Gospel of the Sunday (Luke 14:16-24)
At that time Jesus spoke to the Pharisees this parable: A certain man made a great supper, and invited many. And he sent his servant at the hour of supper to say to them that were invited: Come, for now all things are ready. 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. And another said: I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to try them; I pray thee, hold me excused. And another said: I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. 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. And the servant said: Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. 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. For I say unto you: That none of those men that were invited, shall taste of my supper.
St Gregory the Great on the Gospel of the Great Supper
He made a great supper, because He has prepared for us the full enjoyment of eternal sweetness. Many were invited, but few came; for there are often many who belong to God by faith, yet by their manner of life oppose His eternal banquet.
There is this difference between bodily and spiritual pleasures: bodily delights excite desire so long as they are not possessed; but once they are possessed and enjoyed, desire quickly turns into weariness. Spiritual goods, on the other hand, are despised while they are unknown; but once they are possessed, they are loved all the more ardently.
Therefore heavenly mercy calls us back to those goods which we have neglected. It sets before our eyes the heavenly banquet and invites us to come. Yet many make excuses. One by his field, another by his oxen, a third by his marriage. Not because these things are evil in themselves, but because the human heart can become so attached to them that it no longer longs for heavenly things.
He who gives himself entirely to earthly concerns forgets what is eternal. He sees what passes away and loses sight of what endures. Thus it happens that temporal occupations hinder a man from tasting the joy of the heavenly banquet.
Yet the Lord continues to invite. When some refuse, others are called. The poor and infirm enter in because they recognize their need. Often those who are considered lowly in the eyes of the world receive the grace that is despised by the mighty. Thus the house of the Lord is filled, while those who excused themselves remain outside.
St Gregory the Great, Homiliae in Evangelia, Homily 36 on Luke 14:16-24