Daily Reflection Tuesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time

Jesus is using a banquet image to describe the kingdom of heaven. Last weekend I had the pleasure of watching my nephew get married. The wedding was beautiful, and everyone invited had a wonderful time. You could feel the love and joy of everyone who was there. I would like to think that this is what the kingdom of heaven is like.

In case you have been living under a rock these days you may have missed that today is election day. This election has been contentious to say the least. I have heard about people who are having election parties. They are only inviting those whom they agree with. Thank God literally that Jesus did not do that or the invitation to the heavenly banquet would have been very small. Jesus invited all to the table and gives all of us the opportunity to say yes to the invitation.

The thing I noticed about today’s reading is that everyone was invited. Rich and poor, strong, and weak, the greatest and the least. We are all invited to be together, but it is our choice to RSVP with a yes. If you were hosting the banquet, who would be on your guest list? Would it be the poor or the young mom who is alone? Would it be the CEO of a big company or the child who is feeling lost? Would it be the neighbor who has the “Harris for President” sign, or the neighbor who has the “Trump for President” sign?

When we place all our trust in someone, we vote for we have lost focus on whom we should place all our trust. When we let the things of this world consume us to the point of alienating those around us then we have lost focus on the most important things.

You see regardless of who wins the election today God is the only one we can always relay on. He will always invite us to His banquet. He will always be there unconditionally. He will always be our greatest source of joy and love, and he will always want us to invite everyone we know to the heavenly banquet.