THE PRIORITY OF THE HEAVENLY BANQUET


FRIDAY, THIRTY FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Rom 15:14-21; Ps 98:1-4; Lk 16:1-8

Setting the Banquet as a Priority

Consciously or unconsciously, there is always a priority of values and interests in our hearts that guides our actions. The priority of values or interests originates from our love and desire; it furnishes us with a scale or order of preference, determining what thing we sacrifice for another thing. Our knowledge and needs at a particular point in time may reorganize our priorities and scale of preference. The human mind and heart are dynamical structures, which receive and direct the flow of experience constituted by perceptions of things and events that trigger a flow of memory and emotions; they need to be constantly guided for us to maintain a steady and consistent direction in our spiritual journey. When we are lost in physical engagements or preoccupations, these spiritual faculties are left unattended and pulled along by the senses and sensual desires. The grace of conversion to Jesus Christ helps us to live more in the interior or spiritual, where we commune with the Holy Spirit and follow his guidance to accomplish God’s will. Hence, we considered the Christian life to be a life of prayerful attention to Jesus Christ, who is our way, truth, and life. A constant and prayerful attitude maintains the word of God as a priority in our lives and doings.

In light of the above, Saint Paul understands and explains the Christian life as a priestly role, which we must live out before God and men. “The reason why I have written to you, and put some things rather strongly, is to refresh your memories, since God has given me this special position. He has appointed me as a priest of Jesus Christ, and I am to carry out my priestly duty by bringing the Good News from God to the pagans, and so make them acceptable as an offering, made holy by the Holy Spirit.” If it is a priestly duty to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to others, then we all share the same priestly duty and mission, for we are all called to preach the Gospel. The only way we can best fulfil the role of preaching the Gospel is to make it our pattern of life. We achieve this by giving Jesus Christ the priority of place in our minds and hearts, so that the love for him would order our doings. By doing this, Paul was able to achieve all he did in union with Christ. “I think I have some reason to be proud of what I, in union with Christ Jesus, have been able to do for God. What I am presuming to speak of, of course, is only what Christ himself has done to win the allegiance of the pagans, using what I have said and done by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thus, all the way along, from Jerusalem to Illyricum, I have preached Christ’s Good News to the utmost of my capacity.” We preach the Gospel to the utmost of our ability only by giving it the first place in our minds and hearts.  

To imitate the example of Saint Paul to give Jesus Christ and the Gospel the first place in our minds and hearts would only be the imitation of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Trinity has set our salvation as a priority in heaven and on earth. We heard our Lord say, in the Gospel of yesterday, that the whole of heaven rejoices at the conversion of a sinner. The parable of the dishonest steward in today’s Gospel emphasises the setting of this priority in our minds. Facing the danger of being sacked from his position, and afraid to suffer homelessness and joblessness, the steward planned his strategy to win favour among his master’s debtors. Making that his priority enabled him to utilise every means within his power to secure his future. Our Lord wants us to prioritise our eternal life as the steward did his life after his stewardship. “The master praised the dishonest steward for his astuteness. For the children of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the children of light.” We must never allow anything mundane or this-worldly to replace the priority of the eternal banquet with Jesus Christ and with God in our minds and hearts; to let this happen is to let the evil one rob us of our eternal reward. We anticipate the glory and joy of the eternal banquet here by our mindful and spiritual attendance and participation at the Eucharistic banquet. Look beyond what you see and eat, see our Saviour and our Lord. “The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.”

Let us pray: Almighty and merciful God, by whose gift your faithful offer you right and praiseworthy service, grant, we pray, that we may hasten without stumbling to receive the things you have promised. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.        

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