How is my relationship with God?

Did somebody say no?

15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”

16 Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’

18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’

19 “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’

20 “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’

21 “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’

22 “‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’

23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”-Luke14:15-24

There is a similar account found in the Gospel according to Matthew. In Matthew, when the servants rounded up the new batch of invited guests, the hall was filled immediately. However, in the Lucan version, the hall was not filled immediately so that the master ordered his servant to still gather guests from the roads and country lanes.

I do believe that the total number of poor and those who considered themselves poor far outnumber those who are rich and have enough. If so, the poor in one area alone can fill up a banquet hall, how much more if all the poor in a country are rounded up. But in the Gospel, we see a master (or king) who cannot fill up a banquet hall despite inviting the poor, crippled, blind and lame in his country - unless his kingdom is so rich and perfect that few such people existed.

As I reflected, grace made me realize that not all invited guests - from the second batch composed of the poor, lame, blind and crippled - accepted the master's invitation. Perhaps they have their own reason why they cannot attend the banquet.

The kingdom of God or His reign in our life is an invitation to the good and the bad alike. However, because of freewill, we can either accept or reject it. These past days, there is much emphasis on the poor to such an extent that anybody who is rich will be propelled to think about his/her lifestyle and relationship with God. Today, it seems the poor is equally invited to look into his/her life and relationship with God.

There was a time that many rich people are troubled if they have a place in heaven. Will they be saved too? It seemed to them that Jesus was pro-poor, and the rich has no place with Him like the rich man who was sent to hell in Lazarus' story. Once, the poor thought that they have a passport in heaven already with Lazarus' as their perfect example. But Jesus says, "No." The rich and the poor alike, the good and the bad alike, have no easy access and instant ticket to the kingdom of heaven (reign of God) and in salvation as well. There are rich people who are good and there are poor people who are wicked. Jesus is encouraging us all to be reflective of our actions and decisions. Did we accept His invitation today?

Image courtesy: Palladio Banquet Hall, various artists