Celtic Contemplation

Luke 14:15-30  When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant[a] to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.  For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’”

Meditation 

God is always inviting us to his table, He loves to spend time with us. Still, sometimes we are distracted by lots of things. They are not necessarily bad things but are given the wrong priority in our lives. Is there something in my life that has become an “excuse” for not accepting God’s invitation to his banquet?

How would I feel if I were invited to a dinner at which Jesus was going to be present? Would I care if I knew none of the other guests? Would I, instead, feel a common bond with all who were invited with me, each rejoicing at the other’s inclusion in the feast? 

The shared table is often present in the Gospel, one of the preferred images of the Kingdom itself. God, the King, prepares a big banquet with great care. All are invited to this celebration where they can enjoy the King’s generosity. This is the Good News proclaimed by Jesus.

Prayer

Lord, let us hear you calling us, gently but insistently, out of our comfort zones. Give us the grace to respond to the many promptings of your Holy Spirit inviting us to reach out to the lonely, the lost, the sad, and the needy. Open our ears that we may hear you, and in the hearing take action. Amen