6 November, 2012
Tuesday of Week 31; St. Theophane Venard
FIRST READING
Philippians 2:5-11
Brothers and sisters:
Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus,
Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and, found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Psalm 22:26b-27, 28-30ab, 30e, 31-32
R. (26a) I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
I will fulfill my vows before those who fear him. The lowly shall eat their fill; they who seek the LORD shall praise him: “May your hearts be ever merry!”
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD; All the families of the nations shall bow down before him.
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
For dominion is the LORD’s, and he rules the nations. To him alone shall bow down all who sleep in the earth.
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
To him my soul shall live; my descendants shall serve him. Let the coming generation be told of the LORD that they may proclaim to a people yet to be born the justice he has shown.
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
ALLELUIA
Matthew 11:28
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
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.’”
REFLECTIONS:
What does it mean to "eat bread in the kingdom of
heaven"? In the ancient world the most notable sign of favor and intimate
friendship was the invitation to "share bread" at the dinner table. Who
you ate with showed who you valued and trusted as your friends. A great
banquet would involve a lavish meal of several courses and a large company
of notable guests and friends. One of the most beautiful images of heaven
in the scriptures is the royal wedding celebration and banquet given by
the King for his son and friends. We, in fact, have been invited
to the most important banquet of all! The last book in the Bible ends with
an invitation to the wedding feast of the Lamb and his Bride, the church:
The
Spirit and the Bride say, Come! (Revelations 22:17). The 'Lamb of God'
is the Lord Jesus Christ and his bride is the people he has redeemed by
his own precious blood which was shed upon the cross for our salvation.
Jesus' "banquet parable" must have startled his audience. If a great
lord or king invited his friends to a banquet, why would the guests turn
down his invitation? A great banquet would take many days to prepare. And
personal invitations would be sent out well in advance to the guests, so
they would have plenty of time to prepare for the upcoming event. How insulting
for the invited guests to then refuse when the time for celebrating came!
They made light of the King's request because they put their own interests
above his.
Jesus probes the reasons why people make excuses to God's great invitation
to "eat bread" with him at his banquet table. The first excuse allows the
claims of one's personal business or work to take precedence over God's
claim. Do you allow any task or endeavor to absorb you so much that it
keeps you from the thought of God? The second excuse allows our possessions
to come before God. Do you allow the media and other diversions to crowd
out time for God in daily prayer and worship? The third excuse puts home
and family ahead of God. God never meant for our home and relationships
to be used selfishly. We serve God best when we invite him into our work,
our homes, and our personal lives and when we share our possessions with
others.
The second part of the story focuses on those who had no claim on the
king and who would never have considered getting such an invitation. The
"poor, maimed, blind, and lame" represent the outcasts of society those
who can make no claim on the King. There is even ample room at the feast
of God for outsiders from the highways and hedges the Gentiles who were
not members of the chosen people, the Jews. This is certainly an invitation
of grace undeserved, unmerited favor and kindness! But this invitation
also contains a warning for those who refuse it or who approach the wedding
feast unworthily. Grace is a free gift, but it is also an awesome responsibility.
Dieterich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor who died for his faith by opposing
the false Nazism, contrasted cheap
grace and costly grace:
"Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves... the preaching of forgiveness
without requiring repentance... grace without discipleship, grace without
the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate... Costly grace
is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must
be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly
because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs
a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life."
God invites each of us to his banquet that we may share in his joy.
Are you ready to feast at the Lord's banquet table?
"Lord Jesus, you withhold no good thing from us and you lavish us with
the treasures of heaven. Help me to seek your kingdom first and to lay
aside anything that might hinder me from doing your will."
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