind of conversations they had around their table. 

Those dinners instilled in Mother Teresa from a very young age a passion for the world’s poorest, so much so that she not only served them for the rest of her life, she also became poor, essentially keeping as her only possessions a crucifix and the clothing on her back.

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It may seem impractical, if not impossible, for us to populate our dinner table with the same type of guests today. But the heart of this Gospel passage still speaks to us as a Church.

What Christ longs for from us is a spirit of inclusion, generosity, and humility whereby all are seen as equals and welcomed – not only around the altar – but also into our hearts.

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Who might the Lord be inviting into the Church today? How might we welcome them?

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“When you hold a banquet,” Jesus says, a banquet at the altar , “invite those unable to repay you.” 

Blessed will we be.

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Image credits: (1) Merriam Webster (2) Pinterest (3) Amazon