Thoughts for the Day

The Parable of the Great Dinner

One of the dinner guests said to Jesus, ‘Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Someone gave a great dinner and invited many. At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, “Come; for everything is ready now.” But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, “I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my apologies.” Another said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please accept my apologies.” Another said, “I have just been married, and therefore I cannot come.” So the slave returned and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, “Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.” And the slave said, “Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.” Then the master said to the slave, “Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those who were invited will taste my dinner.”’

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Confusingly there are two different parables about great feasts in the gospels. There is the Parable of the Great Dinner/Banquet (Matthew calls it a Wedding feast 20.22-14) and we shall look at Luke's version of this today. Both Matthew and Luke's accounts give the same message, but it isn't helpful that Luke gives us another totally different parable, also called the Parable of the Wedding Banquet (Luke 14.7-14) which immediately precedes today's one of the Great Dinner.

Today's reading brings back a clear memory for me of holding a birthday tea for our young son. It was, I think, his third or fourth birthday and I invited four of his friends with their Mums round. I sent them all invitations a few weeks ahead but suddenly when everything was ready four lots of excuses came in. There were different reasons from "He's got a cold" to "We need to go and see Granny, she's not well". I was devastated on my son's behalf, for he had been so looking forward to his party. How was I to rescue his special day? Finally I had a brain-wave. I trawled through a few names of adults we knew him and who were very "child friendly". The birthday tea was rescued, and we had a wonderful afternoon!

The point of the parable is that God invites His guests to His Heavenly banquet - he offers salvation - which we (or our parents and godparents) have accepted through our Baptism and/or Confirmation. His offer is for all regardless of status, but the invitation requires not just a "yes" or "no" one-off answer to the call. A real response is needed from those who are invited. Just as the dinner guests were expected to come to the event suitably clothed for the prestigious meal, so we are to prepare ourselves, spiritually, for the time when we are called home to God's Great Dinner, whether that is tomorrow or in decades to come.

Heavenly Father,
we have received Your invitations to be Your child,
and we await Your message to say "Come home!"
In the meantime help us to make preparations by
ditching the rubbish that we don't need to keep:
the times we have been selfish, unkind, lacking
in sincerity, and unloving to others;
the times we have put you at the bottom of the pile
and gone our own way;
and the times we speak to everyone, rather than You.
Help us to pack only what is needed:
faith and trust in You and in Your promises;
and a pure heart that is ready to accept
the call to come home.
Amen.