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Gospel Reading for November 03, 2026 – Luke 14: 15-24
LOSS OF HEAVEN FOREVER
One of those at table with Jesus 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.’”
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We are all invited to take part in building God’s Kingdom and in enjoying the blessings that come with it. It is not something we can claim as our right, even if we are baptized Christians. It is a gift of God that we must freely accept and respond to if we wish to share in its blessings.
Sometimes, we take God’s invitation for granted. We think he will always be waiting for us to change our ways or take part in building his Kingdom. The truth is that although his invitation remains open, there are always others who will gladly accept it and give it the importance it deserves, while we may continue to ignore it.
Jesus’ use of a great dinner to describe the Kingdom of God reminds us that accepting God’s invitation is a matter of life and death. Without food, we cannot survive for long. We need food to sustain our lives. In the same way, we need God’s grace and the spiritual nourishment that comes from living in communion with him. This is the importance of the Eucharistic meal for us.
Our time on earth is limited because we have no idea how much longer we have. Our complacency and failure to respond to God’s invitation may cost us the LOSS OF HEAVEN FOREVER!
Lord Jesus, may we always realize what a great privilege it is to be invited into your heavenly Kingdom. Amen
