Truly Thankful

A Reflection on the Gospel for October 11th, 2020:
Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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MATTHEW
22:1-14

And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a marriage feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the marriage feast; but they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying, `Tell those who are invited, Behold, I have made ready my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves are killed, and everything is ready; come to the marriage feast.' But they made light of it and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, `The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the thoroughfares, and invite to the marriage feast as many as you find.' And those servants went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good; so the wedding hall was filled with guests. "But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment; and he said to him, `Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, `Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.' For many are called, but few are chosen."
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Pause. Pray.

And then read more...

Have you ever felt like you’ve been taken for granted or unappreciated? It’s definitely not the best feeling in the world. It leads to sadness and disappointment. A lot of the time, I can definitely take God for granted without even realizing that that is what I’m doing. 

Jesus’ parable in this Gospel reading tells us of the effort that God has put into giving each of us everything that He possibly can, yet we can still reject Him (sometimes without even noticing it). We can often find ourselves “making light” of God’s gifts in our lives that He has given us; the ability to have a relationship with Him, being able to have relationships with others here on Earth, and all of the good fortunes in our lives that can be attributed to God. God desires one thing more than anything: for us to be in relationship with Him. This is analogous to the king’s (God’s) wedding banquet (desire for us to show up for Him). The king prepares the best for his guests by slaughtering his oxen and fat calves and ensuring that all is ready for the banquet. God, too, gives us so many gifts in our lives each day that I know I can sometimes be ignorant of. Things like waking up to beautiful weather, having food on the table, and a bed to sleep in at the end of the day are gifts we have because God willed it. Most times I forget to say thank you to God for all of the gifts I have in my life. This Gospel brings to light how hurtful that can be to God. I can only imagine that the Lord often feels like the king in this parable, who has prepared so much that goes unnoticed. It can even be to the awful point where those who have delivered the King’s good news are persecuted and mistreated. 

I don’t know about you, but I certainly can do better to appreciate all that God has to give me and will offer me in order to prepare me for a great relationship with Him. It can be as simple as writing down a few things that you are thankful for each day and intentionally thanking the Lord for them. I pray that I may be able to better recognize the gifts that God offers to me so that I can grow in relationship with Him and be truly thankful for all that He does for me. Amen. 




​Megan Noye
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