Luke 14: 15-24
One of the dinner guests said to Jesus, “Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” Then Jesus said to him, “Someone gave a great dinner and invited many. At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my regrets.’ Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please accept my regrets.’ Another said, ‘I have just been married, and therefore I cannot come.’
“So the slave returned and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ And the slave said, ‘Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.’ Then the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those who were invited will taste my dinner.’”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Room for Everyone
It turns out eating bread in the kingdom of God is an invitation open to all (Luke 14:15). Even after the people who society may not have been expecting to be welcomed into the banquet arrive, there is still room. This additional room brings to mind John 14:2, “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.” The owner desires that the house may be filled. Our God of abundance has a spacious house that will never reach capacity to the point of having to turn someone away, though some choose not to come for a variety of reasons and excuses. If the Kingdom is available to all and there is room for everyone, it is up to us to choose to accept our invitation and show up to dwell in the house of the master and enjoy the banquet. Do we resist God’s invitation to join God’s great feast?
—Carl Caceres, SJ, is a Midwest Province Jesuit working on a doctoral degree in higher education and doing spiritual direction at Loyola University Chicago.
Prayer
We Pray to You, O Lord,
Thank you for inviting us to be with you
and to experience your Kingdom
Help us remember we always have a place in your house
and that you desire union with us.
Give us clarity of heart and mind to
avoid excuses and answer your call
To build the Kingdom with you and your people
and joyfully show up
to your banquet of love.
Amen
—Carl Caceres, SJ
Pray with the Pope
Pray with the monthly prayer intentions of the pope.