Tuesday, November 03, 2020 - 31st week of Ordinary Time - Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 14, 15-24 - Come to me, all you who labor under the burden, says the Lord, and I will give you rest.

Here Jesus describes the aspect of the great banquet of the kingdom of God: a man prepared a great feast for many guests. When the preparations were completed, the guests did not show up, each finding a pretext for their absence. The host became angry and ordered his servants to invite the poor and impotent. He did not order to distribute the victuals to them but to invite them to come and sit down with him: "Hurry up and go to the squares and streets of the city; the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame, bring them here". This is unconditional charity, because these poor people will not be able to return his invitation.

What Jesus meant was that the Jews at that time were invited to accept him as Messiah. But they were so busy with the daily routine of their lives. So they were the guests but did not respond to the invitation. When we do not accept Jesus as Messiah, we cannot eat with Him. And as food, He offers His body and blood for our salvation. Jesus invites us to the Eucharist, but sometimes we prefer to go about our daily activities, looking after our family and friends, instead of responding to his invitation on Sundays.

It is God's will that we participate in the banquet of the Kingdom of God. He wants us to be with Him. So let our response to God's invitation always be a "yes".