servant, ‘Go out quickly, into the streets and alleys of the town, and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’The servant  reported  after  a while,  ‘Sir,  your  orders have been carried out, but there is still room.’ The master said, ‘Go out to the highways and country lanes, and force people to come in, to ensure that my house is full. I tell you, none of those invited will have a morsel of my feast.”

Reflections

“Happy are those who eat at the banquet in the kingdom of God!”The gospel passage gives us an insight into the “extension” of Jesus’ mission. He had original “invitees” but they turned the invite down. They did not show interest and made varied excuses. Hence, the invitation turned to those who were not part of the first plan, to partake of the great banquet in the Kingdom of God.One, however, should not miss to realize that this has a power- ful message about salvation. The offer of salvation is like being in- vited into the banquet of God’s Kingdom. But the concept of “in- vitation” should be understood well. While the invitation is freely offered, it doesn’t mean that one does not need to do anything about it anymore. It must be ex- plicitly accepted;  one  must de- cide to say “yes” to it. Even if there is some sense of force or coercion to the invitation, assent is neces- sary. Just like the first invitees, everyone subsequently invited are free to refuse the invitation.This gospel story Jesus told should be enough to encourage us people today. Fortunate will be those who will heed the invita- tion; they will have the chance of dining with the Master. Sorry for those who will refuse; they will be deserving of the Master’s rage. © Copyright Bible Diary 2019