31st Week in OT 2020 - Tuesday - The invitation to the great feast

We heard Matthew’s version of the Parable of the Great Feast a few weeks ago at Sunday Mass in which the king gives a wedding feast for his son. The king sends out invitations—but the first round of guests give excuses for not attending the wedding feast—“I have to take care of my cattle”, “I have business matters to attend to”, some simply ignored the invitation and went about their lives.

The guests in Luke’s version offer similar excuses: “I have to take care of my field”, “I have to go see about this stuff I just bought”, “I just got married”.

Maybe it’s because I’m Italian, and I love good food, but, who in their right mind who would give such excuses for turning down a great banquet, especially if you are invited to a banquet by a king! There’s going to be some very good food there! Where are your priorities? The cattle will still be there, the field will still be there, the wife will still be there, well, hopefully!

And that’s sort of the point of this parable, isn’t it? To cause us to examine our priorities. Every time we choose sin over virtue, we are settling for something less. Every time we are given by God an opportunity to serve the kingdom, and we make some excuse, we are settling for something less. We are refusing the invitation to the great feast—to fulfillment.

The parable is certainly addressing those who were refusing to believe in Jesus, and the invitation to follow him, they are giving excuses for rejecting the invitation to discipleship—to Christian conversion. But it also addresses all of us, who make excuses for rejecting deeper conversion, deeper holiness. 

May the holy Spirit help us to see our excuses for what they are, may He help us to identify those areas where the King is inviting us to something more, and may he help us to be like that servant whom the king sends out into the highways and hedgerows, to invite the poor, the hungry, and the lost to the wedding feast of the lamb, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 

That all hearts might be opened to the invitations our good God makes to them—to repent, to believe, and to love. Let us pray to the Lord.

On this election day, that the Gospel of Life might guide the decisions of all voters, for civility and peace to prevail over all violence, and for special protection for those who work the polls, and our police, military and first responders, and the safety of innocents. Let us pray to the Lord.

For the healing of all those afflicted with physical, mental, emotional illness, for those in hospitals, nursing homes, hospice care, those struggling with addictions, for those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today. Let us pray to the Lord.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory for whom we pray in a special way during the month of November, and for N. for whom this Mass is offered. Let us pray to the Lord.

Heavenly Father, hear our prayers. May the grace of Christ Your Son, the Divine Physician, bring healing of our sinfulness, and make us worthy of the kingdom of heaven, through the same Christ our Lord.