This parable of the wedding feast holds many challenges for us – everyone is welcome to the feast!  The invited guests are welcome, then an invitation is given to everyone – whoever can be found! This gift of hospitality is foundational to our lives as we live the gospel of Jesus in our world today. 

There can be excuses that ‘life is too busy’; ‘too many commitments and responsibilities that take up my time’!  But our acceptance of this invitation to ‘come to the feast’ is always our choice, to respond with a grateful heart to the God of all love and grace. 

The other challenge of this gospel is to accept the invitation to reach out to our sisters and brothers, to our neighbours, to those with whom we work, to those who may be struggling in their day-to-day living, to those who may be searching for new direction in their lives, to those who are homeless and searching for the stability of a home. 

God is inviting us to ‘come to the feast’, to be in a deep relationship with God as we reach out to our sisters and brothers as we share the feast of God’s life and love.

By Ursula O’Rourke sgs