Reflection for November 5 Tuesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 14:15-24

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.'"

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Reflection:

Why did the invited guest fail to attend the dinner? The reason behind is, they all had their own worldly preoccupations. All the invited guests were very busy with their own personal activities. Thus, they missed the opportunity to break bread with the gracious host. 

If only they put aside first their personal undertaking to honor the invitation. They could have known more about the generous host who invited them.  They would have known that the host wanted to build genuine and lasting friendship with them. 

Our busyness with the things of this world always prevents us from knowing Jesus more deeply. It prevents us from building strong and lasting friendship with Him. We therefore become creatures of this world rather than becoming future dwellers of God’s kingdom. 

Time will surely come that we all have to say goodbye from this world. What would happen to our souls if we have no time for God? If we are all work and pleasure and we don’t honor Jesus’ offer of friendship?

It’s always better to have time for God rather than have time for this world. It’s always better to be poor but have God in our life than be rich without God. – Marino J. Dasmarinas