The Great Banquet - Fr. Gregory - December 15, 2024

In today’s Gospel reading, we find Christ’s parable of the great banquet. In the parable, all are invited to attend a wealthy man’s feast, which represents God’s Kingdom.Fr. Gregory opens his sermon by explaining that a growing number of people are religiously unaffiliated. Studies show that many of them would come to church if only they were invited, but a very small percentage of Christians ever do so.Fr. Gregory encourages us to do as the man in the parable did, inviting all to come to the great banquet we celebrate each Sunday. He also encourages us with today’s Epistle reading, in which Paul says “Do not be ashamed, then, of testifying to our Lord.” Finally, he references today’s Orthros Gospel, in which Christ commands his disciples to “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation.”