The one who will dine in the kingdom of God

By way of metaphor, Jesus gives the reason for his mission: to bring everyone to the divine banquet. The “servant”—jesus—is tasked to send out the invitation of a super generous host, God. He starts inviting those within the Israelite “neighborhood”—relatives, townsfolk, religious leaders—but surprisingly, they are not interested; they even question the authority of Jesus. Next, the invitation is extended to “the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind” (Lk 14:13)—the poor and the marginalized; surprisingly, these humble section of society accept the invitation; they are more disposed to listen to the word of God. Finally, the invitation goes to all types of people—the Gentiles and outsiders. The Kingdom of God, the king’s banquet, is open to all who humbly and graciously welcome

the “joy of the Gospel.”

God’s invitation continues today. Pope Francis exhorts us, “It is vitally important for the Church today to go forth and preach the Gospel to all: to all places, on all occasions, without hesitation, reluctance or fear. The joy of the Gospel is for all people; no one can be excluded” (Evangelii Gaudium, 23).

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