Luke 14:15-24
Chapter 14
Jesus replied:
“A man once hosted a feast and invited many guests.
When it was time for the feast, he sent his servant to tell those he had invited that everything was ready.
But all of them began to make excuses. The first said, ‘Please excuse me. I need to go see the piece of land I just bought.’
Another said: ‘I am sorry, but I am on my way to try out the five yoke of oxen I have just bought.’
Still, another said, ‘How can I come, when I’ve just got married?’
The servant returned alone and reported this to his master. Upon hearing his account, the master of the house became furious and told his 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.”
Commentaries
The Wedding Feast.
In Jesus, God offers one last chance for salvation to his people, but there are always those who make excuses and refuse to accept the new reality of the kingdom. However, there is another, larger group that has been marginalized by the religious establishment, deprived of the knowledge and experience of communion with God as Father and friend. These include the crippled, the lame, the blind, women, children, and those who never thought they could share the table and life with the Father: pagans or foreigners. Despite the rejection, the Father’s plan of salvation, revealed in Jesus, continues. This divine project has a life of its own; it moves forward and is fulfilled even if many reject it and exclude themselves from it.