The Needs of Ministry

Gospel: Luke 14: 25-33

The modern Christian cannot abide by today's Gospel portion.  Give up our possessions?!  Is Jesus for real?  After all, how can we undertake ministry without money and possessions?  We need our vast campuses, ornate churches, elaborate residences, and so much more in order to do the work of the kingdom, we think aloud to ourselves.  But is the kingdom we are working for that of God, or is it our own little kingdom?

Jesus had none of these things when he undertook the work of God on earth.  He had no vast estates, nor houses of worship or even a simple house to call his own home.  Jesus went from place to place encountering people, talking with them, and finding out their needs.  He discovered that people needed healing from their infirmities, liberation from their demons, the presence of another at table.  It cost Jesus very little to provide these things for others.  

Very little of what Jesus did on earth corresponds to what we regard as ministry today.  The modern Church finds visiting the sick and imprisoned and providing table fellowship and hospitality to others as secondary work.  That all takes a backseat to the annual appeal to maintain our properties and salaries as we seek to build empires of influence and power in the world.   To be the presence of God in the world requires few possessions.  It requires only that we be present to others in their need as Jesus was.  

The Invitation List

Gospel: Luke 14: 15-24

Today's parable contains two striking features.  The first regards those who were initially invited to the king's banquet.  They consisted of the usual attendees at royal banquets - the rich, the powerful, the influential.  All gave reasons of self-interest as to why they could not come.  Some of the reasons seem rather trivial to us.  But they have been to the banquets many times.  They are bored by them, and find their own pursuits of greater interest to them than attending another palace dinner.  

The second feature is the order given by the king to his attendants.  They were to go out and invite anyone they encounter without qualification - the poor, the outcast, the foreigner, everyone.  What is more, no litmus test or any entry criteria exist.  The king's attendants are simply to invite everyone to the royal banquet.  The attendants were not instructed to serve as bouncers or as a panel determining who was worthy and who could or could not attend.  

Many people who have repeatedly been excluded from the royal banquet greatly desire to attend while its regular attendees are indifferent to the invitation.  As the king's attendants it is our task to invite everyone to the banquet of the Lord, to make no hindrance or barriers to their entry.  It is not for us to change people.  The banquet itself will change and transform all who attend.  The banquet is not the reward for change; it is the catalyst of change and transformation itself! 

All Souls

Gospel: John 6: 37-40

Today's feast is an expression of God's own creed - that every single person is loved and cared for by God.  The arc of salvation history is that nothing, no one might be lost - that all might find their way into the kingdom of God.  This creed of God is expressed in the life and ministry of Jesus who went from town to town healing everyone without exception - people of all races, genders, creeds, and backgrounds.  No one was excluded at the table where Jesus ate.

That the Church has had this feast for nearly its entire existence represents a firm commitment to the creed of God.  Today and throughout this month the Church encourages us to pray for all people who have come before us and who now rest in death.  Special memorial Masses and displays of pictures of those who have passed will be present in churches throughout the world.  Lists of those who have passed will be created, and prayers will be said with great intention and fervor.  

Today and throughout the month it might be helpful in our own prayer life to make lists of those we have known who have passed, to perhaps light a candle each day and remember them in our prayers.  We might also visit a cemetery and just randomly walk about seeing grave stones and offering prayer for whomever lies in these tombs, whether we know them or not.  This day and month are set aside for expanding our capacity to love and care for all souls of all people.