Gospel Reflection (Luke 14:15-24)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to St. Luke:

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.

The invitation to the feast in now. The feast is Heaven. The invitation has already been delivered, and now, Christ is only waiting to see if we will come. There is room for everyone in Heaven, and we must make the journey here on earth to get there. It is not a physical journey but a spiritual one. We do it through repentance and acceptance of what Christ has told us. The people that were originally invited are those who hear Christ's invitation but are too busy with their worldly affairs to bother coming. So many people today are so caught up in their worldly tasks that they do not bother to live a Christian life or even to care. Their life is about money and fun. Unfortunately, those things do not last very long, and they only leave emptiness. When we follow Christ we will have that peace that this world does not understand. Yes, we will suffer hardships, but we will be truly at peace, because we know who we are and where were going. The master in the house invited all people, even the crippled and blind and lame, because Christ loves us all. He has enabled each and every one of us to be able to eat at the Heavenly feast one day. But we must strive to live as Christians in a very un-Christian world. Are we up to the invitation, the calling, the mission? Because in the end we will end up in one of two places: Heaven or Hell. "Lord help us to follow Your call! Help me to be strong in this un-godly world. Mary, Help of Christians, Pray for us!"