“‘My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?’... Many are invited, but few are chosen.” – Matthew 22:12, 14

“Here are the 21 new core members of our singles ministry!” I was caught off guard. They didn’t inform me! Surely someone with my talents, wisdom and experience in community would be part of this roster. But at number 18 and my name hadn’t been called yet, I said to myself, “Perhaps it’s a surprise?” Alas, 21 names were called and mine wasn’t on the list. I was devastated. I felt I was better than all of the others who made the cut. I felt I deserved it. I felt they had made the mistake of their lives by not giving me a leadership position.

       By now, you’re probably thinking, “Man, this guy is so full of himself!” Well, you’re right. I was. (Past tense, I hope.) Until the day I finally wised up, humbled myself and said, “Lord, I give up. I don’t want any position anymore. I don’t need to be  in authority. I just want to serve You in any way You desire. Use me. I’m Your humble instrument.”

       From that moment on, God began to use me in small ways. In silent support roles. Until eventually, He used me in ways I never imagined. Today, I’m doing more for God than I ever dreamed of.

       I guess at the time I wanted the position so badly, my heart just wasn’t dressed for the occasion. I simply wasn’t ready— yet. George Tolentino Gabriel (george.svp@gmail.com)

Reflection: Are you ready for whatever God wants you to do?

Lord, humble me and use me in whatever way You desire.

St. Pius X, pope, pray for us.

God promises that His power and will are going to prevail in the end. This is good news for us as His will is perfect. What is unknown is how long it will be before His will prevails. That depends almost entirely on our response to His will as the more we fight it, the longer it will take to come to be. Conversely, the more we surrender to it, the quicker it will be realized.

23 Thus says the Lord: I will prove the holiness of my great name, profaned among the nations, in whose midst you have profaned it. Thus the nations shall know that I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when in their sight I prove my holiness through you. 24 For I will take you away from among the nations, gather you from all the foreign lands, and bring you back to your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from all your impurities, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts. 27 I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes, careful to observe my decrees. 28 You shall live in the land I gave your ancestors; you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

R: I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins.

10 [12] A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. 11 [13] Cast me not out from your presence, and your Holy Spirit take not from me. (R) 12 [14] Give me back the joy of your salvation, and a willing spirit sustain in me. 13 [15] I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners shall return to you. (R) 16 [18] For you are not pleased with sacrifices; should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it. 17 [19] My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn. (R)

How often is this parable true for us? Maybe you think that it is very seldom true for you, but I want to suggest that every time we skip prayer in favor of another activity, we are being true to this parable. This parable is about making priorities for our lives and the first among them has to be our relationship with God, as without this our lives will be in chaos. Jesus wants disciples who will finish what they begin and, thus, can be counted upon to be true to their word. Are you one of this kind of people?

If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

1 Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and the elders of the people in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. 3 He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast, but they refused to come. 4 A second time he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those invited: “Behold, I have prepared my banquet, my calves and fattened cattle are killed, and everything is ready; come to the feast.”’ 5 Some ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. 6 The rest laid hold of his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. 7 The king was enraged and sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. 8 Then the king said to his servants, ‘The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come. 9 Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.’ 10 The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, bad and good alike, and the hall was filled with guests. 11 But when the king came in to meet the guests he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment. 12 He said to him, ‘My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?’ But he was reduced to silence. 13 Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’ 14 Many are invited, but few are chosen.”

think:  Jesus wants disciples who will finish what they begin and, thus, can be counted upon to be true to their word.

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Job 26-29

AN INVITATION FROM THE KING OF KINGS

It is important to realize that a call from the Lord is an invitation from the King of Kings to come and follow Him. This is no ordinary  invitation — it comes from the Son of God and has as its culminating celebration the gift of salvation. If that is so, how come many are ready to ignore or even delay responding to the invitation now? It is important to put God’s call in our lives within the right context, or its significance will be easily lost in the midst of the busyness of the world.

       The consequences described in the parable are extreme and I doubt whether they are meant to indicate any sort of punishment by the master giving out the invitation. However, they should serve as a warning to us of where our lives would lead if we exlude God from them. Isn’t it ironic that a large number of people, even perhaps the majority, do not want to consider the law of God when making decisions? It is as though He is irrelevant to their considerations or simply does not exist. Yet, at the first sign of adverse conditions or consequences of their actions, they blame God first. God seems to be the favorite “whipping boy” of many.

       The challenge for us is to get our focus right by giving priority to God in our schedules, and the rest will slowly take care of itself. If the most important thing we do every day is pray, then why is it that it’s the first thing that gets junked when we are running short of time? What does this say about our commitment to a daily prayer time?

       It is time to make a commitment to the things that really matter in our lives. The first of those is our relationship with God, which we can maintain through prayer. Let us never lose sight of this priority. Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL

REFLECTION QUESTION: Do you have a daily prayer time?

Holy Spirit, help me to set aside time every day to spend with God in prayer. I want to give the best to the Lord and not just scraps of my life here and there.