Daily Gospel Reflection for November 3, 2015

Today's Gospel: Luke 14:15-24

Optional Memorial of Saint Martin de Porres, Religious

Jesus tells the parable of the man who gave a great banquet and invited many people. The invited guests made excuses for why they couldn’t come. All of their excuses were tied to worldly concerns. So the man then sent his servant out to invite “the poor and maimed and blind and lame.” He instructed the servant to “compel people to come in that my house may be filled.”

In the Gospels, the banquet represents the heavenly banquet which is eternal life in heaven. The invited guests who turned down the invitation represent all people who put materialism and worldly pride before a life in Christ and the hope of eternal life.

God will never force us to come to Him. He will never force our love because that is not the way of our Father who loves us unconditionally. For the proud and selfish who are too preoccupied with the world, the invitation is wasted. For the humble and broken, the Christian life of prayer, the community of faith, and complete dependence on God will compel us to accept the invitation to share in the heavenly banquet.

Ponder:

What worldly cares and excuses are preventing you from wholeheartedly accepting the Master’s invitation to come to His banquet?

Pray:

Lord, may I never turn down Your invitation to come to You. May I put You above all things and center my life on prayer, faith, and Divine Providence so that I may enter into Your eternal banquet.

We thank our friends at The Word Among Us for providing our gospel reflection team with copies of Abide In My Word 2015: Mass Readings at Your Fingertips. To pray the daily gospels with this wonderful resource, visit The Word Among Us.

Copyright 2015 Terry McDermott