After finishing law school in Boston, I took a job with the Federal Courts.
So
my wife and kids and I moved here to DC.
Away
from the rest of our families.
A
couple years later we got a wedding invitation.
My
brother and his girlfriend had set the date for their wedding in
Connecticut.
Just
a few days after that we got another wedding invitation.
My
wife's brother and his girlfriend had set the date for their wedding
in New York.
Two
joyful wedding feasts, but a bit of a problem for us.
We
had a schedule conflict.
Both
weddings were on the same morning.
Two
hundred miles apart.
There
was no way we could make it to both of them.
There
was no clear prioritization rule to guide us.
We
had to choose one and excuse ourselves from the other.
We
decided to fall back on a simple rule of first in time.
To
commit to the invitation that we received earliest.
Our
Gospel today speaks of more serious conflicts in scheduling and
prioritization.
They've
found other things that suddenly seem more important to them.
Jesus'
story of the feast is similar to his story of the sower and the seed.
Faithfulness
to this invitation is like the seed that fell among the thorns.
The
word, the good, the truth, is choked off by wealth and other worldly
distractions.
All
of us have been invited to the great feast.
We
received our invitation at that instant when God thought us into
existence.
And,
deep down, we know the way to the feast—we've been shown the way.
Yet,
we get distracted.
It's
all too easy to let our priorities get out of whack.
But
there's really little excuse for that.
For
letting other things get in the way of our invitation to the great
feast.
We
may not have clear guidance on how to choose between brothers'
wedding invitations.
But
Jesus himself has given us clear guidance on how to choose the top
priorities of our lives.
And
if, despite his guidance, we should ever become confused along the
way,
A
safe solution is to fall back on that simple first in time
rule.
To
firmly re-commit to the invitation we received earliest.
The
one from that very instant of our creation.
Tuesday, 31st Week of Ordinary Time
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