once gave a feast and invited many guests. When it was time for the feast, he sent his
servant to tell those he had invited to come, for everything was ready. 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.”
Reflect
God invites us to share in the heavenly banquet, the wedding feast of the Lamb. We
can choose to accept that invitation or we can find things we rather do, allowing
ourselves to be captured by worldly concerns and values that draw us away from the
Lord’s table.
Paul tells the Romans how they should live if they want to be welcomed to the banquet.
He lists the virtues that a faithful disciple will display: unity, service, generosity, sincerity,
devotion to the good, consideration, conscientiousness, patience, perseverance, mercy,
and compassion. It’s a long list, but the Spirit will fill our hearts with the gifts we need. By
sharing these gifts for the good of the Body of Christ, our gifts and virtues will multiply.
We can use the gifts and grace we receive from the Holy Spirit to reach out to the
margins to invite those we meet there to move to the center and share the heavenly
banquet. The presence of our brothers and sisters at a shared table will make our joy
complete.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2023