"Tôi quá bận rộn“ không phải là một lựa chọn
Chúng ta không thích bị ai coi thường, và Thiên Chúa cũng thế. Đôi khi những người “quá đạo đức” có thể đã quá bất cẩn hay lười biếng, thờ ờ với mối quan hệ của họ với Thiên Chúa. Trong bài dụ ngôn hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu cho chúng ta thấy hình ảnh của một vị vua có quyền thế đã gửi thơ mời những vị khách quý đến dự một tiệc lớn xa hoa, nhưng mọi người đều có lý do và không ai tới được. .
Nếu một lãnh chúa lớn hay một vị vua mời bạn bè của mình đến dự tiệc, tại sao các khách quý lại từ chối lời mời của ông? Thông thường chủ tiêc mỗi khi đãi một bữa tiệc, họ sẽ tốn nhiều tiền để sắm tiệc và cũng mất rất nhiều ngày giờ để chuẩn bị. Và thư mời cũng phải được gửi ra trước cho các khách được mời, do đó, họ sẽ có nhiều thời gian để chuẩn bị cho sự kiện sắp tới.Thật là một sự phỉ bang, kinh thường đã xúc phạm đến người chủ tiệc khi các vị khách được mời đến dự tiệc, nhưng sau cùng lại từ chối nay khi thời gian tiệc mừng đã đến! Họ (các vị khách được mời) đã coi nhẹ lời mời của nhà vua, hay chủ tiệc, vì họ đặt quyền lợi của họ trên hết.
Lý do đầu tiên: Người có kinh doanh riêng: viện lý vì kinh doanh riêng và công công việc làm nên không thế đến dự tiệc được. Những người này đã đặt quyền ưu tiên của họ hơn là những ưu tiên, những yêu cầu của Thiên Chúa. Thói thường, chúng ta đã cho phép bất cứ công việc nào hay bất cứ nỗ lực trong cuộc sống thu hút chúng ta quá nhiều đến mức làm chúng ta không còn nghĩ đến Thiên Chúa?
Lý do thứ hai là chúng ta đã cho phép tài sản vật chất của chúng ta đến trước Thiên Chúa. Chúng ta đã cho phép các phương tiện truyền thông và phương tiện giải trí khác chiếm hết thời giờ của chúng ta dành cho Thiên Chúa trong những lời cầu nguyện và việc thờ phượng Chúa hàng ngày.
Như câu chuyện dụ ngôn, Chúa Giêsu khẳng định rằng, không ai nắm giữ Thiên Chúa cả và Thiên Chúa sẽ gia hạn và gởi lời mời rộng rãi đến tất cả những ai mong muốn và sẵn sàng đáp ứng lời mời gọi của Ngài. Mỗi ngày Thiên Chúa mời gọi mỗi người chúng ta đến cùng tham dự bữa tiệc với Ngài trong Thánh Lễ để chúng ta có thể cùng được chia sẻ trong niềm vui với Ngài. Lạy Chúa, xin Chúa đừng bao giờ để chúng con quá bận rộn.
What does it mean to "eat bread in the kingdom of heaven"? In the ancient world the most notable sign of favor and intimate friendship was the invitation to "share bread" at the dinner table. Who you ate with showed who you valued and trusted as your friends. A great banquet would involve a lavish meal of several courses and a large company of notable guests and friends. One of the most beautiful images of heaven in the scriptures is the royal wedding celebration and banquet given by the King for his son and friends. We, in fact, have been invited to the most important banquet of all! The last book in the Bible ends with an invitation to the wedding feast of the Lamb and his Bride, the church: The Spirit and the Bride say, Come! (Revelations 22:17). The 'Lamb of God' is the Lord Jesus Christ and his bride is the people he has redeemed by his own precious blood which was shed upon the cross for our salvation.
Jesus' "banquet parable" must have startled his audience. If a great lord or king invited his friends to a banquet, why would the guests turn down his invitation? A great banquet would take many days to prepare. And personal invitations would be sent out well in advance to the guests, so they would have plenty of time to prepare for the upcoming event. How insulting for the invited guests to then refuse when the time for celebrating came! They made light of the King's request because they put their own interests above his.
Jesus probes the reasons why people make excuses to God's great invitation to "eat bread" with him at his banquet table. The first excuse allows the claims of one's personal business or work to take precedence over God's claim. Do you allow any task or endeavor to absorb you so much that it keeps you from the thought of God? The second excuse allows our possessions to come before God. Do you allow the media and other diversions to crowd out time for God in daily prayer and worship? The third excuse puts home and family ahead of God. God never meant for our home and relationships to be used selfishly. We serve God best when we invite him into our work, our homes, and our personal lives and when we share our possessions with others.
The second part of the story focuses on those who had no claim on the king and who would never have considered getting such an invitation. The "poor, maimed, blind, and lame" represent the outcasts of society – those who can make no claim on the King. There is even ample room at the feast of God for outsiders from the highways and hedges – the Gentiles who were not members of the chosen people, the Jews. This is certainly an invitation of grace –undeserved, unmerited favor and kindness! But this invitation also contains a warning for those who refuse it or who approach the wedding feast unworthily. Grace is a free gift, but it is also an awesome responsibility.
Dieterich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor who died for his faith by opposing the false Nazism, contrasted cheap grace and costly grace: "Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves... the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance... grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, and grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate... Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life."
God invites each of us to his banquet that we may share in his joy. Are you ready to feast at the Lord's banquet table?
"Lord Jesus, you withhold no good thing from us and you lavish us with the treasures of heaven. Help me to seek your kingdom first and to lay aside anything that might hinder me from doing your will."
“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.” Luke 14:16-18
Do you ever excuse yourself from the will of God? Do you pass up His invitation to feast at the table of His great dinner? More than anything else, the invitation God has given us to this “great dinner” is the invitation to participate in the Holy Mass and to pray. The fact that some would regularly excuse themselves from such an invitation shows that they do not understand that to which they have been invited. Others attend physically, but interiorly they are far from the feast that they attend.
In this parable, one after another of the invited guests did not come. So the man throwing the dinner sent out an invitation to “the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.” This is a reference to those Jews of Jesus’ time who recognized their need for the gift of salvation. They are those who were aware of their weaknesses and sins and knew that Jesus was the answer.
After the poor, crippled, blind and lame came to the feast, there was still more room. So the man sent his servants to invite those from “the highways and hedgerows” which is a reference to the Gospel being preached to the Gentiles who were not of Jewish origin.
Today, this feast continues to be offered. There are many lax Catholics, however, who refuse to come. There are those who find that life is too busy for them to make time for prayer and for Mass. They are those who are so caught up in worldly pursuits that they see little personal benefit in devoting themselves to the celebration of the Holy Eucharist.
If you wish to be among those who attend the feast of our Lord, you must work to identify yourself with the poor, crippled, blind and lame. You must recognize your brokenness, weaknesses and sins. You must not shy away from seeing yourself this way because it is to those that Jesus sends a desperate invitation. His desperation is an all-consuming desire for us to share in His love. He wants to love and heal those in need. We are those who are in need.
When we come to our Lord’s Feast through prayer, fidelity to His Word, and by our participation in the Sacraments, we will notice that He wants others to join us for His feast. Therefore, we must also see ourselves as those servants who are sent forth to the highways and hedgerows where we will find those who do not follow God’s will. They must be invited. Though they might not feel as though they belong, God wants them at His feast. We must do the inviting.
Reflect, today, upon two things. First, reflect upon any excuse you regularly use when God invites you to pray, to deepen your faith, and to participate in the Eucharist. Do you respond immediately and with eagerness? Or do you excuse yourself more often than you want to admit? Reflect, also, upon the duty given to you by God to go forth to the most lost souls so as to invite them to God’s feast. Our Lord wants everyone to know they are invited. Let Him use you to send forth His invitation.
My generous Lord, You have invited me to share in the glory of Your great Feast. You invite me every day to pray, grow strong in my faith, and to share in the Holy Eucharist. May I always respond to You and never excuse myself from Your invitations. Please also use me, dear Lord, to send forth Your invitation to those most in need. Jesus, I trust in You.
1. The Divine Invitation to Dinner: The image of dining with God in his Kingdom is a powerful one. It evokes the joy and blessing of a family meal. Jesus alludes to his role as the servant who calls the people to the feast. Instead of rejoicing at the invitation, they make excuses to not attend. “Israel was long invited to this feast by the prophets, yet many of the people declined when the Messiah announced the meal was ready. The Father therefore revised the guest list, summoning the despised of Israel (Luke 14:21) and the Gentiles (Luke 14:23; see Acts 13:46; 28:28) to enjoy the banquet in their place” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament, 135). We dine in the Kingdom of God first in the Eucharist (Luke 22:19-20), but, ultimately, in the communion we will enjoy with God in heaven (Revelation 19:9).
1. A Man Gave a Great Dinner: “What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). We cannot begin to appreciate truly the incredible gift God is offering us with heaven. It is an invitation to communion with the Blessed Trinity. We will contemplate the face of God in union with all the angels and saints. This will be the ultimate fulfillment of all our “deepest human longings” (see Catechism #1023-1024). Scripture struggles to find words to describe sufficiently the joy associated with heaven: “a great dinner,” “a wedding feast,” “a feast.” Such worldly joys, good though they are, are but a shadow of the joy awaiting us in heaven. As Catholics, we should cultivate our longing for heaven by frequently meditating on our vocation to be with God eternally.
This wonderful passage is full of advice for getting along with people: anticipate one another in showing honor. Exercise hospitality. Do not grow slack in zeal. Endure in affliction.
This may seem like a very demanding set of directions, but as in everything else, Jesus doesn’t just show us the way; he gives us the grace we need. Recall how he showed profound respect to everyone who approached him, from social outcasts to fault-finding officials. Even when he was weary, he cared for his followers, teaching them and miraculously feeding them. His desire to love as his Father loves never grew weary.
Even more important than Jesus’ example, however, is his presence in us through the Spirit. Christ makes it possible for us to love people beyond our natural inclinations. How? By helping us to know his mind and heart so that we can think and act with him.
On a natural level, we can often tell when another person is rejoicing or weeping. But Jesus wants to show us what fills him with joy and what grieves his heart. Let’s start with what grieves the Lord. Like the master in today’s Gospel, he is sad when we’re too busy to accept his invitation to the banquet of life. His heart is heavy, too, when we put up obstacles that hold other people back from him: when we are selfish with our time, perhaps, or when we withhold forgiveness.
What makes him rejoice? He is thrilled when he sees us take even the smallest steps to set aside selfishness. He smiles every time we treat each other with respect—especially those we have a hard time loving. Every time we forgive a hurt or reach out to someone who is suffering or marginalized, his joy increases. He loves it when we are cheerful and encouraging or when we are generous. In other words, Jesus rejoices every time we love each other as he has loved us!
Let’s join our hearts with Jesus’ heart today. As we rejoice and grieve with him, our hearts will change. And as our hearts change, we will change the world!
“Jesus, I long to enter into your heart. Let me become your ambassador to a hurting world.”
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