A Homily on Luke 14:15-24 : Are you ready to say YES (4-11-25)

One afternoon, a potter was shaping clay in his small hut. The wheel kept turning. When one lump broke, he quietly took another. He did not stop. He just began again, shaping patiently until the vessel came to life. He smiled when it was done. It was never about the clay that broke; it was about the potter’s unending patience.

That is how God’s grace moves in today’s Gospel. The king sends invitations for a feast. However, people refuse, politely, but firmly. Yet the king does not cancel the feast. He sends his servants again, to the poor, the crippled, the blind, the lame. He fills his house with those who never thought they were worthy.

The world often thinks that rejection ends a story. But for God, rejection only redirects grace. Grace moves forward, quietly, powerfully, until it finds someone willing to say “yes.” When one heart closes, God looks for another. When one field owner says, “I am too busy,” grace walks down the road to a beggar and says, “Would you like to come?” That is the wonder of God’s love: grace does not wait.

In the Old Testament, we see the same movement. When Israel closed its ears, God spoke through prophets to the nations. When King Saul failed, God chose David. When one door closed, grace knocked on another. It always finds its way to a heart that is open, even if that heart is poor, forgotten, or broken.

In our families, this is also true. Sometimes someone refuses to pray, to forgive, to believe. We may think everything is lost. But God’s grace simply changes direction. It might reach another through the love of a child, the tears of a mother, the patience of a spouse. The feast of God never remains empty; the Holy Spirit keeps seeking new hearts to fill it.

Saint Francis of Assisi once prayed, “Lord, where others refuse, send me.” That is the prayer of a person who understands today’s Gospel. When others say “no,” a saint says “yes,” and becomes the road through which grace continues its journey.

Look into your own life. Has grace been waiting outside your door because you were too busy, too proud, or too afraid? If you keep saying “later,” grace may move on to another, not in anger, but because the feast must go on. And when it does, the poor, the weak, and the humble will find themselves sitting where the proud refused to sit.

The message is simple yet sharp: Do not keep grace waiting. When God invites, answer now. His invitation is not only to heaven but to peace in your family, healing in your heart, and love in your daily life. The feast is ready. The table is set. Only one thing is missing : your “yes.”

Lord, let me never make your grace wait outside my door; teach me to say yes when you call.

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God Bless…