Blessed is the one who will dine in the kingdom of God
Rm 12,5-16a; Ps 130; Lk 14, 15-24
5 NOVEMBER
In the kingdom of God, both on earth and in the eternal skies, food is taken by invitation. Therefore, there is a profound difference between the modalities of the Old Covenant and those of the New. In the Ancient one became a descendant of Abraham by circumcision practiced on the eighth day. One became a people of the Lord for the Covenant stipulated at Sinai and renewed from time to time, especially in the darkest and gloomiest moments. It was enough to observe the Commandments, the Law and one had the right to every blessing of God.
The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it. For He has founded it upon the seas And established it upon the rivers. Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the Lord And righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face—even Jacob. Lift up your heads, O gates, And be lifted up, O ancient doors, That the King of glory may come in! Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, The Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O gates, And lift them up, O ancient doors, That the King of glory may come in! Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory (Ps 24 (23) 1-10).
In the New Testament we become sons of the kingdom by faith in Christ Jesus. Nothing is by birth. Everything is by faith. Faith is not reserved for one people. By God’s promise all peoples and nations have the right to be able to access the faith. Faith is entered by preaching. The Word of Jesus is preached, His mystery is announced, His Gospel is made to be heard, He who believes and lets himself be baptized, becomes the body of Christ, lives as a true body of Christ, has the right to take food in the kingdom of God, food on earth and food in the blessed skies. You take food in eternity if you take it over time.
He said to them, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents (with their hands), and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs (Mk 16,15-20).
If the Apostles do not preach the Gospel to every creature, they are responsible for those who are lost. In proportion to the sacrament received, the same responsibility falls on the baptized, confirmed, married, consecrated, deacon and presbyter. Even on those who have been anointed with anointing the responsibility of attesting the difference between the one who experiences pain as a pagan and those who live it in faith, in hope and in the love of Christ, falls. If the invitation is not made, one is guilty of omission.
One of his fellow guests on hearing this said to him, “Blessed is the one who will dine in the kingdom of God.” He replied to him, “A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many. When the time for the dinner came, he dispatched his servant to say to those invited, ‘Come, everything is now ready.’ But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves. The first said to him, ‘I have purchased a field and must go to examine it; I ask you, consider me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen and am on my way to evaluate them; I ask you, consider me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have just married a woman, and therefore I cannot come.’ The servant went and reported this to his master. Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ The servant reported, ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out and still there is room.’ The master then ordered the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedgerows and make people come in that my home may be filled. For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.'”
People are invited. Who refuses assumes his responsibility for the exclusion of the kingdom. People are not invited. The apostle of Christ Jesus and every other disciple of his are charged with the grave sin of a mission that has not been completed. The evangelizing mission is full of eternal responsibilities. Either we save the souls or we lose ours.
Mother of God, Angels and Saints, help Christians to live their mission according to truth.