Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

No Better Offer

Do you ever wait to RSVP to an invitation thinking that you might have a better offer? Even when the invitation is extended, I’ve had people ask me, “Would you come to our house for dinner with my family—unless you have a better offer?”

In this Sunday’s readings, there can be no better offer than the banquet Jesus proposes. Listen closely to all the banquet and feast language that is found in each of the readings. Imagine juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines, lavishness, abundance, goodness, and kindness. This festival language only begins to describe the fullness of life we will have in the presence of God, in God’s heavenly kingdom.

The invitation to the feast is extended each time we celebrate Eucharist. Our RSVP is both our presence, our expression of belief, and also a commitment to act. We are guests and we are also the ones doing the inviting. What happens to us, in our own conversion and transformation, becomes an invitation not only to stay on the path but also to invite others to enter the journey.

When Jesus says, “Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find,” Jesus is asking us to be inclusive at the table—to invite ALL. Jesus is asking us to enlarge the table, to make the circle expansive, to welcome those least expected to be participants.

This is our way of preparing for the ultimate banquet—the reign of God! Ven al banquete! Come to the feast! There is no better offer! Help us clothe ourselves with gratitude, generosity, and mercy.