2nd Sunday after Trinity - 16 Jun 1955
16 June 1955, St. John’s Chapel
Luke 14: 16-24: “Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.”
Both the Epistle and the Gospel for today are well known. The Parable of the great supper in the Gospelis as true of life today as it was at the time our Lord spoke it. The guests were invited to a banquet, but they sent their excuses. Various excuses were given. The excuses in the story seem reasonable in themselves. The world certainly needs farms and oxen to provide food and clothing, and homes to provide shelter and love. There are two things we must keep in mind in connection with this story.
The men gave their excuses for their failure to turn up for the supper. They were only excuses – reasons put forward to escape blame. The real reason for the guests not accepting the invitation was they had no desire to go to the banquet. They were not keen to honour their host. Don’t we often do the same? Not only do we give excuses to others, we ourselves begin to believe that the reasons are good reasons. Psychology calls it rationalisation. We must constantly watch ourselves. Our not going to church – could the real reason be laziness? We are lying unto God.
These men were busy about their farm and oxen to provide food and clothing. They were concerned about their home. They are all very necessary for our life. But all these without God coming into them will not help us in our lives. God must come into our home life. He must inspire us in our work. Otherwise our lives will not be a blessing.
The excuses the men gave were not wrong in themselves – the wrong consisted in the false sense of values which the men had, finding no time for the things of vital importance. People are preoccupied with business, pleasure, family life and God gets crowded out. When this happens life is bound to be a failure.