Priority is God

The WORD in other words (2023) by Fr Narciso Cellan SVD – University of San Carlos, Cebu City

Tuesday 31st Week in Ordinary Time

One rainy day a wife called her husband to fetch her from the office. The husband declined, saying that he was attending to their dog giving birth. The wife almost believed her husband’s excuse when suddenly she heard voices of people cheering. He explained that his friends were in the house, cheering for the dog. She however suspected that her husband was in a bar drinking beer with friends while watching basketball on TV. She was right, of course.

We could be guilty of the same – making up excuses so as to be spared from certain tasks or duties, like the case in today’s Gospel. Invited to dinner, a guest declined, claiming that he had to examine a newly purchased field. Another one also refused to go, for he had to assess the oxen he had just bought. A third invitee just got married, so he too could not attend the dinner.

When all the invited guests turned down the invitation, the master ordered his servant to go out into the streets and extend the offer to anybody, including the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame. The message of Jesus could not be clearer. The invitation is open to whoever is willing to accept it, come, and set aside their preoccupations.

Originally, Jesus was making a point to the scribes, Pharisees, and Jews who refused to heed his call to conversion and believe in him as the Messiah. The same offer is being made to us now to accept him as our Savior and take part in the Eternal Banquet of faith, hope, and love. It is an invitation that can only be accepted by those ready to reset their priorities in favor of the Lord and reorder their plans according to God’s precepts.

This is easier said than done. When push comes to shove, compromises and excuses can rule the day as many things can get in the way of our conversion and genuine Christian commitment to service and mission. It is no wonder thus that the most deprived and poor in our society are closer to God and more blessed for they are quick to heed his voice.