（路14:15-24）
天主為我們預備了天國的筵席，是希望我們坐滿的。能夠坐滿就意味著天國的位置不是無限的，是要爭取的。這一點我們不能掉以輕心。固然天主對我們的愛，不是我們所能想像，但我們也不能過度樂觀，以為所有的人都可以得救。至於天主為我們預留了多少位置，我們不得而知。假如是144,000個位，您和我也不想做第144,001個嘛。
誰會是名落孫山的人呢？福音說是那些曾被天主所邀請，但後來卻推辭了的人。世上哪有這樣大不敬和這樣傻瓜的人呢？原來是大有人在的。
無疑，買田買地是大手筆的交易，買五對牛也花費不菲（在「蕩子回頭」的故事中，一頭牛犢足以宴請全村的鄉親父老。）不竟，做交易之前不是已經檢查清查了纔作出決定的嗎？事後纔檢查明顯是借口，戀棧金錢權勢纔是背後真正的原因。小心，在日常生活中要提防那些動搖我們追隨天主決心的事物。金錢權勢就是其中兩個明顯的例子。
娶妻的確是終身大事，而且大部份的基督徒都是藉婚姻生活成聖的。即是說，故事中娶了妻子的人應該帶著妻子一同參加筵席，一同成聖纔對。做妻子的，為了丈夫的好處，也應勸丈夫去赴宴纔對。倘若她沒有這樣做，她不但不是一個賢妻，更是害了自己丈夫的毒婦。這樣的妻子，不娶也罷。（請勿誤會，我並不是在鼓吹離婚！）娶了妻子卻忘記了成聖，真是得不償失，本末倒置！與妻子一生一世又怎及與她生生世世可以相比呢？可歎世上真的有如此看輕永生的傻瓜。
天主啊！請光照我們的心目，讓我們認清祢的寵召是何等甘美，不容錯過。亞孟。
HEAVENLY BANQUET
(Luke 14:15-24)
When God prepares for us the heavenly banquet, He wishes us to fill up the places. This suggests that the number of seats is not infinite and have to compete for. We should not be complacent. Of course God’s love for us is beyond our imagination but we cannot be over optimistic, thinking that all will be saved. We do not know how many places there are. Suppose there are 144,000. You and I definitely do not want to be the 144,001st.
Who would fall out from the guest list? The gospel says those whom God has invited but later they rejected the invitation. How on earth can there be such disrespectful and stupid fool? Indeed, there are many.
Without doubt, buying fields and land were big transactions. One had to spend a lot to buy 5 yoke of oxen (In the parable of Prodigal Son, a calf was enough to feed the whole village.) After all, hadn’t all the land lots or oxen been inspected before the deals were struck? Doing inspection after the deal was obviously an excuse. The real reasons were the love of money and power. Beware of things in daily life which weaken our determination to follow God. Money and power are just two obvious examples.
Getting married is a life-long commitment and most Christians attain sanctification through marriage. That is to say, the man who had just married should go to the banquet together with his wife. The wife should, for the good of her husband, persuade her husband to go the banquet. Otherwise, not only was she not a good wife, she would even be evil for depriving her husband of eternal life. It would have been better for him not to have married (Don't make me wrong. I am not promoting divorce!) Getting married but lost sanctification, what a faulty priority, what a pity! Hooked up with this wife in this life is definitely not as good as staying together in eternality. There are truly stupid people who slight eternal life.
Dear God, illuminate the eyes in our hearts. Let us see how sweet, how indispensable your call is. Amen.
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