Category: Uncategorized

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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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In both yesterday and today’s Gospel passage, Jesus likens the kingdom of God to a banquet where a meal is shared. The banquet hall is packed, but not with the guests whom we might expect at first.

Yesterday, the Lord mentioned some of those who will be included: the poor, the blind, the sick, and the lame. Today, he reveals those who may be excluded.

“A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many,” he says. Literally, he invited, “everyone.” However, at least three of this man’s friends make excuses, deciding not to go.

One wanted to care for his land. Another preferred to care for his animals. A third wanted to be alone with his wife. So, the party went on without them.

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Two important lessons can be pulled from these parables:

First, no one can enter the kingdom of God without an invitation. Fortunately, all are invited! 

But the sad truth remains that some may decide not to enter; in that sense, they judge themselves.

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While we hope, even presume, that we’ll be admitted into heaven – after all, we’ve been invited – we should take care not to force ourselves out.

One concrete way to demonstrate our desire to be with Christ eternally is to participate in the banquet he offers us now – the Mass.

While some may make excuses not to attend on Sundays – at least three do in the Gospels – the door remains open to all for a time.

May we heed the words of Christ while we can:

“Come, everything is now ready.”

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Image credits: (1) Instagram (2) Pinterest (3) FreePik

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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 should still speak 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 feel excluded from the Church today? How might we welcome them?

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

Blessed will you be.

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Image credits: (1) For The Church (2) Faith Bible Church (3) DreamsTime.com

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Gospel: Mark 12: 28-34

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,
“Which is the first of all the commandments?” 
Jesus replied, “The first is this:
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, 
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these.” 
The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher.
You are right in saying,
‘He is One and there is no other than he.’
And ‘to love him with all your heart,
with all your understanding,
with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself’
is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding,
he said to him,
“You are not far from the kingdom of God.” 
And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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There’s an old saying, “Less is more.”

Sometimes there’s a need to simplify large or complex issues in order for people to better understand them.

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In the Old Testament, Jews followed more than 600 different laws, all of which was an attempt to satisfy God.

But in Jesus’ day, some devout Jews not only found this tedious and costly, but also exhausting. So, a scribe, who’s role it was to interpret the Law, approaches Jesus with the philosophy, “Less is more.”

“Teacher, which is the first of all the commandments?” he asks.

The Lord embraces the idea of simplicity, with a twist. Jesus gives one commandment with two parts. Love God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength…. and your neighbor as yourself.

These rules were not new. What was novel about Christ’s response was the fact that he links the two of them together. You cannot have one without the other.

As Saint John later writes, “If anyone says he loves God, but hates his neighbor, he is a liar; for whoever does not love the neighbor whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.”

Even the scribe was satisfied.

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Then looking into his heart, Jesus says to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” 

We might lump this scholar of the Law into the same category as the rich young man, who we encountered two chapters earlier. Both were law-abiding men.

But remember what Jesus said to the rich young man, “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, give to the poor, then come, follow me.”

However, he walked away “sad, for he had many possessions.” It was not a matter of how much wealth the rich young man possessed; rather, how much it possessed him; that was his god. He had a greater love for himself than he did for God.

Unlike the rich young man, if the pious scribe in today’s Gospel is going to fulfill the Law, then he must love God first, and serve him in his neighbor.

Can he do it? Does he follow Jesus on the way?

Mark doesn’t tell us, leaving the lingering questions, “Who did follow Jesus? And what did it look like for a person to love God with all of their heart and their neighbor as themself?”

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One person who undoubtedly satisfied the Law of Christ was Saint Paul. 

He was the greatest missionary of his age, who not only sailed the open seas, preaching the Gospel in foreign lands, he also traveled more than 10,000 miles on foot! Over the course of his journey, he was repeatedly beaten, shipwrecked, rejected, imprisoned, and left for dead.

Yet he never gave up.

In his final pastoral letter, he writes to his “spiritual son,” Timothy, saying, “As for me, the time of my departure is at hand. I have competed well; I have run the race to the finish; I have kept the faith.”

Paul uses vivid, athletic language, leaving the impression that he’s exhausted himself after years of toil. 

This particular word, “departure,” means, “to remove the yoke from an ox,” giving the impression that Paul feels the weight of his ministry being lifted from his shoulders.

He’s done what was his to do.

After pouring himself out in ministry, he’s at peace with offering his physical life for Christ. Shortly thereafter, he’s martyred, just footsteps from where he penned this last letter.

He ended that letter – and ultimately his life – exhorting Timothy, and each of us, to do the same.

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How do we know if we’ve satisfied the Law of Christ as Paul did?

One standard I try holding myself accountable to is looking at a crucifix at the end of each night. If I can say that I’m tired, having spent my energy doing good things in this world out of love, then I believe I’ve done what God has asked of me.

While some are called to serve as priests in parishes, others are lay ministers, parents, spouses, civil servants, Christians in this world. God’s will looks different for each of us.

But we can all look at Jesus at the end of the night and ask ourselves, “How well have I loved him? How well have I loved others?”

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Less is more.

This is certainly true with religion.

Love is all that matters.

It’s the only thing.

Yet, it’s everything.

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Image credits: (1) Watchman International (2) Adobe Stock (3) Bible Inspire