Reflections

It is a custom in the Chinese culture that when there is an invitation to a banquet, the whole family is invited. My siblings and I would always try to think of an excuse for not going when my parents got an invitation. What was wrong with the banquet that we did not want to go? First, at home, we had enough to eat and drink so the food at the banquet was not an attraction for us. Second, as kids, we did not know how to socialize with the adults so we found the banquet quite boring. These seemed to be legitimate reasons but now we find ourselves strangers among the relatives because we missed the opportunity to interact with them.  The invitation of the banquet in the gospel today represents God calling us to have an intimate relationship with Him. Take a brief look at your life and see how many excuses we have made to refuse this invitation:

• I know I should write that email, but I am not in the mood.
• I know I should make an effort to get to Mass on time (or just to get to Mass at all), but something always gets in the way.
• I know I should spend more time with my children, but I need the extra money for them to have a better life.
• I know I drink too much, but I am under a lot of stress these days. When the stress is gone, I will stop drinking.
• I should visit my ailing friend, but right now my favorite program is on television.

The excuses the parable mentioned to keep the invited guests from attending the banquet were not bad ones. One man wanted to tend to his land and the other to his business; these are good excuses. It is precisely the excuses we think are not bad, like the ones above which we would use repeatedly and becomes habit. This would gradually make us indifferent to God’s calling and become a threat to our faith. We become the unprepared guest running the risk of being thrown out of the banquet. Many times I have encountered people in the hospitals I visited who have lost their faith because they went to the banquet without preparing themselves for the feast. Young people have the same issues with their faith. These people are too proud or angry and tell me they do not believe anymore. Little did they know that they are not punishing God or the Church by not believing. They are actually being thrown out from the banquet by their own doing.

Fr. Francis

Note:  Fr. John Moneypenny shares his thoughts on this week’s gospel in the attached video.