TUESDAY HOMILY, 31ST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A)
THEME: Lunch, Old City Jerusalem
Gospel – Luke 14:15-24
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Recently a mom broke hearts on TikTok when she shared the devastating news that her son was all alone during his own birthday party when “literally zero people showed up. She said that all 22 kids invited to her son’s sixth birthday party were no-shows. He was left playing in the park by himself with decorations and cupcakes set up for the party.
Since the video was posted, it has amassed more than 543,000 likes and more than 20,000 comments with many viewers sending birthday wishes, sharing similar situations that happened to them or their children, and offering to send gifts. However, the mom has refused the gifts, saying that the offers are greatly appreciated but asked that they instead be sent to children’s hospitals. She also insisted that all her son wanted was to spend time with friends, not receive gifts, but that the outpouring of responses has been phenomenal.
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We have all hosted great dinners, celebrations of engagements, graduations, birthdays and holidays. We are now a little over 2 weeks away from Thanksgiving. In our house, in a ‘normal’ year, that would mean the cleaning has begun, not to mention the planning of the menu and the grocery lists. We all know the time and the effort necessary to pull off a great Thanksgiving dinner. So imagine all the details and logistics the man in the parable must have gone through to prepare his “great feast”.
And nobody came! Nobody came! Was he upset? Yes, of course! But notice that he didn’t just pack everything up, shut the doors and turn out the lights. He went ahead with the dinner and invited even more people, essentially everyone. Consider what this says about the man, about God! The feast is always prepared, the table is always set, and the doors are always open. Some will refuse to come but ALL are invited! This parable speaks to us of God’s infinite love and compassion. He doesn’t give us only one chance to respond to His call; the opportunity exists on a daily basis.
Accepting the invitation is not always easy but it is always there! Even in a time of social and political unrest, of war and violence and deep distrust, God continues to invite us to His feast. May God grant us the strength and the grace to respond to His invitation!
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