But all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘Please excuse me. I must go
and see the piece of land I have just bought.’
Another said: ‘I am sorry, but I am on my way to try out the five yoke of oxen I have just bought.’
Still another said, ‘How can I come, when I’ve just got married?’
The servant returned alone, and reported this to his master. Upon hearing his account,
the master of the house flew into a rage, and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly, into the streets and alleys of the town,
and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ The servant reported after a while,
‘Sir, your orders have been carried out, but there is still room.’
The master said, ‘Go out to the highways and country lanes, and force people to come in, to ensure that my house is full.
I tell you, none of those invited will have a morsel of my feast.”
REFLECTION:
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, and this is shown by his closeness
to sinners and to all those in need, and whose table he often shared. At the end of his life, he left us the Eucharistic meal,
as his own memorial.
Yet many did not accept the invitation, even those who had been invited in advance. Many, even ourselves,
find it difficult to accept the invitation to believe that God is so generous.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2020