From: Luke 14:15-24

Parable of the Invited Guests

[15] When one of those who sat at table with Him (Jesus) heard this, he said
to Him, “Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the Kingdom of God!” [16] But
He said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet, and invited many; [17]
and at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had
been invited, ‘Come; for all is now ready.’ [18] But they all alike began to
make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go
out and see it; I pray you, have me excused.’ [19] And another said, ‘I have
bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them; I pray you, have me ex-
cused.’ [20] And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot
come.’ [21] So the servant came and reported this to his master. Then the
householder in anger said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and
lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and maimed and blind and lame.’ [22]
And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still
there is room.’ [23] And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the high-
ways and hedges, and compel people to come in, that my house may be
filled. [24] For I tell you, none of those who were invited shall taste my ban-
quet.’”

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Commentary:

15. In biblical language the expression “to eat bread in the Kingdom of God”
means sharing in eternal beatitude, of which this great banquet is a symbol
(cf. Isaiah 25:6; Matthew 22:1-4).

16-24. If God invites someone to know Him in faith, he should sacrifice any
human interest which gets in the way of replying to God’s call, no matter how
lawful and noble it be. The objections we tend to put forward, the duties we ap-
peal to, are really just excuses. This is why the ungrateful invitees are blame-
worthy.

“Compel people to come in”: it is not a matter of forcing anyone’s freedom—
God does not want us to love Him under duress—but of helping a person to
make right decisions, to shrug off any human respect, to avoid occasions of
sin, to do what he can to discover the truth. A person is “compelled to come
in” through prayer, the example of a Christian life, friendship—in a word, apos-
tolate. “If in order to save an earthly life it is praiseworthy to use force to stop
a man from committing suicide, are we not to be allowed use of the same
force—holy coercion—to save the Life (in uppercase) of many who are stupid-
ly bent on killing their souls?” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 399).

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Readings at Mass

First reading	Philippians 2:5-11 ©

In your minds you must be the same as Christ Jesus:

His state was divine,

yet he did not cling

to his equality with God

but emptied himself

to assume the condition of a slave,

and became as men are;

and being as all men are,

he was humbler yet,

even to accepting death,

death on a cross.

But God raised him high

and gave him the name

which is above all other names

so that all beings in the heavens,

on earth and in the underworld,

should bend the knee at the name of Jesus

and that every tongue should acclaim

Jesus Christ as Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

Psalm	Psalm 21:26-32 ©

You are my praise, O Lord, in the great assembly.

My vows I will pay before those who fear the Lord.

The poor shall eat and shall have their fill.

They shall praise the Lord, those who seek him.

May their hearts live for ever and ever!

You are my praise, O Lord, in the great assembly.

All the earth shall remember and return to the Lord,

all families of the nations worship before him;

for the kingdom is the Lord’s, he is ruler of the nations.

They shall worship him, all the mighty of the earth.

You are my praise, O Lord, in the great assembly.

And my soul shall live for him, my children serve him.

They shall tell of the Lord to generations yet to come,

declare his faithfulness to peoples yet unborn:

‘These things the Lord has done.’

You are my praise, O Lord, in the great assembly.

Gospel Acclamation	cf.Ep1:17,18

Alleluia, alleluia!

May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

enlighten the eyes of our mind,

so that we can see what hope his call holds for us.

Alleluia!

Or	Mt11:28

Alleluia, alleluia!

Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened,

and I will give you rest, says the Lord.

Alleluia!

Gospel	Luke 14:15-24 ©

One of those gathered round the table said to him, ‘Happy the man who will be at the feast 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 force 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.”’