Being invited to God’s banquet

August 18, Thursday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time
Daily Readings: Ezekiel 36:23-28 & Gospel: Matthew 22:1-14

Behold, I have prepared my banquet; my calves and fattened cattle are killed, and everything is ready; come to the feast. ’

In today’s Gospel, there are three critical points that we can reflect upon: God’s constant invitation, what blocks us from going to the Lord’s banquet, and the attitude of each one in responding to Him.

'Go out into the main roads, then, and invite whoever you find to the feast.' Like the king in this parable, God always invites us to his great banquet, the eternal kingdom. It is not restricted to anyone. It is open to all without any distinction. It welcomes all kinds of people, whether they are qualified or not. It is the gift of God to all humankind.

Accepting God’s generosity for granted is easy, and we find excuses not to respond to him. However, not everyone responds to the invitation. Some ignored the invitation and went away, one to their farm, another to their business. The rest took hold of his servants, mistreated them, and killed them.’

What would stop us from coming to the feast today? We can ask ourselves: what is God inviting me to do at this point in my life? Am I finding reasons not to answer his call? Am I postponing my response to another moment?

The Lord is waiting for us to come to His feast with the "wedding garment." many are invited, but few are chosen. ’

Let us pray that in all circumstances of life, we will still be ready to respond to God generously, to the best of our ability, and be open to God's call and consistent in our choices.