Luke 14:16-24
The Lord said this parable: “A man once gave a great banquet, and invited many; and at the time of the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for all is now ready.’
But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I go out and see it; I pray you, have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I must go to examine them; I pray you, have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’
So, the servant came and reported this to his master. Then the householder in anger said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city and bring in the poor and maimed and blind and lame.’ And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and there is still room.’
And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges, and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet. For many are called, but few are chosen.'”
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
We hear today the parable of great banquet, in which a man sends his servant to invite his guests to come and dine with him. The man, of course, as the Fathers teach us, is God the Father; and the servant He sends to invite guests to the banquet is His Son, Christ our Lord.
And we may note that the servant invites three types of guests. The first are those who were invited before the feast was ready; and the servant goes only to remind them that they were invited in advance, and everything is now ready for them. Next are those who dwell in the streets and lanes of the city, the poor and maimed and blind and lame. And finally, there are those from outside the city, those living in the highways and hedges of the countryside.
Who are these people? The Fathers tell us that the first group are the rulers and religious authorities of the Jews. These are the ones who were prepared for the coming of the Messiah by the Law and the Prophets. And as we know all too well from our reading of Sacred Scripture, they refused to believe in Him or follow Him when He came.
Next are the ordinary people of Israel, symbolically represented as living in the holy city of Jerusalem. Many of these followed Jesus, much to the outrage and amazement of their leaders. But still there was room at the great banquet of the Lord. So, those from outside the city were called also. These are the pagans and gentiles of the world outside Israel. And we know that many were to answer that call, giving an element of prophecy to this parable.
And we should be reminded here that God calls us all, from all places in the world and from all walks of life. Some will answer, some will not. That is their choice, for all have free will. But God never ceases to call them. And it is our role to welcome all those that answer Him. And in particular we must remember that once they have entered the Church through Holy Baptism, they are as much a Christian as those who were baptised at birth and have remained faithful to Christ all the days of their lives. For as we are told in the parable of the workers in the vineyard, God’s reward is the same for those who come early and those who come late.
We must also consider the excuses made by those who refused to come to the banquet, for the Fathers assure us that there is a deeper meaning in the reasons that they gave. One said he had bought a piece of ground and needed to go inspect it. This stands for those who prioritise the material things of this world over those which are of infinitely greater worth, the spiritual treasures that we may lay up in heaven. It is all too easy to get caught up in such things, saying to yourself this that you must do this and do that and then you will pray, or read the Scriptures or the Fathers, or attend the Liturgy. And before you know it the time is gone and you have left no time for the things of God or so little time that you give it hurriedly and carelessly, with little love or devotion.
Next is the man who has bought five yoke of oxen which he claims he must go examine them. A strange excuse, for who makes a purchase of such worth without examining what he buys first? But it is, of course, an excuse that is intended to sound plausible on the surface, but which proves itself to be shallow on closer consideration. Just like all the excuses we make to ourselves for neglecting our spiritual duties. Concerning the oxen themselves, the Fathers tell us that they stand for the temptations that we face from the five senses, temptations that can easily lead us away from God if we let them. Our senses, naturally, are good and God-given. But must control them, just as a wise farmer knows he must keep charge of his horse or oxen when ploughing or risk disaster, or else they can drag us off to ruin.
Finaly, there is the man who has just married. Now, marriage is an honourable state of life, and one instituted by God from the very beginning. And in the ancient world it was expected for a newly married couple to spend a great deal of time together. Indeed, it was usual for a such a man to be excused from military service for the first year. This was not some kind of an extended honeymoon, but in order to provide the couple with a wide window of opportunity to conceive a child. Be fruitful and multiply was God’s command to His people.
But again, even though this might seem like a plausible reason to stay away from the banquet, it does not stand up to scrutiny. Because, of course, no man remained within the four walls of his house for a full year after marriage. As the Fathers remind us, being a dutiful husband is one thing, being so devoted to the pleasures of the marriage bed that you neglect other duties is another. And when a man becomes so fixated on something that is in itself wholesome that it becomes an excuse to neglect his duties toward God, then his behaviour becomes evil.
God calls us all to His heavenly banquet. It is up to us as to whether we will answer that call, putting it before all else in our lives. Or whether we will be led astray, making excuse after excuse as to why we cannot respond to Him as we should. Alas, for those in the latter group; we must pray for them that they will heed the call while there is still time. And we must pray for ourselves, and ask others to pray for us, that we may be numbered amongst the former, answering God’s call, so that, come the end of days, we may find ourselves seated at His heavenly feast. Amen.
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