A reading from the Holy Gospel according to the Apostle and Evangelist Saint Luke (14: 16-24)
At that time, one of the diners, having heard this, said to Jesus: «Blessed is he who will take food in the kingdom of God!».
He replied: A man gave a great supper and made many invitations. At dinner time, he sent his servant to say to the guests: "Come, it is ready". But everyone, one after another, began to apologize. The first said to him: "I bought a field and I have to go and see it; please excuse me". Another said: "I bought five pairs of oxen and I’m going to try them; please excuse me". Another said: "I just got married and therefore I cannot come".
On his return the servant reported all this to his master. Then the host, angry, said to the servant: "Go out immediately through the squares and the streets of the city and bring here the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame".
The servant said: "Lord, it was done as you ordered, but there is still room". The master then said to the servant, "Go out into the streets and along the hedges and force them to enter, so that my house may be filled. Because I tell you: none of those who were invited will taste my dinner".
Reflection
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ our Lord, peace and every blessing to you all!
On this twenty-ninth Sunday after Pentecost, in the time of Advent that we are living and that is now close to its conclusion, the Holy Church invites us to reflect on two very significant readings: the letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Colossians (3:4-11) and the Gospel passage, taken from the Holy Gospel of St Luke, concerning the parable of the Great Supper or, as St Matthew calls it, the parable of the wedding banquet (Mt 22: 2-14).
The Epistle of Saint Paul the Apostle is a passage, imbued with wisdom and inspiration, which offers us a precious guide to understand the true meaning of Christian life and the path to inner transformation.
Let us begin with the words of Saint Paul: "When Christ appears, your life, then you will also appear with him in glory" (Colossians 3:4). These words are a promise of hope and reveal our fundamental identity as Christians. Christ is our life, our source of eternal life. Therefore, living in Christ means sharing in His glory, embracing the hope that only He can offer us.
The next step invites us to set aside earthly things, to "mortify" what is earthly in ourselves. Saint Paul urges us to eliminate selfishness, impurity, lust, and other harmful passions. This call to mortification is not an invitation to despise our being, but rather a call to free ourselves from what distances us from God and from others. It is an invitation to inner transformation, to the search for holiness.
Verse 10 presents us with the image of "new" that are renewed "in the image of the One who created them". This is the key: our transformation is a continuous process that brings us back to the image of God. It is a journey of renewal, of daily conversion, where, through divine grace, we become more and more like Christ.
Saint Paul continues by emphasizing the reality of unity in Christ, affirming that in him there is no distinction between Greek and Jewish, circumcised, and uncircumcised, barbaric, Scythian, slave or free. In Christ we are all one. This recalls the importance of overcoming divisions and of living in fraternal love. Faith in Christ unites us beyond differences, and his grace calls us to live in harmony and unity.
Therefore, the Letter to the Colossians presents us with an extraordinary picture of Christian life. He invites us to focus on Christ, who is our life, to mortify what draws us away from Him, to renew ourselves constantly in His image and likeness, and to live united in His Immaculate Love.
Today’s Gospel passage continues to explore the theme of invitation and sharing, using the parable of the banquet narrated by Jesus. In this story, many people had been invited to attend the banquet, but most of them refused to attend. This aroused the indignation of the master of the banquet, who decided to extend the invitation to people considered socially marginalized: poor, crippled, blind and lame. Despite this, there was still room, so the master decided to welcome anyone, until they filled the house completely.
This parable, narrated by Jesus, had a profound meaning for the Christian communities of the time of Luke. In these communities, there were Christians from both Judaism and Gentiles, the so-called pagans. Despite cultural, social, and ethnic differences, these Christians sought to live the ideal of sharing and communion, as indicated in the Acts of the Apostles (2:42; 4:32; 5:12). However, there were tensions due to rules of formal purity that prevented Jews from sharing a meal with pagans.
This situation was particularly evident when some Jewish Christians, while part of the Christian community, continued to avoid sitting at table with pagan Christians. This practice created difficulties and tensions, as illustrated by the conflict between Peter and the community of Jerusalem regarding his visit to the house of Cornelius, a pagan, and the fact that he had eaten with him (Acts 11:3).
The parable of the banquet presented here represents a portrait of what was happening in the Christian communities of Luke’s time. It emphasizes the importance of overcoming divisions and welcoming all, regardless of differences, in the context of a wider communion. In this way, Jesus invites his followers to live love and fraternity without limits, thus reflecting the ideal of the common table in the Kingdom of God.
The context of this parable develops around a moment of conviviality, precisely when a prominent Pharisee invited Jesus to lunch, thus offering the opportunity for a reflection on humility and generosity.
During lunch, Jesus shares teachings on the choice of guests at wedding banquets, emphasizing the importance of avoiding places of honor. It also urges those who cannot return the invitation to be invited: the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. Jesus states that the true reward will come at the resurrection of the dead, bringing bliss to those who act in this way.
One of the diners, probably also a Pharisee, hearing these words reacts by saying: «Blessed is he who will take food in the kingdom of God!» (v. 14).
This comment highlights a widespread idea among many people of the time that only the Jews would have access to the heavenly banquet or the kingdom of God to come.
The common faith was that belonging to the Jewish people was an essential requirement for participating in the benefits and blessings of God’s kingdom. In other words, there was a belief that only those who were part of the Jewish people would enjoy the rewards and privileges in the afterlife. This concept was rooted in the ethnic-religious vision of the time, which attributed a special meaning to Jewish descent.
When man expresses the desire to be part of this heavenly banquet, he is essentially reflecting this mentality. Believing that he is part of the Jewish people, he expects to be included in the heavenly banquet and to enjoy a place of honor by virtue of his ethnically religious affiliation. His statement can be seen as a desire for spiritual security and participation in the benefits promised by God to His people.
Dear friends, observing the episode in which Jesus tells the parable of the banquet, we clearly notice how the Lord, with his words and his parables, has a clear objective: to challenge and overcome limiting ethnic-religious conceptions. His intention is to open the way to an idea of the kingdom of God that goes beyond ethnic barriers, inviting to a participation based on the response to the divine call and the practice of love and justice.
The banquet described by Jesus is a powerful image of inclusiveness and openness to all. He stresses that, to attend this banquet, it is necessary to respond positively to the invitation. The invitation is extended to all, regardless of their ethnic or religious background. It is an opportunity open to everyone, but participation requires a conscious and accepting response.
With these words, Jesus leads us towards a deeper understanding of the kingdom of God, a kingdom where participation is not determined by external criteria, but by the will to respond to the divine invitation. It is a call that embraces every heart willing to accept God’s love and to practice justice towards others.
However, in the theological sphere, in recent times there has been a wrong association between the theme of the wedding banquet and the Eucharist. This association was introduced in Protestant circles, which recognize only two Sacraments instituted by Jesus: Baptism and the Eucharist.
The main difference is linked to the understanding of Christ’s presence in the Eucharist. While the Holy Catholic and Orthodox Church believes in transubstantiation, that is, that bread and wine really become the Body and Blood of Christ, other Christians, like the Protestants in this case, see only the presence of Christ in a symbolic way, considering the Eucharist as a symbolic reminder of the Last Supper and the sacrifice of Christ.
Beloved brothers, if we consider the Eucharist only as a symbol and deny its saving dimension, then we diminish its importance and its essential purpose. The comparison with an expired medicine makes the idea clearer: assimilating the Eucharist to a rite without spiritual value would be like taking a medicine that has lost its effectiveness. We must understand that, according to this perspective, the Eucharist should be much more for us: not only a symbol, but a real source of spiritual life and salvation. This deep understanding invites us to reconsider the way we participate and understand this sacrament, recognizing its depth and its ability to nourish our faith and connection with the divine.
Dear friends, on this Sunday Jesus wants us to reflect on a reality: despite the warm invitation to be part of the kingdom of God, not all those who receive the invitation react positively or actively participate in this connection with God. To explain this concept, Jesus tells a symbolic story of a man organizing a lavish feast and inviting many people.
At the time of Jesus, it was a Jewish custom to give two invitations. The first invitation served to inform the guests about the date of the event, the "save the date" of the time, while the second is sent on the actual day of the dinner, when everything is ready for the beginning of the party.
And when it is time for supper, the landlord sends his servant at this second moment, indicating that dinner is ready and that it is time to attend the banquet.
This parable serves to highlight that, despite the loving preparation of the landlord and the invitation to participate, some people may ignore or reject the opportunity offered. Jesus uses this image to emphasize the variety of human responses to the divine invitation and to make us reflect on the responsibility of accepting or rejecting the call to take part in the kingdom of God.
In observing the apologies of the guests in refusing the invitation, we note a lack of courtesy that goes beyond a simple declination. This behavior not only lacked respect, but represented a clear negative social message, questioning the authority and honor of the landlord. This ungrateful attitude has even generated a popular saying: "Do not do good if you are not willing to endure ingratitude". This reflects the reality that, if we always expected gratitude, many people might stop doing good.
In this parable of the great banquet. Guests at the party initially accept the invitation, but when the time for dinner has come, they begin to apologize. The excuses given by the guests in the parable can be interpreted as symbolic representations of different reasons for rejecting the invitation to the Kingdom of God. The specific excuses mentioned in the parable include:
1. Land Purchases: A guest claims to have just bought a field and must go to see it. This could symbolize the worldly and material concerns that keep some people away from responding to the divine invitation.
2. Buying oxen: Another says he just bought five pairs of oxen and must try them. This excuse also reflects a commitment to earthly affairs, highlighting how daily concerns can hinder the response to the spiritual invitation.
3. Marriage: A third party mentions having just married a wife and therefore cannot attend. This excuse suggests that family commitments or personal responsibilities can become obstacles to participation in the Kingdom of God.
In summary, the apologies of the guests in the parable represent the multiple reasons why people could reject the divine invitation, often linked to earthly affairs, daily concerns, or personal commitments. The parable emphasizes the importance of not allowing these things to become barriers that prevent us from responding to God’s invitation to his Kingdom.
The parable presented by Jesus thus becomes a sort of urgent call to salvation, a means of spiritual help for the people of Israel. It is as if Jesus offered a lifeboat to a people who, unfortunately, rejected it and found excuses not to accept it. From their spiritual harshness and blindness, Jesus' condemnation emerges: "None of those who were invited shall taste my supper."
At this point, the focus of Jesus' love moves towards those who have a pure and open heart, ready to welcome him. It is emphasized that today, those who have rejected the Lord’s invitation are represented by those who have strayed from His will, remaining anchored in evil convictions, and deviating from the true path and true faith (the Church of Rome can be an eloquent example).
The invitation to salvation remains constantly open, a call that extends to each of us. The real answer, however, is manifested only in the silence of our heart, where we discover whether we have decently responded to this call or whether we have preferred to decline the invitation because of the seductions of the world.
For those who are still in a state of uncertainty, unable to decide whether to accept or reject the invitation because of doubts or insecurities, I fervently pray to the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, the One who gives life, to come down on them. Enlightened by His light, may they make a wise and conscious choice.
The Gospel passage concludes with the return of the servant to his master, bringing the news of what happened. The master’s reaction is one of outrage, and he orders the servant to go to the squares and streets of the city to specifically summon the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame, the same categories that Jesus had previously indicated to invite (Luke 14:13).
The servant obeyed the master’s command and, returning, declared that there was still room. Faced with this situation, the master decides to further expand the invitation. He orders the servant to go again to the streets and along the hedges, insisting that as many people as possible be persuaded to enter the house, until it is fully filled.
Beloved brothers in Christ, during this year of ministry as deacon, I have been able to experience in a tangible way the depth and relevance of the Gospel passage of this Third Last Sunday of the Season of Advent.
This step has taken on a particular significance for me and has given me valuable insights to reflect on my mission and the dynamics of the community.
The parable just quoted, represents for me a powerful call to the invitation of the Kingdom of God. I was able to observe how, in different situations of pastoral life, some people show resistance, find excuses, or show indecision in the face of this spiritual invitation. This prompted me to reflect on the responsibility of constantly expanding the divine invitation, trying to involve as many hearts as possible.
This year, which is now ending, I have had the opportunity to experience the joy and gratification of persevering in offering the invitation to those who, for various reasons, they seemed hesitant or far aware that the answer may vary between people. I tried with love to be an instrument of God’s love, witnessing to the inclusivity of his invitation to all, without excluding anyone hoping that more and more hearts can respond positively and participate in the great banquet of the Kingdom.
Dear brothers, as we carefully contemplate the insistent call of the Lord, who ardently desires our salvation through His grace, we recognize the need not to allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by the fears that sometimes beset us. On the contrary, we must follow this call with determination, relying completely on His will. We can find inspiration in the example of Our Most Holy Mother, who accepted with total trust the Annunciation of the Archangel Gabriel to become the Mother of God.
May the Most Holy and Ever Virgin Mary be our constant guide in every moment of life. May the power of the Holy Spirit illuminate our lives, so that our response to the Lord’s call may be sincere, authentic, and generous.
May the blessing of God the Almighty Father descend upon you and remain with you always!
Archdeacon, Michele Alberto Del Duca.
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