The Gospel for SATURDAY, May 21, 2005 (Ember Day)
Luke 14:12-24
Then he said to his host, ‘When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relations or rich neighbours, in case they invite you back and so repay you. No; when you have a party, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; then you will be blessed, for they have no means to repay you and so you will be repaid when the upright rise again.’ On hearing this, one of those gathered round the table said to him, ‘Blessed is anyone who will share the meal in the kingdom of God!’ But he said to him, ‘There was a man who gave a great banquet, and he invited a large number of people. When the time for the banquet came, he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, “Come along: everything is ready now.” But all alike started to make excuses. The first said, “I have bought a piece of land and must go and see it. Please accept my apologies.” Another said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen and am on my way to try them out. Please accept my apologies.” Yet another said, “I have just got married and so am unable to come.” ‘The servant returned and reported this to his master. Then the householder, in a rage, said to his servant, “Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.” “Sir,” said the servant, “your orders have been carried out and there is still room.” Then the master said to his servant, “Go to the open roads and the hedgerows and press people to come in, to make sure my house is full; because, I tell you, not one of those who were invited shall have a taste of my banquet.” ’ -- The New Jerusalem Bible. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1995, c1985
A Study
There are two major messages in these verses: we should invite into our lives those who are less fortunate than we are, and we should realize that we constantly reject God's invitations to join Him in His life.
A Reflection
Rejecting God's invitation to join Him at the banquet leaves us last to share in the meal. Our excuses may seem valid on first look, especially to ourselves. But when we examine further the reasons why we can't, or don't, or won't accept the invitation, it's always a weak reason or poor excuse, compared to the benefit we could expect. And there's no upside at all to the decision we make opposing God. We are only delaying good [God] from entering our lives
Jesus' metaphor of the banquet ends with the master demanding that the banquet hall be filled -- and with those who weren't invited, to be first seated! For those who insist on "God's plan," this concept is non-intuitive; for those who believe that the chosen have already been chosen, the example of Israel shines as counter-example. Israel occupied a position as the chosen, and rejected the invitation that came in the same envelope that delivered Jesus into our world.
There's no reading between the lines required of us. All we have to do is show up.
A Collect
Almighty God, you know our hearts better than we ourselves; show us paths to you so that we avoid those things that tempt us to reject you. Amen.
6:41:51 PM 
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