💖 HOMILY - NOVEMBER 4 💖

First Reading - Romans 12:5-16

Gospel - Luke 14:15-24

There’s something profoundly human about receiving an invitation. Whether it’s to a wedding, a meal, or a simple gathering, an invitation says, “You are wanted. You are welcome.” Today’s readings center around this idea—God’s invitation to share in His life, His joy, and His Kingdom. Yet, these readings also challenge us to ask: how do we respond when God calls?

In the first reading, St. Paul paints a picture of the Christian community as one body made up of many members. Each person is different, yet all are essential. He urges believers to live in harmony, to love sincerely, to serve fervently, and to be joyful in hope. This is the kind of life that flows from saying “yes” to God’s invitation—a life rooted in humility, compassion, and service. It is not a life centered on self-interest but one that reflects God’s generosity and unity.

In the Gospel, Jesus tells the parable of a great banquet. Many are invited, but when the time comes, they all begin to make excuses. One is busy with property, another with business, another with personal commitments. Each one has something seemingly important—but in choosing these things over the invitation, they miss out on the feast. The host, hurt but undeterred, opens the doors wide and welcomes the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame. The table, once empty, becomes full again—with those who might never have imagined receiving such an invitation.

Dear friends, God’s Kingdom is a banquet of grace, but it requires our response. The tragedy of the parable is not that people were evil, but that they were distracted. They allowed the urgent to overshadow the important, the temporary to outweigh the eternal. How easily this can happen in our own lives—when work, worries, or comfort quietly take the place of God’s call.

This parable also reveals the heart of God—He never gives up on His invitation. When some reject Him, He reaches out to others. His love keeps expanding, breaking barriers, reaching those on the margins. It’s a reminder that in God’s Kingdom, there’s always room for one more. No one is too far gone, too broken, or too unworthy. His invitation is for all.

This calls us to examine how we respond to God’s daily invitations—those quiet nudges to pray, to forgive, to help someone in need, to make time for others, to deepen our faith. Often, these small moments are the ways God invites us to His banquet. If we’re too busy, too proud, or too distracted, we risk missing His grace.

The challenge today is to say “yes” again—to open our hearts to God’s invitation and to share that same invitation with others. The more we live with generosity, humility, and love, the more we become living signs of God’s open banquet—a people who make others feel welcomed, valued, and loved.

May we never let excuses keep us from the joy of God’s feast. And may our lives, like an open table, reflect the wide and welcoming heart of God who still calls out to each of us: “Come, for everything is ready.”