Missed Opportunity

What do you do when you are invited somewhere, but you really don't want to go?

Do you decline and give an excuse, or do you agree to go just to be polite?

Then Jesus said to him, ‘Someone gave a great dinner and invited many. At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, “Come; for everything is ready now.” But they all alike began to make excuses. - Luke 14:16-18

In today's Gospel reading, Jesus begins by advising us to invite those who would not be able to repay, those with the greatest needs, those who most likely would come.

He then goes on to describe a banquet where all the guests decline, giving lame excuses.

The dinner is not important to them.  They have no need to take on an obligation by coming and then wanting or needing to repay the gesture with a future banquet they would have to give.

It is the way we think, isn't it?  How can I possibly keep up with my neighbor who can do so much more than I?

But what if there was no obligation to repay?  What if the invitation had no conditions of acceptance other than to come?

When it comes to God's grace, that's what the invitation is like.  We just get to come.  There are no conditions at all.

Jesus used the dinner as an example of how we make decisions of what is important in this life.  We let our egos rule.

We think we need to be the masters of our own destiny, and that spills over into our relationship with God.  I want to be the center of my world, the decider of my fate.

So, when I am invited to be a part of God's table, do I see it as an honor or an obligation?  Do I go willingly or do I check my calendar to see if I can squeeze it in?

So, I ask myself, what has God invited me to today?

How will my day be different than I planned if I take the time out to listen to God before I set off to get busy in the world?

Sometimes, I believe, God invites us to let go of our plans and be ready for an amazing journey, a glorious event, something He planned just for us.  But if we are too busy tending to our own needs, we will miss the opportunity completely, and never know how great it could have been.

Those people who passed on the banquet Jesus described had no idea what they missed.  It just passed them by.

I don't know if I wan that to happen to me.  So, God, here I am.  What is it you have planned for today?

I'm listening.

More to come...