A certain man made a great supper, and invited many.

St Luke Chapter XIV : Verses 15-24

Contents

• Luke xiv. Verses 15-24.  Douay-Rheims (Challoner) text & Latin text (Vulgate)
• Douay-Rheims 1582 text
• Annotations based on the Great Commentary

Luke xiv. Verses 15-24.

I have bought five yoke of oxen ...I pray thee, hold me excused.
Coornhert (Dirk Volkertsz, 1522-1590).

15 When one of them that sat at table with him, had heard these things, he said to him: Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.

Hæc cum audisset quidam de simul discumbentibus, dixit illi : Beatus qui manducabit panem in regno Dei.

16 But he said to him: A certain man made a great supper, and invited many.

At ipse dixit ei : Homo quidam fecit cœnam magnam, et vocavit multos.

17 And he sent his servant at the hour of supper to say to them that were invited, that they should come, for now all things are ready.

Et misit servum suum hora cœnæ dicere invitatis ut venirent, quia jam parata sunt omnia.

18 And they began all at once to make excuse. The first said to him: I have bought a farm, and I must needs go out and see it: I pray thee, hold me excused.

Et cœperunt simul omnes excusare. Primus dixit ei : Villam emi, et necesse habeo exire, et videre illam : rogo te, habe me excusatum.

19 And another said: I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to try them: I pray thee, hold me excused.

Et alter dixit : Juga boum emi quinque, et eo probare illa : rogo te, habe me excusatum.

20 And another said: I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.

Et alius dixit : Uxorem duxi, et ideo non possum venire.

21 And the servant returning, told these things to his lord. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant: Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the feeble, and the blind, and the lame.

Et reversus servus nuntiavit haec domino suo. Tunc iratus paterfamilias, dixit servo suo : Exi cito in plateas et vicos civitatis : et pauperes, ac debiles, et cæcos, et claudos introduc huc.

22 And the servant said: Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.

Et ait servus : Domine, factum est ut imperasti, et adhuc locus est.

23 And the Lord said to the servant: Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

Et ait dominus servo : Exi in vias, et sæpes : et compelle intrare, ut impleatur domus mea.

24 But I say unto you, that none of those men that were invited, shall taste of my supper.

Dico autem vobis quod nemo virorum illorum qui vocati sunt, gustabit cœnam meam.

Douay-Rheims : 1582 text

15. When one of them that ſate at the table with him, had heard theſe things, he ſaid to him: Bleſſed is he that ſhal eate bread in the Kingdom of God.

16. ⋮But he ſaid to him: A certaine man made a great ſupper, and called many.
17. And he ſent his ſeruant at the houre of ſupper to ſay to the inuited, that they ſhould come, becauſe now al things are ready.
18. And they began al at once to make excuſe. The first said to him, I haue bought a farme, and I must needs goe forth and ſee it; I pray thee hold me excuſed.
19. And an other ſaid, I haue bought fiue yoke of oxen, and I goe to proue them; I pray thee, hold me excuſed.
20. And an other ſaid, I haue maried a wife, and therfore I can not come.
21. And the ſeruant returning told theſe things to his Lord. Then the Maiſter of the houſe being angrie, ſaid to his ſeruant: Goe forth quickly into the ſtreetes and lanes of the citie, and the poore and feeble and blind and lame bring in hither.
22. And the sſeruant ſaid: Lord, it is done as thou didſt command, and yet there is place.

23. And the Lord ſaid to the ſeruant: Goe forth into the waies and hedges; and compel them to enter, that my houſe may be filled.
24. But I ſay to you, that none of thoſe men that were called, ſhal tast my ſupper.

 

Annotations

    15. Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God; i.e., in the resurrection of the just, of which Christ had made mention in the preceding verse. S. Cyril in the Catena, says, “This man was carnal, for he thought the reward of the saints was to be bodily.” He must therefore have been one of the Pharisees, for they believe in the resurrection, which the Sadducees deny. Acts xxiii. 8. For in heaven God feeds, satisfies, and fills (inebriat) the blessed with all delights. So the Psalmist: “But as for me, I will appear before thy sight in justice: I shall be satisfied when thy glory shall appear. Ps. xvi.15. And again, “They shall be inebriated with the plenty of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the torrent of thy pleasure.” Ps. xxxv. 9. This joy S. Augustine describes at length in his Soliloquies and Meditations.

    Mystically. “He was sighing for something which was afar off, and the bread itself was lying before him. For who is that Bread of the kingdom of God but He who says, I am the living bread which came down from heaven.” S. John vi. 51.

    16. But he said to him: A certain man made a great supper, and invited many. This parable is very similar to that recorded by S. Matthew. See commentary on (S. Matt. xxii. 2).

    But you will ask, What was this supper? 1. Some understand by it, the incarnation of the Word of God, the preaching of His Gospel, and the redemption wrought by Him. For this is the great supper to which Christ, when He became incarnate, invited us. S. Matthew calls it a dinner. It is a dinner as regards the Church Militant; a supper with respect to the Church Triumphant. In this sense Leonidas addressed his comrades before the battle: “Let us dine, fellow-soldiers, for we shall sup in the nether (or rather the upper) world.” For the Church Militant here on earth is striving eagerly to attain the Church Triumphant in Heaven.

    2. S. Cyril, in the Catena, understands the Eucharist by the supper. “The man,” he says, “is God the Father, who has prepared for us a great supper in Christ, for He has given us His own body to eat. Whence the Church makes choice of this parable for the Feast of the Blessed Sacrament.”

    3. But in its literal sense, the supper is the happiness and glory of heaven. It is called a supper, because it will be given in the evening, i.e. at the end of the world, when life and its troubles are over: because, also, it will be our only and everlasting refreshment.

    The great supper, says S. Gregory (Hom. 36), is the full enjoyment of eternal sweetness; for after it no guest is cast out.

    a great. For nothing greater than it can be imagined, since God Himself will be our food and feast. Hence, Euthymius says, “Hereby is signified the unspeakable fruition of God, who will fulfil the utmost expectations of the blessed. For ‘eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love him.’ ” 1 Cor. ii. 9.

    and invited many.: e.g., the whole nation of the Jews, who were the Church and the chosen people of God, and specially their rulers, who were bidden to “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” S. Matt. iii. 2.

    17. And he sent his servant, &c., i.e., sent the Apostles after the resurrection to say that all things were ready for the heavenly feast.

    16. And they began all at once to make excuse. The first said to him: I have bought a farm,, &c. The Scribes and Pharisees, and the chief Priests are here clearly indicated; for they, invited by Christ to the Gospel feast, made light of it, because they were so intent on their farms, i.e. their worldly possessions, that they had neither time nor inclination to think about the salvation of their souls. “God,” says S. Gregory (Hom. 36 in Evang.), “offers what ought to have been asked. Unasked, He is ready to give, what we could scarcely dare hope for. He announces that the delights of the eternal feast are ready, and with one consent they make excuse.” “They say, I pray thee, and then disdain to come. The word sounds of humility, but the action is pride.” S. Bernard rightly calls men who seek wealth, pleasure, honour and the like, lunatics. 

“I once” says he, “saw five men: why should I not look on them as lunatics? For the first, with swollen cheeks, was chewing the sand of the sea-shore. The second, standing by a lake of sulphur, was endeavouring to inhale the foul and noxious vapour which arose therefrom. The third, leaning over a blazing furnace, was enjoying the burning sparks which he received within his gaping jaws. The fourth, seated on a pinnacle of a temple, was drawing in with open mouth the light breezes, and if they seemed to flow less freely he fanned himself, as if in hope of inhaling the whole atmosphere. The fifth, standing aside, was laughing at the others, although himself the most deserving of ridicule, for he was busily engaged in sucking his own flesh, applying now his hands, now his arms, now one part of his body, now another to his mouth.”

    By these figures S. Bernard pictures the various kinds of sin. The first represents the greedy, the second the lustful, the third those prone to anger, the fourth the ambitious, and the fifth those who boast themselves over much of their possessions and are self-satisfied, who are never content, but ever thirsting for the good things of this world.

    19. And another said: I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to try them: I pray thee, hold me excused.. Another kind of avarice is here described, viz, the desire of possessing oxen, and animals for tillage, or food, or some other purpose; for the riches of the patriarchs lay in their herds. So think Theophylact and Titus. S. Gregory, however (Hom. 36), says, “What are we to understand by the five yoke of oxen but the five senses? which are rightly called yokes, because they are double in the two sexes.”

    20. And another said: I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.. What, asks S. Gregory, are we to understand by a wife but carnal gratifications? The Pharisees, like many at the present time, were ensnared by avarice and luxury. These are the thorns which choke the word of God. S. Luke viii. 14. [And that which fell among thorns, are they who have heard, and going their way, are choked with the cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and yield no fruit.]

    Let us all then give heed to the warning of S. Paul, and remember that “for the fashion of this world passeth away.” (1 Cor vii. 31). “For the ‘res temporalis’ consists in possession, and ‘res eterna’ in expectation,” S. Gregory (Hom. 36). Not that marriage is censured here (save so far as it interferes with the work of salvation), says S. Ambrose, but purity is held up to greater honour, for “the love of the things of this world is a fetter to (viscus est) the wings of the spirit.” Gloss.

    In carnal things, desire begets satiety, and satiety disgust; but in spiritual things, satiety provokes desire. S. Gregory.

    S. Augustine (serm. 33, De Verb. Domini) explains and applies somewhat differently the excuses of the invited guests:

    “The piece of ground which was bought denotes government. Therefore pride is the first vice reproved.

    “The five yoke of oxen are taken to be the five senses, by means of which earthly things are pursued. For the oxen till the ground; but men at a distance from faith, given up to earthly things, are occupied with carnal matters.

 Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man love the world, the charity of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world, is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life, which is not of the Father, but is of the world.  And the world passeth away, and the concupiscence thereof: but he that doth the will of God, abideth for ever. 1 S. John ii. 15-7. Away then with wicked and vain excuses, and let us come to the supper wherewith we may be inwardly nourished. Let not the lifting up of pride hinder us, neither let lawless curiosity fright us, and turn us away from God. Let not the pleasures of the flesh keep us from the pleasure of the heart. Let us come and be filled.”

    21. And the servant returning, told these things to his lord, &c. We are here taught that Christ chose the outcasts and poor in place of the Priests and Pharisees who had made light of His gospel. According to that which is written, “Amen I say to you, that the publicans and the harlots shall go into the kingdom of God before you.” S. Matt. xxi. 31. And again, “And many that are first, shall be last: and the last shall be first.” S. Matt. xix. 30.

    For albeit that Christ preached from the commencement of His ministry both to the Pharisees and to the multitude, yet the Pharisees, as of higher rank, were the first invited; to preserve the unity of the parable; and also because Christ would have the scribes first, by reason of their position, acknowledge Him, and then be His witnesses amongst the people. But the contrary came to pass. “They,” says Euthymius, “who refused to acknowledge Him, were the chief Priests and rulers of the people, and these, who were chosen in their stead, were the humble and the outcasts of the nation.” For of a truth “the foolish things of the world hath God chosen, that he may confound the wise; and the weak things of the world hath God chosen, that he may confound the strong. ” 1 Cor. i. 27.

    Symbolically. S. Augustine says (serm. 34 De Verb. Dom.): Who were those that came, but the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind? Those who absented themselves were those who thought themselves rich, and robust; who, as it were, could walk well, and see clearly, the hopelessness of whose state was proportionate to their pride.

Let the beggars come to the feast at the invitation of Him who made Himself poor that we might become rich.

Let the weak come, for the physician has no need of those that are whole, but of those that are sick.

Let the lame come and say, “Order my steps in Thy word.”

Let the blind come and say, “Lighten Thou mine eyes, that I sleep not in death.”

    These poor and miserable creatures teach us:

1. That none are to be despised, but that salvation in Christ is to be offered to all.

2. That it is easier for the poor to obey the gospel precepts, and therefore to be saved, than for the rich.

3. That we must despair of no one’s salvation, however wretched, blind, or perverse he may be.

    22. And the servant said: Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. The number of the elect is not yet complete. Heaven is not yet filled with those who are to obtain salvation. Learn to imitate the zeal of this servant, who rejected no one, however blind, deformed, or maimed, but busied himself in summoning and saving more and more.

    23. And the Lord said to the servant: Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.. Go forth, without the city—without Jerusalem, and beyond Judæa, and call the Gentiles to Christ.

    into the highways,  i.e. into the roads which lead to all nations and to the ends of the earth.

    and hedges. The hamlets and villages, which were surrounded not by walls but by hedges. Hence we are taught that the Gospel is to be preached by the Apostles and their successors, even to savage and uncivilised nations; a duty which is recognised more and more by the followers of Christ.

    Hence the servant does not say, as he added of the Jews in the 22nd verse, “it is done as thou hast commanded;” because the work is not yet finished among the Gentiles; it is being done more fully from day to day, to be completed at the end of the world. “The meaning of this verse,” says Titus, “is, that after the Israelites had been gathered in, the people of the Gentiles were also to be called, i.e. men who, as being born and brought up in the country, in the highways and hedges without the city, were entirely uncivilised.” Or, as Theophylact interprets it, “The Israelites were within the city, having received the law, and having been granted a more civilised lot in life; but the Gentiles were aliens from the common-wealth of Israel, strangers from the covenants of promise, and without God in the world.” (Eph. ii.12.)

    compel them to come in.  Many of the Gentile nations were wholly given up to idolatry and evil living. Hence they were to be compelled to salvation by the burning zeal and energy of the preacher, by miracles, even by the scourge and judgments of God sent upon them “in shewing of the Spirit and power;” (1 Cor. ii. 4). For “our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance.” 1 Thess. i. 5.

    “Therefore,” says Suarez, “compel them to come in, either by afflicting them with labour and sorrows, or by converting them, as it were, miraculously, by a mighty effort and powerful call.”

    24. But I say unto you, that none of those men that were invited, shall taste of my supper. So the Pharisees and the rulers of the Jews, given up to earthly enjoyments, are to be excluded from the heavenly feast because, called by Christ to accept the teaching of His gospel, they refused the invitation. “Because I called, and you refused: I stretched out my hand, and there was none that regarded.” Prov. i. 24. Then shall they, too late, repent of their ingratitude and folly, and shall say, “What hath pride profited us? or what advantage hath the boasting of riches brought us?  All those things are passed away like a shadow, and like a post that runneth on, And as a ship that passeth through the waves: whereof when it is gone by, the trace cannot be found, nor the path of its keel in the waters:” Wisdom v. 8-10.

    So far Christ had said all these things in the house of the Pharisee, whose invitation He had accepted, in order that He might instruct him and his friends. Let all those, therefore, who are followers of Christ, imitate His example, and not take part in any entertainment unless it be for the purpose of reaping spiritual fruit.

+       +        +

The Vladimirskaya Icon. >12th century.

SUB tuum præsidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genitrix. Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Amen.

 

 

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.